Reviews - Firebird | The StoryGraph

225 reviews for:

Firebird

Sunmi

3.77 AVERAGE

giovanawashere's review

4.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I just finished Firebird on my iPad, and it was hella cute. A sapphic graphic novel set in San Francisco and Oakland? Say less. When I saw this as a recommendation on Kindle Unlimited, I knew I had to check it out. And it delivered.

The art? Stunning. It’s mostly black and white, with red showing up in flashes, like memories, big feelings, or those moments that hit in your chest. It was simple but so effective. It felt like the color red was doing its own storytelling.

The plot follows two Korean American teens, Caroline and Kim. They meet when Caroline starts tutoring Kim in Algebra, and from there, it builds slowly, awkwardly, sweetly. Their friendship shifts into something softer and crushy, and I loved watching that unfold.

What really got me was how real both girls felt. Caroline’s quiet heaviness, her depression, the way she keeps everything in because she doesn’t want to burden her family — whew, that hit. That was me in high school, no lie. And Kim? Kim felt like the other side of me. Hella interests, easily switches between femme and masc energy, doing the most but still figuring it all out.

I also appreciated how it tackled being the child of immigrants, that tension between family expectations and queer identity, and just trying to stay afloat in high school when everything feels loud and confusing. And prom night? So soft. I was grinning the whole time.

This one’s short but powerful. It’s got that Bay flavor, it’s tender, and it says a lot without doing too much. If you’re looking for a quick queer graphic novel that’ll hit you in the feels and leave you smiling, Firebird is the one. 😍😍🫶🏾

shksprsis's review

4.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jennavieve_prose's review

3.0

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

e_marshall's review against another edition

4.0

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

momthedom's review

5.0

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

i loved the artistic style i think i would’ve just loved more color even if it was like 3 or 4, but regardless loveddddd this book just very sweet coming of age queerness and immigrant parents like yeah you ate