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emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
i am a big fan of this one! "firebird" is a YA graphic novel about caroline, a sophomore who has just started tutoring kim. the two become friends & maayyyybbbeeee something else as well!
i was a big fan of the expressive art style! it was mostly b&w though some spreads incorporated red which i ~adored~ so much. there are also major portions in korean with english translations, which is cool.
i enjoyed the flirting of the two girls getting to know each other. i did feel a bit... disappointed by the ending? as we didn't get to see them interacting happily once they had expressed their feelings for each other. i would've liked little... picnics and flirty stuff where they both knew the vibes!!!! i found this landed a bit between a slice of life and a full story arc,,, not really fitting into either one well, which threw me off a bit, if that makes sense.
i definitely do recommend this as a sort of sapphic heartstopper vibe!! i would loooooooove this even more if it were a series !!! (it ends abruptly sort of in the way the first heartstopper vol does??? like weird on its own but better in the series???)
also, this is SUPER personal & zero judgement on the morality of this in the story/in general, but for me reading about a sophomore/senior relationship in high school is... tough. and i feel as though the power dynamics at play weren't really explored. so that's something to keep in mind!
(thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
i was a big fan of the expressive art style! it was mostly b&w though some spreads incorporated red which i ~adored~ so much. there are also major portions in korean with english translations, which is cool.
i enjoyed the flirting of the two girls getting to know each other. i did feel a bit... disappointed by the ending? as we didn't get to see them interacting happily once they had expressed their feelings for each other. i would've liked little... picnics and flirty stuff where they both knew the vibes!!!! i found this landed a bit between a slice of life and a full story arc,,, not really fitting into either one well, which threw me off a bit, if that makes sense.
i definitely do recommend this as a sort of sapphic heartstopper vibe!! i would loooooooove this even more if it were a series !!! (it ends abruptly sort of in the way the first heartstopper vol does??? like weird on its own but better in the series???)
also, this is SUPER personal & zero judgement on the morality of this in the story/in general, but for me reading about a sophomore/senior relationship in high school is... tough. and i feel as though the power dynamics at play weren't really explored. so that's something to keep in mind!
(thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a ya, slow burn, lgbtq romance with an insecure MC and an elusive love interest. We get to see both their points of view, but we only get into the head of the protagonist.
Caroline is insecure, and is currently tutoring Kim, who is a whole year above her in school. She thinks she is cute, but knows she is out of Kim's league, so to speak. She is feeling uncomfortable in her body, and hates that her father is still in South Korea, and all the usual teenage angst. Kim, we don't get into the head of, but we can see she is interested in Caroline.
The whole book is a lot of slow burn. Will they kiss is about as close as we can get to seeing any true romance. Mostly the book is them agonizing over school, and life and all.
It was a little bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I almost gave up several times. I did like, however, that we had an overweight character who is not only uncomfortable in her body, but perhaps even in her gender, though that is never quite resolved. In fact, so much is left on the table, so to speak, it makes me wonder if there is going to be a second book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Merged review:
This is a ya, slow burn, lgbtq romance with an insecure MC and an elusive love interest. We get to see both their points of view, but we only get into the head of the protagonist.
Caroline is insecure, and is currently tutoring Kim, who is a whole year above her in school. She thinks she is cute, but knows she is out of Kim's league, so to speak. She is feeling uncomfortable in her body, and hates that her father is still in South Korea, and all the usual teenage angst. Kim, we don't get into the head of, but we can see she is interested in Caroline.
The whole book is a lot of slow burn. Will they kiss is about as close as we can get to seeing any true romance. Mostly the book is them agonizing over school, and life and all.
It was a little bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I almost gave up several times. I did like, however, that we had an overweight character who is not only uncomfortable in her body, but perhaps even in her gender, though that is never quite resolved. In fact, so much is left on the table, so to speak, it makes me wonder if there is going to be a second book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Caroline is insecure, and is currently tutoring Kim, who is a whole year above her in school. She thinks she is cute, but knows she is out of Kim's league, so to speak. She is feeling uncomfortable in her body, and hates that her father is still in South Korea, and all the usual teenage angst. Kim, we don't get into the head of, but we can see she is interested in Caroline.
The whole book is a lot of slow burn. Will they kiss is about as close as we can get to seeing any true romance. Mostly the book is them agonizing over school, and life and all.
It was a little bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I almost gave up several times. I did like, however, that we had an overweight character who is not only uncomfortable in her body, but perhaps even in her gender, though that is never quite resolved. In fact, so much is left on the table, so to speak, it makes me wonder if there is going to be a second book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Merged review:
This is a ya, slow burn, lgbtq romance with an insecure MC and an elusive love interest. We get to see both their points of view, but we only get into the head of the protagonist.
Caroline is insecure, and is currently tutoring Kim, who is a whole year above her in school. She thinks she is cute, but knows she is out of Kim's league, so to speak. She is feeling uncomfortable in her body, and hates that her father is still in South Korea, and all the usual teenage angst. Kim, we don't get into the head of, but we can see she is interested in Caroline.
The whole book is a lot of slow burn. Will they kiss is about as close as we can get to seeing any true romance. Mostly the book is them agonizing over school, and life and all.
It was a little bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I almost gave up several times. I did like, however, that we had an overweight character who is not only uncomfortable in her body, but perhaps even in her gender, though that is never quite resolved. In fact, so much is left on the table, so to speak, it makes me wonder if there is going to be a second book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-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