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dgrstory's review
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
mamaejamae's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED THIS BOOK! There was so much representation (girl who comes out as lesbian but realizes she’s actually bi!!! And TRANS CHARACTERS AS IN MULTIPLE!!!) and such a beautiful plot line that both had a happy ending and didn’t. Favorite parts by far: scene where her dad skips on meeting Dina but for a page she creates this perfect reality (honestly beautiful) and then the entire ending with the other kisses and her ending up with a son named Sam and her whole family is watching her baseball team. Good stuff.
libreroaming's review against another edition
4.0
A story set in 2004 about a girl named Mads and the various revelations she has about gender and sexuality when she discovers she might like her best friend romantically. The artwork was expressive and character faces were distinct, carrying a lot of the story's weight because the writing seemed to juggle more plot points and characters than it could handle in 300 pages. But handles them well for the most part, giving most characters room to behave as nuanced and complicated individuals (with two or three exceptions).
A somewhat overly complicated coming of age LGBTQ graphic novel, but its messiness seems to illustrate the lack of neat resolutions that life presents.
A somewhat overly complicated coming of age LGBTQ graphic novel, but its messiness seems to illustrate the lack of neat resolutions that life presents.
magenta_menace's review against another edition
3.5
i have mixed feelings about the content of this book, but the art style and emotional structure hit really close to home for me, so it skewed my review a little bit more positively. the pacing of the book was a bit uneven, sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow, and at times the content was just a tad too dense. amanda was a remarkable protagonist, and based on my own upbringing, i related to her quite a bit. i have to say, in regards to the queerness of the narrative, i wish that the depictions of trans identity weren’t so much of a caricature. part of me was really, really rooting for amanda and laura to end up together, just because i felt that their chemistry was the strongest of anyone in the novel. i think that the direction the author went was a nice subversion, but i personally think that the story would have made much more sense if the person amanda was grappling with feelings for was laura. could also just be me projecting my personal experiences onto the text, but the direction the plot went felt so forced and that tenderness was just not there with cat like it was with laura. good illustrations, good hero, good message—just fell a tad flat for me in some places.
rachelbookdragon's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what to think of this one. I was frustrated upon reaching the middle point of the novel at the poor portrayal of a transgender man who just wanted to love his family and live his life and the hatred and shame his family displayed and felt.
This family’s ‘dark secret of the past’ is mirrored in Amanda’s journey through adolescence as she explores different aspects of growing up, from partying to kissing a few people and feeling peer pressure.
The story does turn as she discovers she’s bisexual. Within her small Catholic school, she is cast out by her friends, peers, and her father, and she struggles to find her way back to happiness and in doing so, reconnects to her mother and step-Grandma in the process. It was a lovely and happy ending.
The art of this graphic novel is good, and the lesson of family’s making progress over time was ultimately heartwarming. I don’t know how desirable reading the hate speech spewing out of the father’s and grandparent’s mouths is to anyone actually discovering a non-heteronormative sexuality within a religious community, even if it is relatable to someone’s lived experiences. I find it curious that the transgender reveal isn’t mentioned in the summary of the book in terms of initially showing more representation.
The last tidbit that bothered me was how some of the art panels didn’t quite fit for me. I couldn’t figure out exactly what was going on because they didn’t connect easily to the other context of the page and it definitely took me out of the story trying to figure out what was going on.
Overall, somewhat heartwarming end, but the journey is filled with ignorant people spewing hatred. Not sure how relatable this story is, even to it’s target audience. I’m all for diversity, but maybe this isn’t the delivery needed.
This family’s ‘dark secret of the past’ is mirrored in Amanda’s journey through adolescence as she explores different aspects of growing up, from partying to kissing a few people and feeling peer pressure.
The story does turn as she discovers she’s bisexual. Within her small Catholic school, she is cast out by her friends, peers, and her father, and she struggles to find her way back to happiness and in doing so, reconnects to her mother and step-Grandma in the process. It was a lovely and happy ending.
The art of this graphic novel is good, and the lesson of family’s making progress over time was ultimately heartwarming. I don’t know how desirable reading the hate speech spewing out of the father’s and grandparent’s mouths is to anyone actually discovering a non-heteronormative sexuality within a religious community, even if it is relatable to someone’s lived experiences. I find it curious that the transgender reveal isn’t mentioned in the summary of the book in terms of initially showing more representation.
The last tidbit that bothered me was how some of the art panels didn’t quite fit for me. I couldn’t figure out exactly what was going on because they didn’t connect easily to the other context of the page and it definitely took me out of the story trying to figure out what was going on.
Overall, somewhat heartwarming end, but the journey is filled with ignorant people spewing hatred. Not sure how relatable this story is, even to it’s target audience. I’m all for diversity, but maybe this isn’t the delivery needed.
synthesizeher's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25
cyngharris's review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
shewwimonster's review against another edition
3.0
This is Dramatic with a capital D. I wasn't sure I wanted to read this (it's been popping up on a lot of LGBTQ+ YA lists for me), but the library had it so why not? There were parts (well, characters really) that I couldn't stand, but overall I liked this a lot more than I expected to. Partially because I liked the main character so much and partially because there was unexpected story layering with trans characters (and family dynamics) and some things happening that I didn't expect.
mckinlay's review against another edition
1.0
*I received an ARC of this book from netgalley and the publisher. This does not affect my review.*
DNF at page 166
TW: transphobia
I’m genuinely baffled why this has such good reviews that call it “light hearted.” I was annoyed basically from the start. Mads is incredibly disrespectful toward her parents, ESPECIALLY her mom, who she repeatedly calls a bitch AND doesn’t tell her friend to NOT talk about her mom. I get not liking your mom, but there’s a line, okay? You don’t let your friends call your mom a bitch. You just don’t!
That wasn’t the worst offense though. There are some seriously transphobic comments made by the MC’s dad. Like, i think it could be really harmful to trans teens, and children of trans parents. Because I quit, I don’t know if he came around but after Mads’ “best friend” outted the trans character I was done.
I think if this book wasn't marketed as like a cute coming of age queer graphic novel, I would maybe have been less frustrated. But the back of this book makes it seem like it's just a girl kind of realizing she might like girls. That is definitely NOT what I took from it.
0/10 do not recommend.
DNF at page 166
TW: transphobia
I’m genuinely baffled why this has such good reviews that call it “light hearted.” I was annoyed basically from the start. Mads is incredibly disrespectful toward her parents, ESPECIALLY her mom, who she repeatedly calls a bitch AND doesn’t tell her friend to NOT talk about her mom. I get not liking your mom, but there’s a line, okay? You don’t let your friends call your mom a bitch. You just don’t!
That wasn’t the worst offense though. There are some seriously transphobic comments made by the MC’s dad. Like, i think it could be really harmful to trans teens, and children of trans parents. Because I quit, I don’t know if he came around but after Mads’ “best friend” outted the trans character I was done.
I think if this book wasn't marketed as like a cute coming of age queer graphic novel, I would maybe have been less frustrated. But the back of this book makes it seem like it's just a girl kind of realizing she might like girls. That is definitely NOT what I took from it.
0/10 do not recommend.