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bellavigg's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
I sure love me a solid YA graphic novel!
And this is definitely one of those.
This tells the story of the first few romantic experiences in the life of one Mads, a relatively privileged teen. There's a kid next door who's had a crush on her forever, she has a best friend who has very different impulses from Mads, and then a sequence of events causes her to experience her first few kisses. Eight kisses, to be exact. There's also a family history/trauma plotline. I loved the queer visibility here.
This reminded me a bit of MariNaomi's [b: Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22|8433530|Kiss and Tell A Romantic Résumé, Ages 0 to 22|Mari Naomi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327956389l/8433530._SX50_.jpg|13296987], and I would be shocked if it wasn't at least a little bit inspired by that work.
The illustrations are black and white, varying panel placement, easy to follow. This edition includes a Q&A between the author and illustrator at the end that runs 7 pages in pretty small font.
I'm curious about the choice to draw the best friend, Johanna, in a pretty distinctively different style than the rest of the characters. They're all lined up in the backmatter, and it almost looks like a different illustrator drew her to me. I get the sense that the team is trying to include a wider variety of body types (I would describe this character as curvy), but to me, she kind of sticks out like a sore thumb as basically the only major character exception to the rule of "average" bodies (misnomer alert). Her face is also drawn in a distinctly different way from the rest of the major characters.
Maybe there's an intentional plot/pov element to this difference, but it didn't quite work for me.
Candy. I love it.
And this is definitely one of those.
This tells the story of the first few romantic experiences in the life of one Mads, a relatively privileged teen. There's a kid next door who's had a crush on her forever, she has a best friend who has very different impulses from Mads, and then a sequence of events causes her to experience her first few kisses. Eight kisses, to be exact. There's also a family history/trauma plotline. I loved the queer visibility here.
This reminded me a bit of MariNaomi's [b: Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22|8433530|Kiss and Tell A Romantic Résumé, Ages 0 to 22|Mari Naomi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327956389l/8433530._SX50_.jpg|13296987], and I would be shocked if it wasn't at least a little bit inspired by that work.
The illustrations are black and white, varying panel placement, easy to follow. This edition includes a Q&A between the author and illustrator at the end that runs 7 pages in pretty small font.
I'm curious about the choice to draw the best friend, Johanna, in a pretty distinctively different style than the rest of the characters. They're all lined up in the backmatter, and it almost looks like a different illustrator drew her to me. I get the sense that the team is trying to include a wider variety of body types (I would describe this character as curvy), but to me, she kind of sticks out like a sore thumb as basically the only major character exception to the rule of "average" bodies (misnomer alert). Her face is also drawn in a distinctly different way from the rest of the major characters.
Maybe there's an intentional plot/pov element to this difference, but it didn't quite work for me.
Candy. I love it.
guldeylocks's review against another edition
4.0
a fast read!
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I really didn’t think I liked it until the very end.
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I really didn’t think I liked it until the very end.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
Really compelling, exploratory slice-of-high-school-life story that doesn't seem to be about any one thing in particular until it starts coming into focus as an unconventional form of coming-out narrative and a broader discovering-a-personal-identity narrative. For teen girls in particular, I'd put this one up there with Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me in terms of subtly illustrating how to do relationships and friendships, and how to turn self-acceptance and self-understanding into self-worth. But it's also just a compelling and entertaining story. Very enjoyable.
lucca111angel's review against another edition
4.0
So... this book, although being very, very well written, was a little bit too much for me to handle. Very bold and sudden transphobia from multiple characters, and a lot of scenes that made me uncomfortable as a lesbian, which to be fair, is probably kind of a goal of the book? Anyways, the art was steady and the script was overall very good. As a lover of coming of age stories, this one struck me as pretty average.
Also like, I expected way more religious trauma! Come on, she’s holding a cross on the cover! Where is the Catholic imagery!!!
It did leave me wanting more, I will say that.
Also like, I expected way more religious trauma! Come on, she’s holding a cross on the cover! Where is the Catholic imagery!!!
It did leave me wanting more, I will say that.
luanndie's review against another edition
3.0
¡Uff! ¡Qué emociones más contradictorias me ha dejado este libro! El beso número 8 es una historia en la que seguimos el autodescubrimiento y crecimiento personal de Amanda al mismo tiempo que esta descubre la verdad sobre un secreto familiar guardado durante más de 20 años.
Como historia me pareció muy interesante. Creo que la trama tiene un buen ritmo, la evolución de los personajes es creíble y en general todos los protagonistas son complejos y con claroscuros. Por si fuera poco, los dibujos acompañan maravillosamente bien a la historia reforzando su fuerza y efectividad. Me gustó tanto, en realidad, que ciertas partes de este cómic me recordaron a una versión para adolescentes de [b:Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic|26135825|Fun Home A Family Tragicomic|Alison Bechdel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440097020l/26135825._SY75_.jpg|911368] o [b:Blankets|25179|Blankets|Craig Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460925949l/25179._SX50_.jpg|781193]. Y por eso me encuentro tan confundida acerca del mensaje de la obra.
Creo que es bastante claro que las autoras pretendían ofrecer una historia de crecimiento personal sin dulcificar los problemas que descubrir quien eres pueden acarrear. Eso no me parece mal. No importa lo entretenido que sea, no todas las historias pueden moverse en el utópico mundo de [b:Boy Meets Boy|23228|Boy Meets Boy|David Levithan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356335082l/23228._SY75_.jpg|1118789]. Sin embargo, los comentarios homófobos y tránsfobos, que a menudo pasan sin ser cuestionados, me parecieron especialmente dañinos. Yo no pertenezco a ninguno de esos colectivos y leer ciertas frases en la obra me resulto doloroso y muy duro, así que solamente me puedo imaginar como sería para un adolescente que estuviera pasando por un momento similar al que se describe en la novela.
Lo peor es que estos comentarios vienen de personajes muy cercanos (familia y amigos) de la protagonista y aunque entiendo que esto es totalmente realista, me parece todavía más peligroso que esos comentarios pasen casi sin cuestionamiento y que uno de los personajes sea prácticamente absuelto sin hacer nada más que mostrar un mínimo de decencia humana.
Es por este motivo que le doy una puntuación tan baja a este cómic. Me parece una gran obra, con una buena intención pero que se pasa de frenada y no sé si lo recomendaría para los adolescentes a los que precisamente va dirigido.
Como historia me pareció muy interesante. Creo que la trama tiene un buen ritmo, la evolución de los personajes es creíble y en general todos los protagonistas son complejos y con claroscuros. Por si fuera poco, los dibujos acompañan maravillosamente bien a la historia reforzando su fuerza y efectividad. Me gustó tanto, en realidad, que ciertas partes de este cómic me recordaron a una versión para adolescentes de [b:Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic|26135825|Fun Home A Family Tragicomic|Alison Bechdel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440097020l/26135825._SY75_.jpg|911368] o [b:Blankets|25179|Blankets|Craig Thompson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460925949l/25179._SX50_.jpg|781193]. Y por eso me encuentro tan confundida acerca del mensaje de la obra.
Creo que es bastante claro que las autoras pretendían ofrecer una historia de crecimiento personal sin dulcificar los problemas que descubrir quien eres pueden acarrear. Eso no me parece mal. No importa lo entretenido que sea, no todas las historias pueden moverse en el utópico mundo de [b:Boy Meets Boy|23228|Boy Meets Boy|David Levithan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356335082l/23228._SY75_.jpg|1118789]. Sin embargo, los comentarios homófobos y tránsfobos, que a menudo pasan sin ser cuestionados, me parecieron especialmente dañinos. Yo no pertenezco a ninguno de esos colectivos y leer ciertas frases en la obra me resulto doloroso y muy duro, así que solamente me puedo imaginar como sería para un adolescente que estuviera pasando por un momento similar al que se describe en la novela.
Lo peor es que estos comentarios vienen de personajes muy cercanos (familia y amigos) de la protagonista y aunque entiendo que esto es totalmente realista, me parece todavía más peligroso que esos comentarios pasen casi sin cuestionamiento y que uno de los personajes sea prácticamente absuelto sin hacer nada más que mostrar un mínimo de decencia humana.
Es por este motivo que le doy una puntuación tan baja a este cómic. Me parece una gran obra, con una buena intención pero que se pasa de frenada y no sé si lo recomendaría para los adolescentes a los que precisamente va dirigido.
lonijae's review against another edition
2.0
I really really enjoyed this book. I have an issue with how Mads got away with pressuring Adam into having sex. That's problematic for me and it was never addressed.
torithelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This book really lifted my spirits. Wonderful representation of the full breadth of sexuality, delightful illustrations and puns throughout, and the Q+A between the two collaborators at the end of the book had me hardcore grinning.
I love what this book said as much as what it didn’t say. Really cool use of illustration and page layout.
I love what this book said as much as what it didn’t say. Really cool use of illustration and page layout.