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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Beautifully drawn and the story is such a layered and complicated and pulls at the heart kind of surprise. I truly didn’t know where the story would go and I hope lots of teenagers of all walks of life, really just humans too, but I think the message of self acceptance and self discovery is so important for teenagers to see.
Oof. This was really rough.
The concept is really cute: young girl figures out her sexual identity through her first 8 kisses. However, it’s riddled with nasty homophobia & transphobia and emotional manipulation and abuse. Seeming really large conflicts are saved until the last 25 pages and mostly solved in under 10 frames.
I did like the cast and settings. The art really showcased a lot of diversity which was interesting to read and admire. Each character showcased emotions well and had a unique look without making it look like it was done to be different.
This had a ton of potential and I adored the art style. Wish it ended up being better than it was.
The concept is really cute: young girl figures out her sexual identity through her first 8 kisses. However, it’s riddled with nasty homophobia & transphobia and emotional manipulation and abuse. Seeming really large conflicts are saved until the last 25 pages and mostly solved in under 10 frames.
I did like the cast and settings. The art really showcased a lot of diversity which was interesting to read and admire. Each character showcased emotions well and had a unique look without making it look like it was done to be different.
This had a ton of potential and I adored the art style. Wish it ended up being better than it was.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kiss Number 8. The art was wonderful and the writing was engaging. I didn't like the main character, Amanda, very much, but watching her grow was interesting. The mystery contributed to Amanda's story, and it felt realistic. I hope that Kiss Number 8 wins awards - it deserves them.
This made me cry three times and laugh out loud at least eight times. What a stellar graphic novel. Gorgeous, dynamic illustrations; believable, messy relationships; and a heartfelt, affirming story of love, family, and queerness.
This was a local comic book store find that made the entire trip worth it. Which is beyond rare! I would consider myself someone who knows about queer graphic novels and comics, they’re basically my reading obsession for the past 2 years- but this book flew under my radar SO ASTOUNDINGLY.
A story of religious trauma and bigotry, familial trauma and the pain of secrets, and an actual, true to life coming of age story. I personally have had the quintessential gay girl experience of being obsessed with your best friend who is kind of a bitch, only to realize you don’t want to be her friend at all and you’re just in love with a bad person.
This story was definitely heavy and intense on the homophobia. Of course that’s part of the plot, but there were times where I wondered how far it would go. However! It never crossed any lines and I felt like it was all super natural with the story.
I friggin loved this book and I would wipe it from my brain to reread it, probably, so give it a chance!!
P.S. happy ending!
A story of religious trauma and bigotry, familial trauma and the pain of secrets, and an actual, true to life coming of age story. I personally have had the quintessential gay girl experience of being obsessed with your best friend who is kind of a bitch, only to realize you don’t want to be her friend at all and you’re just in love with a bad person.
This story was definitely heavy and intense on the homophobia. Of course that’s part of the plot, but there were times where I wondered how far it would go. However! It never crossed any lines and I felt like it was all super natural with the story.
I friggin loved this book and I would wipe it from my brain to reread it, probably, so give it a chance!!
P.S. happy ending!
I just finished this 2 days ago and I'm ready to read it all over again. Beautifully told; beautifully drawn.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
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.
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.