fruitfem's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
stunning art!! the plot sucked me in at first, but the first 3/4 of this was repetitive enough that it started to get tiresome.
i also don't love that freddy's one act of standing up for herself—breaking up with laura—only came after reading the email from the advice columnist. it would have been nice to see her come to that realization on her own and have a few honest conversations with laura and her family, rather than having a moment of bravery and suddenly everything's fine.
a lotta negativity in this review, but i honestly didn't hate this. the author does a good job depicting teenage emotions in a realistic way and the illustrations are certainly easy on the eyes. just leaves something to be desired.
Spoiler
it kinda became a cycle of "laura acts unpredictably" --> "freddy responds accordingly, treating her friends badly in the process" --> "her friends are understandably angry" --> repeat. the scenes with freddy's parents and those with eric and buddy felt kind of random, since the plotlines with her mom being annoyed, eric being bullied, etc were unresolved. i'm not sure whether those scenes were intended to paint a picture of her life as a whole or to serve as a foil to freddy and laura's relationship, but either way it didn't work for me.i also don't love that freddy's one act of standing up for herself—breaking up with laura—only came after reading the email from the advice columnist. it would have been nice to see her come to that realization on her own and have a few honest conversations with laura and her family, rather than having a moment of bravery and suddenly everything's fine.
a lotta negativity in this review, but i honestly didn't hate this. the author does a good job depicting teenage emotions in a realistic way and the illustrations are certainly easy on the eyes. just leaves something to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
onion's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Medical content
ender24's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
brokenbodybitch's review
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
callmeneeks's review
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Abortion, Alcohol, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
finally got around to reading this, and laura dean keeps breaking up with me imo is a graphic novel w/ great art meandered by an important though frustrating story.
this book is effortlessly queer and it's great to see how everyone's so comfortable w/ their queerness, though some realistic homophobia exists as well. however, my fav thing abt this book is the art, how valero-o'connell is able to strike the perfect balance of simplicity and detail in her lineart, in addition to a distinct sense of place and great composition + transition. The usage of pink - either for emphasis or separation - in certain panels and scenes also injects a refreshing and effective pop of color that not only complements but also elevates the story.
speaking of story, it's certainly an effective one as it makes me wanna tear my hair out. the toxicity and emotional manipulation in freddy and laura's relationship is very realistically depicted, and thus frustrates me to no end. the book's subject matter and themes are certainly important, esp considering its demographic, however the main characters and their dynamic exasperate me too much to glance at this book and not have some sense of irritation bubble up. i also wish the ending was a lil longer to see freddy and her friends beyond the toxicity imposed by laura's presence, just to balance things out a bit.
overall, this graphic novel is one that sheds some crucial awareness on emotional abuse in relationships - all the more rare bc it's a queer one between girls - and the art's certainly lovely, but i personally dislike some of the characters and their dynamic to be able to say w/ my whole chest that i like this book, thus the 2.75 rating.
this book is effortlessly queer and it's great to see how everyone's so comfortable w/ their queerness, though some realistic homophobia exists as well. however, my fav thing abt this book is the art, how valero-o'connell is able to strike the perfect balance of simplicity and detail in her lineart, in addition to a distinct sense of place and great composition + transition. The usage of pink - either for emphasis or separation - in certain panels and scenes also injects a refreshing and effective pop of color that not only complements but also elevates the story.
speaking of story, it's certainly an effective one as it makes me wanna tear my hair out. the toxicity and emotional manipulation in freddy and laura's relationship is very realistically depicted, and thus frustrates me to no end. the book's subject matter and themes are certainly important, esp considering its demographic, however the main characters and their dynamic exasperate me too much to glance at this book and not have some sense of irritation bubble up. i also wish the ending was a lil longer to see freddy and her friends beyond the toxicity imposed by laura's presence, just to balance things out a bit.
overall, this graphic novel is one that sheds some crucial awareness on emotional abuse in relationships - all the more rare bc it's a queer one between girls - and the art's certainly lovely, but i personally dislike some of the characters and their dynamic to be able to say w/ my whole chest that i like this book, thus the 2.75 rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Abortion
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship
kurumipanda's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
stwriter92's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was lent this book by a coworker because our school's GSA had read it as our last book of our book club. Unfortunately, I was not able to read it when the rest of the club was reading it. However, I still wanted to do so and she kindly lent me her copy!
First off, the art was absolutely beautiful. The color scheme of black, white, and pops of pink was gorgeous and truly helped create an appropriate atmosphere for this story.
The story revolves around Freddy Riley, a seventeen-year-old high school student who is in a tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship with Laura Dean. We follow Freddy as she sinks deeper and deeper into this toxic relationship and see in real time how it affects all of her other relationships.
I do think that the character I sympathized with most was Doodle. Perhaps this is because I related to Doodle the most, as I have had to sit to the side as friends have prioritized relationships (healthy and unhealthy) over our friendship. While I understand that this will eventually happen, I still felt the same sting that Doodle feels when Riley constantly blows her off to bend over backward for Laura Dean, who doesn't seem to care for her at all.
One thing I wish was done better was the construction of Laura Dean's character. She felt extremely one dimensional, but I can sort of see why that was. The way that Freddy experiences and views Laura Dean is extremely one dimensional. She doesn't seem to truly like Laura Dean. Rather, she seems to be afraid of loneliness. This doesn't absolve Laura from being a shitty girlfriend (like, a super shitty and toxic one) but I can understand to an extent why her character was not as fleshed out as the rest.
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone. However, it is important to mention that on top of a content warning on toxic relationships, there is a content warning for abortion as well as a mild one on extra-marital affairs. If that isn't your cup of tea, there are many other gorgeous LGBTQ+ graphic novels out there. If you are alright with these themes, though, give this a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion and Infidelity
Minor: Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
4.0
- I truly love that there are enough queer books out there now that it's possible to have books that show queer people can be jerks, too.
- LAURA DEAN KEEPS BREAKING UP WITH ME really gets into heavy teenage feelings: that feeling that this might be your only chance at love, even though you're so young.
- I loved the art style of this book as well. It's much more detailed than many YA graphic novels are, and I felt it really got some of the emotional nuances across well.
- LAURA DEAN KEEPS BREAKING UP WITH ME really gets into heavy teenage feelings: that feeling that this might be your only chance at love, even though you're so young.
- I loved the art style of this book as well. It's much more detailed than many YA graphic novels are, and I felt it really got some of the emotional nuances across well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Abortion, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Cursing, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content