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u_0's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved the art, it was beautiful and I especially loved the detailed backgrounds and the way the artist drew hair. It was really cool how the pop of color was used in different panels and it was really cute when the inanimate objects talked.
Although I'm happy to have queer rep and body rep, this story just wasn't it for me. It ultimately came across as forced, disingenuous, and hollow. Aside from that, I didn't like how one of the main character's whole personality was being the stereotype of an unfaithful BI person who can't help but sleep around with everyone. Also, I thought Freddy was a horrible friend throughout the whole book and she really didn't go through that much growth! I feel so bad for all her friends, who REALLY get the side character treatment. I know that's the point and they acknowledge it at the end but Freddy gets redeemed way to easily for how shitty of a friend she was. As a kid, I would probably have loved it more and be able to see past its flaws.
Although I'm happy to have queer rep and body rep, this story just wasn't it for me. It ultimately came across as forced, disingenuous, and hollow. Aside from that, I didn't like how one of the main character's whole personality was being the stereotype of an unfaithful BI person who can't help but sleep around with everyone. Also, I thought Freddy was a horrible friend throughout the whole book and she really didn't go through that much growth!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Vomit
theonewheresamreads's review
dark
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Sarah. Bestie…. I hate this ngl
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Biphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Pedophilia, Outing, Homophobia, Grief, and Bullying
Minor: Abortion
starlightsong's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I read this graphic novel in one sitting because it was short and there was a lot of hype around it, and... I think, for all the hype, I expected a lot more.
The first meeting between Laura Dean and Freddy, and the way Laura Dean asked her out on their first date, was really cute and made me believe that in another story they could've had a chance, but beyond that I couldn't understand why Freddy kept going back to her, and I couldn't understand why they never just had a conversation about their issues, and I really don't understand why polyamory was ever brought up. If your girlfriend is constantly cheating on you and publicly humiliating you, that is NOT polyamory, that's just her being a shitty girlfriend! Polyamory in any of its forms is about consent and is something Laura Dean and Freddy would've needed to discuss... and, again, they never discussed anything! I feel like this graphic novel was trying to normalize polyamory a bit with the way Freddy and the advice columnist talked about it, which would be great except imo it failed by not presenting a single healthy concept of it seeing as Freddy and Laura Dean's relationship definitely wasn't that and the show Freddy watched on TV also wasn't.
I know it can be hard to break out of toxic relationships when you really feel like you're in love, but there's usually something nice the toxic partner does, or a positive quality they have, that the other person will use to justify the toxicity. I don't see that in Laura Dean beyond their very first meeting, and... maybe the fact that she's good in bed, I guess? It's also common for some people to cling to an emotionally abusive relationship because everything else in your life is falling apart, but the bits of Freddy's home life and school life that we saw seemed... fine? She has a happy family and friends that she cares about. Idk, maybe it was done like that on purpose for whatever reason, but it didn't work for me. It was just frustrating because I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. They felt too flat, their relationships too rushed. I didn't get upset when Freddy was being a terrible friend to Doodle because of Laura Dean, I didn't get happy at the ending when Freddy finally reached her breaking point and broke up with her, and I just... didn't particularly care.
Going back to my point about communication, I 100% did not want Freddy and Laura Dean to get back together and knew they never would, but I did hope that when Freddy went to break up with Laura Dean at the end, she would at least attempt to initiate a healthy conversation and explain why they were breaking up. She... kind of did, but just barely. It was literally: "I'm breaking up with you because you're a shitty girlfriend and I'm a shitty friend when I'm with you." "Okay, then fuck you" and that was it. That's not communication. Freddy does, admittedly, learn that she should try harder to reach out for her friends, so I'll give her that at least.
I also couldn't stand how Doodle acted during the abortion subplot, and how it was just... never addressed, from what I could tell, that Doodle is definitely not old enough to sleep with a married man and it's extremely not okay for him, being the older party, to have done so. I mean, okay, earlier in the story Doodle brings up that maturity and age differences are a bit subjective and that "you can be a really mature sixteen year old or a really immature twenty year old", and Freddy then says that the age of consent exists so that adults can't take advantage of younger people. I'm personally a bit in the middle of these two viewpoints, where I think people have to consider context like where they are in life and the experiences they've had, but I also think a line has to be drawn especially when you're young and still in high school, and if Doodle is roughly the same age as Freddy then this married man has gotta be too old for her! Especially considering that at one point there's a conversation between Freddy and Vi that goes along the lines of "how old are you?" "oh I am WAY too old for you!" "so like, 25?" "I'm 18! now go do your kid stuff!"... yeah, because an age difference of one year (potentially even less, given that different birthdays are a thing) is way too much. All 17 year olds are immature babies one minute and then turn 18 and magically become super mature adults the next minute, right? In the state I live in you're literally still considered a minor until 19! Meanwhile all that's said of a high schooler sleeping with a presumably much older married man is basically "you keep going back to your cheating girlfriend so you can't judge me" and it's treated like a mistake she made even though she was essentially groomed and made pregnant through statutory rape. Both of these things combined just felt hypocritical and weird and possibly a result of the story just trying to cover too many things at once, which in my opinion also made all the things it tried to cover feel rushed. Everyone's relationships and characterizations and situations were just rushed.
Also, this is a much smaller criticism than the rest, I suppose, but I was... really confused by the thing about her toys and keychains talking. How did that work? It wasn't explained well and didn't seem like it added a single thing to the plot since they didn't talk TO Freddy or her friends, just had random conversations amongst themselves (again, literally how?!). Also gotta say as a bisexual person it bothered me that Laura Dean was, given her interest in dating both men and women, apparently bisexual (yes, some lesbians date men before realizing they're lesbians but the story didn't bother to address this if that was the case) and the only bi character in the story. The emotionally toxic cheater. I shouldn't need to explain the problem with that sort of stereotype.
I think rushed, a word I've used several times in this review, is the word that pretty much summarizes this graphic novel for me, and it hurts because I had high hopes for it. I will say that it had a strong beginning, and even though I criticized the abortion subplot I appreciated how Doodle didn't agonize over whether or not to keep the baby and wasn't judged and shamed for not wanting to. I also think that the dialogue is surprisingly realistic to how teens and young adults these days talk. And I liked the ending! Seeing Freddy decide what was truly important to her and who she really loved was cute and heartwarming and, despite how much the lack of emphasis on having healthy communication with your partner annoyed me, I do think this could be a meaningful story for teens who are going through, or might end up in, a relationship like Laura Dean and Freddy's and could need help recognizing it. The best thing about this graphic novel to me is definitely the gorgeous illustrations, but for all my criticisms I still didn't hate it. I thought it just okay and that's why I'm giving it 2 stars.
I know it can be hard to break out of toxic relationships when you really feel like you're in love, but there's usually something nice the toxic partner does, or a positive quality they have, that the other person will use to justify the toxicity. I don't see that in Laura Dean beyond their very first meeting, and... maybe the fact that she's good in bed, I guess? It's also common for some people to cling to an emotionally abusive relationship because everything else in your life is falling apart, but the bits of Freddy's home life and school life that we saw seemed... fine? She has a happy family and friends that she cares about. Idk, maybe it was done like that on purpose for whatever reason, but it didn't work for me. It was just frustrating because I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. They felt too flat, their relationships too rushed. I didn't get upset when Freddy was being a terrible friend to Doodle because of Laura Dean, I didn't get happy at the ending when Freddy finally reached her breaking point and broke up with her, and I just... didn't particularly care.
Going back to my point about communication, I 100% did not want Freddy and Laura Dean to get back together and knew they never would, but I did hope that when Freddy went to break up with Laura Dean at the end, she would at least attempt to initiate a healthy conversation and explain why they were breaking up. She... kind of did, but just barely. It was literally: "I'm breaking up with you because you're a shitty girlfriend and I'm a shitty friend when I'm with you." "Okay, then fuck you" and that was it. That's not communication. Freddy does, admittedly, learn that she should try harder to reach out for her friends, so I'll give her that at least.
I also couldn't stand how Doodle acted during the abortion subplot, and how it was just... never addressed, from what I could tell, that Doodle is definitely not old enough to sleep with a married man and it's extremely not okay for him, being the older party, to have done so. I mean, okay, earlier in the story Doodle brings up that maturity and age differences are a bit subjective and that "you can be a really mature sixteen year old or a really immature twenty year old", and Freddy then says that the age of consent exists so that adults can't take advantage of younger people. I'm personally a bit in the middle of these two viewpoints, where I think people have to consider context like where they are in life and the experiences they've had, but I also think a line has to be drawn especially when you're young and still in high school, and if Doodle is roughly the same age as Freddy then this married man has gotta be too old for her! Especially considering that at one point there's a conversation between Freddy and Vi that goes along the lines of "how old are you?" "oh I am WAY too old for you!" "so like, 25?" "I'm 18! now go do your kid stuff!"... yeah, because an age difference of one year (potentially even less, given that different birthdays are a thing) is way too much. All 17 year olds are immature babies one minute and then turn 18 and magically become super mature adults the next minute, right? In the state I live in you're literally still considered a minor until 19! Meanwhile all that's said of a high schooler sleeping with a presumably much older married man is basically "you keep going back to your cheating girlfriend so you can't judge me" and it's treated like a mistake she made even though she was essentially groomed and made pregnant through statutory rape. Both of these things combined just felt hypocritical and weird and possibly a result of the story just trying to cover too many things at once, which in my opinion also made all the things it tried to cover feel rushed. Everyone's relationships and characterizations and situations were just rushed.
Also, this is a much smaller criticism than the rest, I suppose, but I was... really confused by the thing about her toys and keychains talking. How did that work? It wasn't explained well and didn't seem like it added a single thing to the plot since they didn't talk TO Freddy or her friends, just had random conversations amongst themselves (again, literally how?!). Also gotta say as a bisexual person it bothered me that Laura Dean was, given her interest in dating both men and women, apparently bisexual (yes, some lesbians date men before realizing they're lesbians but the story didn't bother to address this if that was the case) and the only bi character in the story. The emotionally toxic cheater. I shouldn't need to explain the problem with that sort of stereotype.
I think rushed, a word I've used several times in this review, is the word that pretty much summarizes this graphic novel for me, and it hurts because I had high hopes for it. I will say that it had a strong beginning, and even though I criticized the abortion subplot I appreciated how
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Biphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit
meepelous's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The art, as almost anyone who has read this book does mention, is very very good. My only negative feeling is from everyone doing the same black and white plus one colour thing, or at least everyone in queer comics (is this a Fun Home thing?) so it does feel a bit one note. But it's also used so much because yes it's very nice. I'm not sure why such a light pink colour was that one other colour though... The more I over think it the less I like it. But still the character designs, frames and page layouts are all very nice and keep things very enjoyable.
People who appear to be women are almost everyone in the series? While I don't think it's important to go into super detail with the identities of each of the side characters, I guess I would have liked them to be a bit more fleshed out. Or maybe I need to continue to find better ways to talk about these things. Otherwise I think that a lot of leg work is done visually to depict a very diverse group of friends along lines of gender presentation, race, body type and sexuality. I did not get any people mixed up.
While I do think that having so many different kinds of friends who generally seem to be in better places in their relationships does act as a pretty good counter point to the general badness of the Laura Dean and Freddy relationship. That said, Laura Dean being the most front and centre bi (or at least playing with bi) person does rub me the wrong way. The idea that bi/pan people are cheaters or can't be dependable is a trope that needs to die yesterday. I also felt like she just wasn't that well developed. What do we know about Laura Dean? She's "cool" or at least desperate for attention... Her mother is never around and an alcoholic - which again feels like a trope rather then meaningful to anything. Why don't the characters just dip their toes into polyamory?
More serious then the on again off again romantic drama, the abortion sub plot was handled really well IMHO. The inpregnator could have possibly been more judged, but that kind of fell outside of the focus of the book I think, so I wasn't too upset, although mileage may vary.
Racial diversity was present, although not the focus of the book. This is one of the strong points of more ensemble casts, although this story was still overly focused on Fraddy's narrative.
Class representation was small, but a huge improvement over This One Summer - where all the townies were incredibly crude. Vi, a character that Freddy keeps running into throughout the story, briefly touches on how she works so many jobs in order to afford college. Did I mention the rep was small? That said, Vi is a pillar of maturity and strength and good choices so there's that.
Ability and disability aren't really touched on I don't think?
And so here we are, I finally put my thoughts out. While I generally enjoyed the book, I do think it's a bit over hyped.
People who appear to be women are almost everyone in the series? While I don't think it's important to go into super detail with the identities of each of the side characters, I guess I would have liked them to be a bit more fleshed out. Or maybe I need to continue to find better ways to talk about these things. Otherwise I think that a lot of leg work is done visually to depict a very diverse group of friends along lines of gender presentation, race, body type and sexuality. I did not get any people mixed up.
While I do think that having so many different kinds of friends who generally seem to be in better places in their relationships does act as a pretty good counter point to the general badness of the Laura Dean and Freddy relationship. That said, Laura Dean being the most front and centre bi (or at least playing with bi) person does rub me the wrong way. The idea that bi/pan people are cheaters or can't be dependable is a trope that needs to die yesterday. I also felt like she just wasn't that well developed. What do we know about Laura Dean? She's "cool" or at least desperate for attention... Her mother is never around and an alcoholic - which again feels like a trope rather then meaningful to anything. Why don't the characters just dip their toes into polyamory?
More serious then the on again off again romantic drama, the abortion sub plot was handled really well IMHO. The inpregnator could have possibly been more judged, but that kind of fell outside of the focus of the book I think, so I wasn't too upset, although mileage may vary.
Racial diversity was present, although not the focus of the book. This is one of the strong points of more ensemble casts, although this story was still overly focused on Fraddy's narrative.
Class representation was small, but a huge improvement over This One Summer - where all the townies were incredibly crude. Vi, a character that Freddy keeps running into throughout the story, briefly touches on how she works so many jobs in order to afford college. Did I mention the rep was small? That said, Vi is a pillar of maturity and strength and good choices so there's that.
Ability and disability aren't really touched on I don't think?
And so here we are, I finally put my thoughts out. While I generally enjoyed the book, I do think it's a bit over hyped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Biphobia
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