A review by adoubledareaway
Giant Days by Non Pratt, Boom! Studios

4.0

I read the first Giant Days graphic novel around a year ago, and loved how absolutely charming it was. The story was funny and light, the artwork was beautiful, and the characters were just delightful. So, imagine my excitement when I heard that a novelization of the comics was coming out! I was excited to see how much more fleshed out the characters, and the story, and the setting could be when given an entire novel to play around with, instead of just one comic issue, and I was not disappointed.

The story focuses on three best friends, and their first year at university. Esther is the goth queen of darkness (but with a heart of gold), Daisy is the sheltered, sweet, and shy one, and Susan is the sarcastic, prickly-pear of the group (but she'll cut you if you mess with her friends). We follow each of the girls as they struggle to find their place at school, all the while dealing with everything that do, and maybe a few things that don't, come with living on campus, and being a freshman in college.

The real star of this show is the characters. Each girl is very unique in her own way, and her voice is very distinctive from the other. Considering how each of the girls can be classified into typical archetypes (the goth, the hippie, and the feminist), they never felt like an archetype, or a trope. Each girls personality really popped off the page, and made them stand out. And even though they are all so very different, you find yourself relating to each one so much. The things that each girl went through and struggled with, even though they were doing so in their own little niche group, are something that any young adult, going out into the world on their own for the first time, can relate to. College is hard. Making brand new friends, in a brand new environment, is hard. Finding a place where you feel like you belong, when you're not even entirely sure who you are, is hard. And these girls really get to the heart of that.

Another thing that really made the girls stand out, was their flaws. All of these girls had me shaking my head, cringing, and feeling disappointed in them, at some point in the novel. Like I said earlier, college is all about finding out who you are, and where you belong. It's inevitable: you're going to mess up. You're going to hurt your friends. The important thing to remember is to fix your mistakes. The girls all mess up and hurt each other, but they manage to correct themselves, and make it right with each other. And even when they are messing up, it's still easy to understand how they got there. Even when they're not being their best selves, it's still easy to relate to them. Which is always a good sign of a great character.

As for the plot? It's just really fun. Sure, some of it might be lost on people who've never experienced the very surreal experience that is College Life, but I think that's to be expected. And even still, it's a fun ride to watch, and might even prepare future university students to what is awaiting them in the land of Higher Education.

Also: McGraw. Just, everything about McGraw. Just, yes. People, if you manage to get a McGraw in your life: sink your claws in and never let go. This has been a PSA.

While it's not necessary to read the comics before reading this novel, I think I would recommend it. If only because you get such a good feel of what the characters look like, and what their cute, little, physical quirks are, which really just make them feel that much more real. Also, the comics are just great.

I really loved this book. It's not often that I come across a YA book that focuses on college-aged protagonists, and even rarer that it's done so accurately. This book will have you feeling so many different things, each one hitting the heart-strings in just the right way. It's just a really fun, funny, wholesome story about friendship, and self-discovery, and who doesn't love that?