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A review by steadyboyfriend
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki
4.0
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, so I was lucky enough to read this before its release date.
First off, I think that the art was stunnnning. I found myself constantly searching the panels for secrets within the lines. It was captivating, and the facial expressions were always on point. Even the background characters were super expressive in some scenes. It was great. Sometimes no one would say anything for a few panels, and I could still tell what was going on just because of their faces.
Secondly, this story made me feel a lot. There were not a lot of moments that made me happy. But I was sort of expecting that. Not all stories need to! There were definitely scenes in this that I FELT, where I'd have to stop and sit for a second because I could practically touch the energy that was emanating from the page. I was definitely Frederica many times in a lot of my relationships when I was younger. It was a melancholy sadness that I think the author captured really well. On top of that, when there were happy moments, it made them better. They were like breaths of fresh air when you got to see Frederica smiling with her friends or being triumphant.
Thirdly, the characters were real and oh so believable. Very diverse. I appreciated the fact that people weren't cut down into tropes or stereotypes. It was refreshing to see a story full of people like my friends without having them be a plot point because they are "other" in some way. They were just there, living. Love that.
Though there were some definite downsides. I think that sometimes it was all over the place and hard to follow. More than once, I had to go back and carefully examine panels to figure out time was moving forward (sometimes long lengths of time), or that the story had shifted to a different subject. Adding to that was sometimes inanimate objects... talked? I think it was supposed to add some whimsy, but it pulled me from the actual story and made me confused.
The more severe downfall was there is something that happens in this book that I feel is very serious and messed up... but it's just brushed off and not talked about? I mean, there were a lot of serious subjects (TW: abortion, relationship with a minor, and emotional abuse). Still, one, in particular, I don't think was given enough screen time to talk about, which is a shame. If you're going to add something with a heavy and vital weight to it in a story, you can't just breeze past it without giving it proper time.
Otherwise, I loved this book. It was honest, raw and I could not put it down.
First off, I think that the art was stunnnning. I found myself constantly searching the panels for secrets within the lines. It was captivating, and the facial expressions were always on point. Even the background characters were super expressive in some scenes. It was great. Sometimes no one would say anything for a few panels, and I could still tell what was going on just because of their faces.
Secondly, this story made me feel a lot. There were not a lot of moments that made me happy. But I was sort of expecting that. Not all stories need to! There were definitely scenes in this that I FELT, where I'd have to stop and sit for a second because I could practically touch the energy that was emanating from the page. I was definitely Frederica many times in a lot of my relationships when I was younger. It was a melancholy sadness that I think the author captured really well. On top of that, when there were happy moments, it made them better. They were like breaths of fresh air when you got to see Frederica smiling with her friends or being triumphant.
Thirdly, the characters were real and oh so believable. Very diverse. I appreciated the fact that people weren't cut down into tropes or stereotypes. It was refreshing to see a story full of people like my friends without having them be a plot point because they are "other" in some way. They were just there, living. Love that.
Though there were some definite downsides. I think that sometimes it was all over the place and hard to follow. More than once, I had to go back and carefully examine panels to figure out time was moving forward (sometimes long lengths of time), or that the story had shifted to a different subject. Adding to that was sometimes inanimate objects... talked? I think it was supposed to add some whimsy, but it pulled me from the actual story and made me confused.
The more severe downfall was there is something that happens in this book that I feel is very serious and messed up... but it's just brushed off and not talked about? I mean, there were a lot of serious subjects (TW: abortion, relationship with a minor, and emotional abuse). Still, one, in particular, I don't think was given enough screen time to talk about, which is a shame. If you're going to add something with a heavy and vital weight to it in a story, you can't just breeze past it without giving it proper time.
Otherwise, I loved this book. It was honest, raw and I could not put it down.