Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : First Second, 2019.
Description
"Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be... until all of a sudden, it's not. Her dad is hiding something big--so big it could tear her family apart. And that's just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam... because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. Just like that, Mad's tidy little life has gotten epically messy--and epically heartbreaking. And when your heart is broken, it takes more than an awkward, uncomfortable, tooth-clashing, friendship-ending kiss to put things right again. It takes a whole bunch of them."--Page [2] of cover.… (more)
Media reviews
The discovery of long-buried family secrets brings Amanda closer to owning her own. Amanda is the demure sidekick to the wild and sexy Cat, who knows how to have a good time but doesn't always know how to be a great friend. Her real best friend, though, is her Catholic dad. They go to Sunday
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baseball games, share favorite TV shows, and trounce each other in video games. When Amanda discovers that her runaway grandmother was actually an early transgender rights activist who transitioned late in life, it brings unbearable tension into their relationship. ... Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member villemezbrown
I found myself totally engaged with this family drama despite its fairly slow pace and a possibly triggering amount of transphobia and homophobia . I didn't feel nearly done with these characters by the end, and I'd love to see the last dozen pages expanded to another 300-page graphic novel.
LibraryThing member amysueagnes
This is not a light graphic novel to read. The course of the story deals with characters exploring their relationships around sex and gender, with the added tension of the 2004 setting, both just yesterday and so long ago regarding discourse in these areas. I appreciate the nuance and room to
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breathe and thought this was a thoughtful, compelling story. I think the story could have been told a little more succinctly but perhaps this leaves space for a sequel with another character (pretty please?). Show Less
LibraryThing member Carolee888
I enjoyed this book. It made me glad that I went to public school instead of parochial school when I was growing up. I will not explain why but I know it would not have been for me.
The story seems more complex than many graphic novels. The main character, Mads has a crush on the school's bad girl.
But that is not all her dad is hiding a big secret about his mother and he is unable to accept it. That made me very sad.
This book backs up against homophobia, trans phobia and does some bad language in it. Be warned but look beyond that try to understand the family dynamics and I think you will really like this book. The best part of the book is the advice to the readers that life will get better after your teens. I love that, I wish that I had known that!
I received a finished copy of this book from the Publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way made a difference in my thoughts or feelings in this review.
The story seems more complex than many graphic novels. The main character, Mads has a crush on the school's bad girl.
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I did know a few "bad girls" in school, but none like Cat. Cat wears a lot of makeup, drinks a lot, cuts school and has alcoholic mother. Cat is not a person to trust with your deep dark secrets. The other girl that Mads hangs out a lot is law abiding and moral but she does not feel comfortable with herself. Mads' coming of age involves her realization of her sexuality.But that is not all her dad is hiding a big secret about his mother and he is unable to accept it. That made me very sad.
This book backs up against homophobia, trans phobia and does some bad language in it. Be warned but look beyond that try to understand the family dynamics and I think you will really like this book. The best part of the book is the advice to the readers that life will get better after your teens. I love that, I wish that I had known that!
I received a finished copy of this book from the Publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way made a difference in my thoughts or feelings in this review.
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LibraryThing member locriian
Really good use of the medium. I probably wouldn't have picked this up except for seeing a panel by Venable on character development which showed examples from this comic. It is one of those works that is so immersive you don't remember where or who you are when you stop reading. I finished this
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feeling nostalgic for high school in the early 00s and inspired to write my own high school comic (haven't started yet xD). The characters are familiar and realistically complicated. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Fascinated by the art in this graphic novel, and the purely extraordinary character expressions. Great coming of age with a family secret. Great depiction of teen life.
LibraryThing member LVStrongPuff
I really liked this book. This main character really was dealing with some major issues in her life. I was sad that she had to lose others to find herself, but in the end I think it was what was best for her. I would love a follow up book about Laura from this book. To me there is more to her story
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then just what we saw here. Show Less
LibraryThing member raschneid
A strong debut. Venable delivers a thoughtful coming-of-age novel about a young woman in the mid-2000s who is uncovering family secrets, negotiating friendships, and figuring out her own sexuality.
The art is gorgeous—Ellen T. Crenshaw's pages are beautiful, hand-inked and expressive as an
Didn't get five stars because I was meh about the end - I was absolutely satisfied with the story, but it felt overlong and I did not think there was enough resolution for Amanda's friendships. The narrative is right to be gentle with Amanda, but she is an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE FRIEND and I don't think the book fully reckons with the pain she inflicts on herself and others.
Still, on the whole, I really liked it.
The art is gorgeous—Ellen T. Crenshaw's pages are beautiful, hand-inked and expressive as an
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old-school New Yorker cartoon. In my uninformed opinion, she's every bit as good as seasoned graphic novelists such as Craig Thompson and Jessica Abel. I hope she keeps illustrating graphic novels because I want to read all of them.Didn't get five stars because I was meh about the end - I was absolutely satisfied with the story, but it felt overlong and I did not think there was enough resolution for Amanda's friendships. The narrative is right to be gentle with Amanda, but she is an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE FRIEND and I don't think the book fully reckons with the pain she inflicts on herself and others.
Still, on the whole, I really liked it.
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Subjects
Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Young People's Literature — 2019)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
Excellence in Graphic Literature Award (Finalist — Book of the Year — 2020)
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (Top Ten — 2020)
Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Top Ten — 2020)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Top Ten — 2019)
Language
Original publication date
2019
Physical description
299 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
9781596437098