Cozy, but too slight to leave a strong impression.
After bonding over a vampire book series, a crush develops between two classmates in this queer coming-of-age story.
Rotem is obsessed with Sunrise, a novel that’s clearly meant to evoke Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. She lends the book to her classmate Ayala—and once Ayala reads it and finds it just as gripping as Rotem does, the pair become friends. Their friendship deepens as they hang out more and discuss their favorite characters and thoughts about the story. They experience everyday life in Tel Aviv—school, exams, and time with family and other friends—but each girl is dealing with her own issues. Rotem scrutinizes her physical appearance and gender presentation, while Ayala struggles with an undiagnosed, occasionally debilitating joint issue. When their mutual crush amps up, Rotem becomes scared and must find the courage to be her true self. The graphic novel’s warm, inviting art is filled with orange and pink hues. The romance between Rotem, who has curly red hair and tan skin, and Ayala, who has straight brown hair and light brown skin, is cute. Many readers will resonate with the depiction of being so in love with a book, but overall, the story feels thin; readers aren’t given access to Rotem’s inner thoughts, which keeps her at a distance and sometimes makes her motivations unclear. Many elements of the story feel underexplored or unresolved, making the ending feel not entirely satisfying.
Cozy, but too slight to leave a strong impression. (Graphic romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780063113589
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
A warm, sweet, lovely tale of a world readers will want to live in.
In a not-so-distant future where changing one’s physical features is as easy as purchasing nanobot mods, Sunati falls for Austen, a girl who always looks the same.
Since Austen never changes, Sunati admires what she assumes is her bravery and confidence. As Sunati and Austen chat more, Austen bluntly asks Sunati if she only wants to get to know her more because of her medical condition, which prevents her from using mods. As they gradually grow closer, Sunati learns how to interact more respectfully with those who have overactive immune systems as well as to share her feelings more honestly. Austen, in turn, learns to trust Sunati. This beautifully illustrated slice-of-life tale that shows two young women of color getting to know each other and creating a relationship is so warm and charming that readers will hardly notice how much they are learning about how to better interact with folx who are different from themselves and the importance of not making assumptions. The story also successfully weaves in agender, genderfluid, and asexual characters as well as the subjects of parenting and colorism into the natural arc of Sunati and Austen’s developing story. The soft, romantic artwork evokes hazy watercolors. The speech bubbles are predominantly pink and blue, and the varied layout will maintain readers’ interest.
A warm, sweet, lovely tale of a world readers will want to live in. (Graphic romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1110-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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