Each of the stand alone stories in this collection focuses on different characters but a common theme of “teenagers with powers”, although in actuality not all the characters are teenagers and the “powers” vary wildly from devastating paranormal abilities to a penchant for being extremely lazy? I sort of love the very loose definition of powers, and found this collection to flow together very naturally with its focus on characters that are in some ways outsiders. Cloonan uses a wide range of highly varied art styles here, making each story feel like it could be drawn by a different person - quite the feat. ⁣
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My favorite stories included Bad Blood, a story about estranged half-siblings catching up after the death of their shared father; Breaking Up, which interlaces a couple's break up with the good and bad memories they shared; Volume One Love Story, about a woman with a mild OCD that writes herself thousands of post-it notes to get her through her days; and Stranded, in which a woman travels to the past to give her younger self advice. ⁣
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Cw for several depictions of suicide. These stories were the most difficult for me, and I’m not sure if I am comfortable with their portrayals, although it’s not something I’m very knowledgeable about the right and wrong ways to depict. ⁣