This is more edutainment than a story, and there’s a hard shift into breaking the 4th wall about 3/4s in. While I still haven’t been able to create a zine to this day (idk what it is about the folding technique that I keep messing up), the comic-making tips and explanations are great for new cartoonists.

I learned something new too, grawlixes and plewds. I've seen and used these myself but never knew they had a formal name.

Reading the behind the scenes is essential. After reading the authors’ intent, how the story was portrayed made better sense, but I still thought it was better-suited for non-fiction. spoiler"

it’s a children’s version of Understanding Comics, basically.

All of these felt like throwaway stories. Pure filler. I wasn't interested in any of them

This is a real cutie-patootie book. It’s lighthearted and sweet, and there are a few refreshing plot twists. The artwork is just as cute and colorful.

The initial connection Bear and Brielle have is nice. Their bonding happens very fast.

Also, the antagonistic playboy character isn’t flat

I'm betting he either (in his eyes, "harmlessly") bullied her or dated brielle in the past

. Like, obviously, he has his issues, a wandering eye for one and boundary issues, but you can see he cares about his academics, his community, and his friends too. 

A negative is that the speech bubbles sometimes turn completely red. It throws off the rhythm of reading, and I think there was a better way to show anger. There's a fairytale motif, but it doesn't feel ver prominent. Like, they could've just been at a regular school since fairytales and magical relaism don't play a part here as of now. That may change in later volumes

Overall, I figured this was a webcomic adapted because of the pacing, and I was right. I appreciate the slice of life tone, and it reminded me of the shoujo manga I enjoy. The lack of an overarching plot may disengage some readers, but it wasn’t an issue for me. I’d read volume two.

 This was lighthearted and cute. Sara wants a meaningful, amazing first kiss but the trials to getting to that are silly. It seems like 3 potential boys are/will be interested in her (obviously one's super cold to her right now, but we all know he'll defrost soon).

While Sara is immature, Oliver's prickly attitude was getting old. It's like he wants to bite her head off for everything.

One point for having someone react realistically with a random trying to kiss them 

 This gave me the sweetest love story between two cats ever. Pelty is a real one! 

As always, the artwork is beautiful and even funny with some of the reactions. In particular, Silver’s face when his flower caught on fire was hilarious.

But most of this volume was filler that dragged on. The mystery comic could have been fun, but it just seemed rudimentary. 

The Mimic arc continues and ropes in a racing game. Sonic gets to go undercover, which is cool, but I didn’t find this volume very interesting. 

The IDW comics have been stellar, so it’s okay if one out of many is a stinker. 

 I won this in a giveaway!

This was objectively well-written, but it took me days to read. Anything introduced is resolved, and there are clear character arcs. But the dialogue and some of the male lead's narrative voice weren't my favorite.

Cute and mostly lighthearted, but the dialogue was cringy. Maybe my adult is showing because some of it felt very unrealistic or “too good to be true.” I don't think Raja sounded like the average young adult male. Our leads are well-adjusted and knowledgeable, but they sound like Tumblr pamphlets. Are there well-informed young adults, yes? Even young adults who are activists have a more natural way of speaking. While it certainly gave background to the issues present, I think so much of it sounded stilted.

There are also the unspoken complexities of interracial dating as a Black woman when the other person is also a person of color but nonblack. You can tell the author has put some time in doing research for this story throughout out all the history and cultural references.

I enjoyed some of the less noticeable discussions of college freshman life. Raja was a junior tattoo artist who attended his local college while at home before moving into his apartment. While most of this decision stemmed from him not wanting to make the transition too harsh on his immigrant parents, it’s also another version of college life. I went local as well and don’t see this as often in media for young adults.

While the story was good, it wasn’t fun if that makes sense. There are so many social issues at hand. The author gets the exhaustion that can come with cultural barriers and biases and even thought on interracial dating very well. You can FEEL the passive aggression or polite but not welcoming environments. The struggle Raja and Deja endure going against tradition or their parents or others’ remarks. It’s a lot. These sections were well-written and established that atmosphere masterfully, but it was stressful.

I also think she was respectful and nuanced in the conversations here. For example, the topic of arranged marriages. It was absolutely not for Raja and his sibling, but it wasn't demonized either. It's shown as a valid way to find love as well. I’m also glad the story didn’t rely on making Deja have to continually ingratiate herself to people who didn’t accept her; the story was firm on not making excuses.

Overall, I think my favorite part was Deja’s relationship with her grandmother Queenie. Deja has a southern upbringing with a huge family that admired her, and I was happy to see the family interactions. Due to the story being set before the Fall semester, the college setting really plays in the background/was non-existent. The romance was insta-lovey but sweet, but I wanted more time to see their chemistry grow/more lighthearted interactions. So much of this story was going up against a mountain that there wasn't much time to swoon and be at peace.

SN: I know it's hypocritical as someone who has used ride share app services, but Deja was in a random guy's car way TOO EASILY. Girl, he could have done anything to you!