Thank you to Shenwei for sending me an advance copy!

Considering this is a Middle Grade graphic novel, and essentially by definition much more condensed and simple than I generally like (neither of which are inherently bad things, of course), I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I keep reading these; they're really not my cup of tea. Maybe it's my strong need for season 2 of the show to come out already — the plot is much easier to follow, the characters are more compelling as the show writers portray them, et cetera.

I'm always grateful to the source material for inspiring a great TV adaptation, but this is where we part ways (despite that ending cliffhanger).

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway and received a free copy from Random House Publishing Group for review purposes. This does not affect my rating or opinions.

This was an incredible read: funny, heartbreaking, frustrating, and touching by turns. It's honest about the struggles of being a minority in America — Jacob's parents are from East India; her husband's family is Jewish; her son is biracial; the cast of minor characters is also diverse — as well as the duality of being a second-generation immigrant (or a first-generation American, if you prefer), and the many different forms racism and prejudice can take, both personal and political. There are also tributes to such icons as Michael Jackson, Barack Obama, and Mindy Kaling!

It's hard to pinpoint anything that I especially loved about this book, because I greatly enjoyed all of it. From the little interlude of knock-knock jokes (hilariously nonsensical as only a six-year-old could come up with), to brief but sweet moments of sibling solidarity, to adventures in dating as a bisexual woman of color, to dealing with well-meaning but ignorant white people, this book manages to cover a wide variety of experiences and accommodate a wide variety of voices without seeming more jumbled than our world already is.

Ultimately, this book is about "race, color, sexuality, and of course, love" — which really just means it's about life in America in our day and age.

I received an advance review copy from Andrews McMeel Publishing through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.

I've seen quite a few of these comics in the course of my internet travels, and they are no less funny than they were the first time. While I didn't recognize every single reference, the sense of humor so perfectly matches my own that in most cases I still felt like I was in on the joke. And, of course, the art itself is delightfully playful.

This is freaking fantastic. Painfully relatable — with brilliant and hilarious imagery and analogies — and lots of fun, culminating with a lovely guide / pep talk for artists and other creatives in the digital age.

I received a digital review copy from the publisher, Queerwebcomic. This does not affect my rating or opinions.

While I can certainly appreciate the intent and premise of this work, it just wasn't for me. I lacked the cultural background to understand the allusions and references (which is not to say that they should have been included; in fact, I think that would have further detracted from the story being told, the focus on the two protagonists), and I got a bit tripped up by the linguistic errors. As I've said in previous reviews, I have a lot of admiration and sympathy for anyone learning a language and especially for anyone who has the courage to create in their non-native language; however, in this case it was more than a little distracting. I also wasn't a fan of the art style, though of course that's a completely subjective opinion.

My biggest problem is that I really, really wish the language of womanhood / female empowerment and feminism wasn't so commonly tied to genitalia and sex appeal / marriage / romance; it isn't a narrative that every woman can relate to or feel comfortable with, myself included.

Cute! Very derpy (now there’s a throwback term) and very honest. Not at all deep, but relatable on an everyday level.

2.5 stars.

I can definitely see why some people love, some people hate, and some people are ambivalent or indifferent towards this book; I fall into that last group (ambivalent and/or indifferent).

Personally I wasn't a huge fan of the art style — each panel is worth probably two thousand words, but the way the characters are drawn just doesn't appeal to me — and the content/themes are so subtle that it was uncomfortable to read. There's a lot of internalized misogyny (including slut-shaming), trying to grow up too fast, lashing out at family and friends: all things that I remember from my own adolescence — but as nostalgic as that age [early teens] feels, these aren't things I'm proud of. It's relatable in an almost shameful way.

And I like to think I've matured, whereas Rose and Windy don't seem to have. Although there is some character progression by the end (probably a realistic amount, considering this is set over a single summer), it's immensely unsatisfying because they don't really learn or resolve anything.

(None of this is to say that this is a bad book, just that I like it a lot more in premise than in practice.)

3.5 stars.

In keeping with "Isabelle can enjoy both the original book and the movie / TV show, especially if she watches the adaptation first," I liked this even more than I thought I would. The art style appeals to me — though to be quite honest, Kindle isn't the best format for it; I'm too lazy to zoom in on each panel to make out the details — as do the humor and the storyline. I don't consider myself a huge fan of comics, so I'm not well-versed in the conventions of the medium / genre; personally I prefer the long-term storylines and character development in the show, but as a separate entity this series has definitely caught my interest.