User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
[ abortion (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
I loved the rep, the art style, and that it explored toxic relationships, but the actual story was kind of all over the place. It was okay.
Rating: really liked it
Can love be fixed? Should love be fixed? Frederica and Laura Dean love each other, but they keep breaking up again and again. What is the problem? And more importantly, is there something they can do about it?
This is what graphic novels should aspire to. Mostly relatable characters, gorgeous artwork, beautifully compelling plot. VERY inspiring. The beginning kinda dragged, but the middle and resolution were truly magnificent. Can’t say I really approve all of Frederica’s decisions, but I can certainly understand them, and I feel her pain.
Absolutely LOVED all of Vi and Barfing Girl interactions. Also LIKED Doodle a lot, found her tragically adorable. Totally HATED Laura Dean, an uncaring and self-absorbed girlfriend bent on breaking young Frederica’s heart. (wait a minute… this sounds familiar!)
An exquisite LGBT YA graphic novel, the kind not easily forgotten. Refreshing. Uplifting. A favorite place well earned. Highly recommendable.
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[2019] [289p] [Graphic Novel] [LGBT] [Highly Recommendable] [Beautiful visuals] [Keep it strong Freddy] (view spoiler)
[ [“Love shouldn’t take anything from you. Love should make you a better person.”] [Vi & Barfing Girl <3] (hide spoiler)]-----------------------------------------------
¿Puede el amor arreglarse? ¿Debería el amor arreglarse? Frederica y Laura Dean se aman, pero siguen rompiendo una y otra vez ¿Cuál es el problema? Y más importante, ¿hay algo que puedan hacer al respecto?
Esto a lo que las novelas gráficas deberían aspirar. Muy relacionables personajes, precioso arte gráfico, hermosamente atrayente trama. MUY inspiradora. El comienzo arrastra un poco, pero la mitad y la resolución fueron verdaderamente magníficas. No puedo decir que realmente apruebo todas las decisiones que tomó Frederica, pero ciertamente puedo entenderla, y puedo sentir su dolor.
Absolutamente AME todas las interacciones de Vi y Chica Vomitadora. También me GUSTO mucho Doodle, me pareció trágicamente adorable. Totalmente ODIE a Laura Dean, una egoísta y superficial novia empecinada en romper el corazón de la joven Frederica. (un momento… ¡esto suena familiar!)
Una exquisita novela gráfica LGBT YA, del tipo que no se olvida fácilmente. Refrescante. Elevadora. Un lugar en favoritos bien ganado. Altamente recomendable.
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[2019] [289p] [Novela Gráfica] [LGBT] [Altamente Recomendable] [Hermosas visuales] [Mantenete fuerte Freddy] [(view spoiler)
[ [“El amor no debería quitarte nada. El amor debería hacerte mejor persona.”] [Vi y Chica Vomitadora <3] (hide spoiler)]-----------------------------------------------
Rating: really liked it
4 1/2 stars. When you are a teenager, it is very easy to fall into the trap of believing you must settle for the love you can get, rather than love you deserve. If someone chooses to date you, especially if you are just a little less popular, just a little less Good, you choose them, even if they treat you badly and take you for granted at every moment. And it is very easy to convince yourself that ditching your friends for your significant other is some kind of justifiable act because you're doing it all for LoveTM, the important thing. When that action is described, it is easy to make it sound ridiculous. But there is a core of low self-esteem to the act of leaving friends for a partner, and it is more common than we talk about.
or, another way to put this: someone want to tell me why the last chapter of this made me cry on my bed at 10:00 p.m.?
I mean, I don't know exactly what else to say. The illustration here was
very very beautiful, done in stunning black and white. I constantly need these discussions of toxic relationships between sapphics in graphic novel form, also thank you for my life @ this cover designer, and the publisher for providing me with this excellent arc.
TW: abortion, pedophilia, emotional abuse.
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Rating: really liked it
This gets full stars for the art style alone!! I'm so amazed by the quality of these lines - I'm someone who has no patience for detail and lives by loose lines, so I'm always impressed by art like this, which is so smooth and detailed yet still so character focused. It must have taken so long to create. The story was great too but the art really blew me away.
Rating: really liked it
I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's beautiful and heartbreaking and infuriating and wonderful. I was flipping through my 2019 reads and realized I forgot to mark it down (I read it during the Reading Rush and honestly that whole week is kind of a blur...) but I loved this so much! Everyone needs to know! It's amazing!
Rating: really liked it
"the truth is, breakups are usually messy, the way people are messy, the way life is often messy. it's okay for a breakup to feel like a disaster. it doesn't feel okay, but i assure you it is okay. it's also true that you can break up with someone you still love. because those two things are not distinct territories: love and not loving anymore." loved this so much.
trigger warnings: cheating, abortion
Rating: really liked it
It's not you, it's me. Sorry to this book.
Read as book 6 of 30 for my 30 day reading challenge!
Rating: really liked it
"For almost the past year I’ve been in love with a girl named Laura Dean."
Freddy Riley is a 17-year-old lesbian Asian-American who is seeking the advice of an online romance dating column, because her girlfriend keeps breaking up with her over and over. And each time Laura Dean comes back into Freddy’s life, Freddy feels more and more shattered when she leaves, and she is unable to see what she can do to change the situation.
"What is it like to love this person who keeps breaking up with you and then presumably coming back to you? What does your love with this person offer you? Does it make you happy? Does it give you what you need to be a better person?"
This graphic-novel has so many layers, but this is truly a story about an abusive relationship, and how sometimes it can be so hard to see even when the lows feel so low, because the highs are so high. Laura gaslights, manipulates, and emotionally abuses Freddy in so many different ways, while also fetishizing having an Asian girlfriend.
This is also a story about friendship and how sometimes those can be hard to maintain, especially when you are going through a lot in your own life. And sometimes, especially when you are young and discovering who you are and want to be, it’s extra easy to lose yourself while only thinking about being someone’s favorite. Yet, it is never too late to try to be a good friend. And life is truly full of phases, and all friendships are different.
The prose is lyrical and oh so beautiful. I feel like I could have highlighted more quotes in this story than any other graphic novel to date. And the art? The most beautiful black, white, grey, and pink pallet, with details that are insane. This combination truly is a tier above and feels like something of magic.
This is a very diverse graphic-novel. Again, Freddy is an Asian-American lesbian, but the rest of the cast are also queer and/or poc, with a lot of body diversity too. And this story never shames these teens for getting into hard situations. It’s also incredibly realistic, and even when the discussions are difficult, they always feel hopeful to the reader. There is also a good mention of how different seventeen and eighteen are when it comes to where you are at in life and dating, especially when one is in high school and one is in college. (Give me Vi’s spinoff, I am begging!) And polyamory is even briefly discussed and the difference between consenting healthy dynamics compared to dynamics of polyamory uneven power where people are being taken advantage of.
"Love is hard. Breaking up is hard. Love is dramatic. Breaking up is dramatic."
Overall, I really loved this, and I think it is such an important graphic-novel that truly can change people’s lives, especially queer poc in high-school feeling like they are doing something wrong in their abusive relationships. Relationships can be so hard and so messy, and breakups can be even harder and messier. I truly so wish that I had a graphic-novel about a queer biracial Asian girl when I was in high school, living through toxic breakups, but I’ll still keep Freddy Riley in my heart forever and recommend Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me constantly. (And I really loved… the part with the mom!)
Oh, and lastly, Lea gifted me this for my birthday and I thought it would be cute to read it and review it on her birthday! I am very thankful for her and this story that I really will cherish forever and always. 💕
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Content and Trigger Warnings: underage drinking, abusive relationship, emotional abuse, cheating, manipulation, gaslighting, microaggressions, racism, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and a relationship with a minor (17 + not sure how old but over 18).
Rating: really liked it
I turn 24 this Saturday and this book feels like the best early birthday present ever. I cried for five minutes in my office at work after I finished it. The book's themes of toxic relationships and healthy ones, self-worth and what we seek when we lack it, and the painful wisdom of growing up all resonated with me to my very core. The gorgeous black, white, and pink illustrations helped immerse me in the story as well.
Backing up, the story follows Freddy Riley, a high school student who's dating Laura Dean, the most popular girl in school. Laura Dean, with her confidence, charisma, and good looks, seems like Freddy's dream girl. The only issue with their relationship: Laura Dean may not treat Freddy all that well. With the help of her best friend Doodle, Freddy searches for guidance from Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, as well as Anna Vice, an advice columnist. But as Freddy's relationship with Laura Dean gets more intense in all the wrong ways, Freddy finds herself still going back to Laura Dean, even at the cost of her friendship with Doodle. Freddy will have to look both deep within herself as well as outside to those who can see her relationship with Laura Dean with more clarity, so she can choose what will work best for her heart and the hearts of those she cares about.
I love how this graphic novel portrays love: unhealthy love, love that dissipates between friends, and love that reemerges when one puts in the effort. The story itself is super simple, no huge or intricate plot twists at all. Yet the earnest characterization and the high quality of the illustrations made the emotions evoked by Freddy's journey run so deep. I really felt like I felt everything Freddy felt: the desire for Laura Dean even when it hurt Freddy herself, the guilt Freddy experienced when she realized how she herself messed up, and the eventual victory of the story's ending. My heart feels so full of warmth when I think about how young people will have access to this book's excellent messages about toxic relationships and what it takes to act as a caring, considerate friend.
I came across this book right when I needed to. Though it's a young-adult read, the themes and emotions are universal: the strength of longing and desire, the importance of communication in relationships, and what it takes to let go of people who stop you from loving yourself. As I approach 24, I'm still learning and reminding myself to focus my love and my heart on people who give to me as much as I give to them. With its queer representation, immense compassion, and deeply meaningful message,
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me has skyrocketed to the top of my favorite 2019 reads.
Rating: really liked it
2.5
The pros of reading graphic novels:
- pretty art
- quick
- fun
The cons of reading graphic novels:
- I have never, even once, read one that made me feel like the plot or characters were full. Even remotely. Even at all.
Okay, the above claim is a slight exaggeration, because I trade in hyperbole, but it is ONLY SLIGHT. There has probably been one exception, which is Nimona, a book I read in 2016. And the validity of my opinions expires after two years, so. We can’t even trust that.
This particular graphic novel felt especially half-done to me, because it tries to do so much. It tries to cover toxic relationships (of both the romantic and platonic variety), abuse, abortion, manipulation, self worth...and it all felt forced and rushed to me.
Each of these topics would basically be introduced over and over and over, in repetitive scenes, and then at the end they were fixed. This meant our main character, Freddy, is depicted like a caricature of a bad friend. We see her friends and family members in weird flashes, so they seem flatter than flat. She falls for the same lies in her relationship again and again, which would maybe be more believable than the absurd degree to which she is selfish and not there for the people around her if we saw her really in love, but we don’t. We’re told she is and expected to believe it.
I like my stories shown to me, not told. The irony is that graphic novels are visual anyway, and yet that never happens.
I know this book meant a lot to a lot of people, and I’m glad. Seeing our experiences represented on the page can be the most powerful part of reading. But while I expected to relate to this book, I didn’t. Because none of it felt real.
Bottom line: The strongest emotion I had while reading this was appreciation for the art.
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every once in a while i think, "why don't i read more graphic novels???"
and then i read one and am immediately reminded of why i don't read more graphic novels.
review to come
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am suddenly ONLY interested in reading contemporary graphic novels with pretty covers and prettier art
(thanks to first second for the ARC)
Rating: really liked it
The art was STUNNING, but the plot did nothing super special for me. Meh
Rating: really liked it
This is a book I’m nervous giving such a high rating because its controversial subjects can certainly be interpreted many ways but a handful of things stand out to me about why I loved reading this so much.
First, the art was magnificent. Reading this felt like watching a movie because the panels focused on such specific shots and the transitions were lovely. Also, the use of color in this was so significant and overall, the art style was brilliant. Five stars for that alone.
Second, I like that this book has unlikable characters that do not smart things but still suffer the consequences of them. Even though this is a book about a relationship, I think it speaks more about friendship and the machinations of teenage infatuation than anything else. The characters in this make mistakes, and sure, maybe they should be regarded as something much more severe than “mistakes” and thus punished accordingly, but the way all the adversity brought the characters together again and drove home the morals the authors intended was beautifully done.
Also on a personal note, it was just so incredible to see sapphics so normalized in a book that was clearly modern and a very accurate representation of being a young, queer girl in 2019. Maybe the frame of the story wasn’t a healthy relationship, but the fact that none of these girls were hiding their intimacy or ashamed of their sexuality was enough to be special to me, and I’m so glad I read this.
Rating: really liked it
A beautifully necessary story.
As a queer woman with a passion for reading I spend a lot of my time digging through all the f/f I can get my hands on. This is a narrative that I haven't seen nearly enough, especially in YA, and I celebrate
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me for highlighting a necessary discussion for queer women, young and old: dysfunctional relationships. This is about the danger of building your entire life around one person, especially when that person doesn't seem to care nearly as much about you as you do about them. I've been in this relationship. This helped me work through things I still need to work through.
And beyond a necessary story, this entire graphic novel is utterly gorgeous. The limited color palette was incredible to look at. There were numerous pages I wanted to have framed up on my wall because I'm just obsessed with the light pink accents and how they worked to tell a story visually.
Mariko Tamaki is one of my favorite writers today. She tells vibrant, difficult stories that I love every time. I can't wait to continue reading her work, and I'm dying to discover more of Rosemary Valero-O'Connell's work as well.
Rating: really liked it
9/22/21: Reread for YA class, romance unit.
8/6/2020: Congratulations to First Second Books’ Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, which landed three Eisner awards: best writer for Mariko Tamaki, best penciller/inker for Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, and best publication for teens! So happy for these folks and this book, which was one of my favorites of 2019.
6/5/19: I am a straight (cis-gendered) male of a certain age. I couldn't imagine as I was growing up the veritable flowering of glbtq books that we are seeing right now. Actually, I couldn't have imagined it even ten years ago! And so many strong girl characters! This book, written by Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Skim, and lots of superhero comics series runs right now) does not--as might have been the case in the past, with publisher restrictions in place-- have to hint subtly at issues of attraction, of course; this is a queer teen romance without apology, with exuberance (and some pain; see the title). It's a YA story that tells a simple tale of a romance that is/isn't good for Freddy, even though Laura Dean is the most popular girl in school and SO cute. So much of the time mistakes are made by the main characters in this book, and for a time, few of them are admirable, though in general the world-making is lively and interesting. Great writing , snappy dialogue, lovely artwork.
Being obsessed with Laura also makes Freddy a bad friend, making bad alliances, so something has to change. It's basically that simple. This is a book--like many by Tillie Walden, that not only passes the Bechdel test, but focuses almost exclusively on the world of YA girls and women, and mainly on the queer world that happens everywhere sort of unacknowledged or silenced by the literature of the straight world (though that is of course changing). Walden seems like an influence on the wonderfully fun and sweet art of Rosemary Valerio-O'Connell, or maybe the art just reminds me of her work, too. Those lovely pastels, the panache. Exuberant, I'll say again, all of it. I imagine a lot of older glbtq readers reading this and weeping to see their stories being finally openly told, and so well. But the idea of making bad/hard romantic choices; well, you don't have to be in any particular category to get that. Hurrah!
