User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Oh,
Forest Hills Bootleg Society.. you broke my heart.. you were doing so well, and then you fumbled it at the end. I'm okay with a downbeat ending, I really am, sometimes a little realism in fiction can make the whole thing sparkle. But here the ending feels like it comes out of nowhere, it leaves no real opening for hope and/or change, and it makes me question what the whole point of this book was.
Before the end, it's a beautifully told slice of life comic, about four school-going girl friends, three of them in the same school. These are Christian schools, and the book plays around with that - questions are asked about religion, but always in a respectful way (at least that's what I think, and I'm pretty secular, so who knows).
Two of them are secretly in a kind-of relationship. The comic does this lovely thing, where there'll be arrows pointing at characters, informing us about their histories, their peculiarities, their secrets.. it's basically what is easy to do in prose, transferred to comic. There are moments when the whole thing is paused for a page, and we get some more info about how a character has been dealing with their family, or with their religious background, and they're written with real heart and humour.
The art is as great as the writing (probably better, it doesn't fumble anywhere), there's a real tenderness to the characterisations.
So you get really involved with these characters' lives, and then it all kind of goes out like a wet fart. And that's such a shame. The only thing that can save us now, is a sequel.
(Thanks to Atheneum Books for Young Readers for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
Rating: really liked it
I read "set in 2005" and a part of me died. THAT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO.
Rating: really liked it
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)How it started: four besties embarking on a(n almost) carefree road trip to a gas station creepily located in the middle of nowhere.
The goal: Buy some bootleg copies of
Princess Mononoke and
Totoro.
The snag: An errant copy of
Super Love XL, complete with a giant mecha shooting lasers out of her giant boobs.
How it ended: a side hustle selling home-burned copies of risque anime to their hormone-addled peers at Forest Hills Christian Academy (and public school).
Best friends Kelly, Brooke, Melissa, and Maggie just wanted to earn enough money to buy matching new jackets, and maybe eat out at Shiver Me Burgers on occasion. Instead their newfound cash flow made them the target of every bully at school; ate at the consciences of the more devout members of the Forest Hills Bootleg Society; tore apart longtime friendships; and, yes, landed them in an ocean of hot water with the 'rents and school administration.
It was a wild trip, though, wasn't it?
There's so much to love about FOREST HILLS BOOTLEG SOCIETY: the diverse cast of characters; all the nerdy goodness; all the queer goodness (it almost feels as if everyone at Forest Hills Christian Academy is gay, but in truth I think I'm just not used to seeing more than one or two queer characters in a book); the focus on female friendships and insecurities; and OF COURSE the GORGEOUS artwork.
The various asides and character summaries felt kind of cool and edgy at first, but these devices are used so often that it got a bit tedious after a while (just a bit - I mean, do we really need to know who's right- vs. left-handed?).
That said, I was fully ready to give this bad girl four stars ... until I reached the end. Like, wtf was that? No spoilers, but suffice it to say that I can't remember the last time I felt so cheated by a lackluster ending. (TROUBLE GIRLS? THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY? idk.) Grim, uninspired, pointless. It almost made me wish I'd never picked this book up. (Almost. Again, did I mention the artwork?) Do yourself a favor and just stop reading when the adults barge into Brooke's room, mkay.
Rating: really liked it
ARC
3.5 rounded down
Forest Hills Bootleg Society is a charming slice of life graphic novel following 4 friends running a bootleg-hentai racket at their very conservative Christian schools. Entertaining, charming, and really well illustrated with masterful use of limited color.
The pacing of this graphic novel was really well done, and i think that this is the department in which it receives 5/5 stars from me. The story very gently introduces characters who are forced to stomach micro aggressions daily in a way that is nuanced! Something I have found is not easy to do, that this author-artist pair does well. The relationships are also interesting and realistic. I was in similar circles like these in highschool (minus the conservative christian schooling) and i feel like i knew at least one real person reflected in each character, main cast or otherwise.
I wish the ending wasnt rushed, considering how well-paced i felt the rest of it was. It felt a little anti-climactic, and didnt resolve a lot of things for me to truly enjoy or appreciate it.
A small spoiler follows involving a negative point:
The biggest negative for me however, is something that has just become tired in regards to bullying and queerness. “That boy bullies the gay kid because hes secretly gay and is projecting his insecurities on his victim.“
While this does happen in real life, its something thats been beaten to death, and I am repelled by this trope. I think, if this subplot had been better fleshed out, it would not have left such a bad taste.
It also is worth mentioning that sometimes, a homophobe is just a homophobe.
Making fun of, mocking, or challenging the sexuality of a homophobe for being secretly gay makes the homophobe act even more violently homophobic faster than it would convince them to form a critical thought about their actions. Please stop perpetuating this rhetoric, as it is inherently dangerous for queer youth especially. This aside, it was a pleasant read.
Rating: really liked it
(4.5, rounded up) When I added this as a current read, I skimmed a review that said the ending was a fumble, which made me apprehensive. After finishing it, I disagree with that assessment.
Was the ending sad? Yes. As was a lot of the book. But it didn’t come out of no where. I felt the ending held it’s own with the rest of the book. Throughout the novel, we get glimpses into many characters who are, in the grand scheme of the book, extras. We get introduced to them and then we never see them again. We also get small glimpses into side characters and their vices and their insecurities and their sh*tty decisions and the fact that, in the end, everyone is trying. Do we get resolutions to any of these issues brought up? No. Was it sad? Yeah. But it is real.
That is how I felt about the ending and about the whole book. If you’re looking for a feel-good YA graphic novel, this isn’t that. But it is so real, and I felt that connection—this felt like a reflection of real life. We are left feeling like we don’t have closure, which is probably how every single character felt at the close. There is no happy ending, as is the case in many people’s lives.
But it isn’t just a sad book. It depicts so well many topics: the ups and downs of faith, the conflicted feelings teens have about themselves, their family, their friends, their sexuality, their place in the world, their futures. This graphic novel touched on these real feelings teens (and even adults!) go through on the daily, in an early 2000s setting.
Rating: really liked it
California! 2005! A group of teenage girls discover that they can make money by selling a bootleg DVD of a risque anime. But will this lead to profit, or ruin?
As someone who was a teen watching bootleg anime in 2005, I was really looking forward to this one. However, the story itself was actually quite sad, though realistic. I was hoping for something more upbeat and optimistic, but instead got something that was much closer to reality than I'd like to admit. Definitely recommend to anyone who was a teen into anime back in 2005, or to anyone looking for a serious look into what might happen to a teen group who gets a little too close, and what happens to them afterwards.
Rating: really liked it
Great characters and I was sucked in at the start but it lost me at the back end. Bummer of an ending and was a bit rushed I felt. I wanted more.
Rating: really liked it
1.5 stars. Maybe.
I can’t find my notes on the book anymore, so I’ll keep it short here.
I disliked every single character in this book and found the dynamic between the friend group very uncomfortable to read about.
Kelly’s anime obsession was portrayed in a way that felt completely unrealistic to me. It was so over the top and I couldn’t take her character seriously.
I found the completely random information on random people unnecessary and didn’t get the point of it.
The ending wasn’t great, but it fit the story and made sense.
The art style was alright though.
[I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]
Rating: really liked it
I’d like to thank edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I will admit, the cover drew me in and so did the premise but I feel and maybe it’s just me, it isn’t what I thought it was going to be. There was a lot of back story on each character which sort of over shadowed the story line for me.
Rating: really liked it
i just.......... everything about this already appeals to me
Rating: really liked it
[ homophobia, mention of drug abuse, domestic violence, mention of statuory rape, mention of child rape, anxiety (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
3.5, rounded up.
Other reviews have already said it better than me, but this was a great read right up until the end. The majority of my stars go to the art and use of the comics medium! While it can be a little cluttered/overwhelming at times, the creators are doing something really neat (and genuinely endearing) with form here, in offering little omniscient peeks into the world as the story unfolds.
Unfortunately, for me it felt like the plot cut off at what would have been maybe 3/4ths of a full, satisfying arc. The hijinks have run their course, tensions are rising, everything's falling apart... and that's it. Show's over. Everyone go home.
Admittedly, I already don't enjoy downbeat endings, so even well-done bummers don't get much praise from me. Even so, I try to give creators the benefit of the doubt: clearly they told their story with intention, and it
means something, even if I didn't personally like it. But still... I can't get over how sharp the contrast is here between the rest of the story—complex, messy, human—and its stark, joyless conclusion.
Worth reading for a deeply human snapshot of small town lives, interesting (albeit underdeveloped) religious commentary, complex relationships, and inventive worldbuilding. Just be ready for the ending to leave something to be desired.
Rating: really liked it
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
I really loved the complex friendship dynamics as well as how each girl’s insecurities, relationship to family and religion clearly influenced their arc. It’s messy, funny, painful, and embarrassing in very real ways.
The art was also very good. Some pages have lots of little panels running along the top or bottom to show quick small details of an interaction moving the story forward, which was a cool choice. There are also some pages that fill out background details in a way that reminds me of character design work or story boarding, which helped add a lot of depth to characters very quickly. There are also kind of Scott Pilgrim-esque bubbles giving background or highlighting details throughout.
This book was a 4 instead of a 5 for me because the ending honestly bummed me out. I think that’s intentional, and also realistic of many high school friendships. It may actually be an ending that resonates with many people, but it just didn’t really work for me. Still definitely worth a read!!
Rating: really liked it
A group of friends accidentally buy the wrong kind of bootleg anime and end up making a business with it. The premise of this book is amazing, and I love the representation and the overall art style. It sort of mimicked a manga, and I think that really helped with the subject matter as well. All of the characters were fully fleshed out, and the core friend group is just overall lovely. Their dynamic worked well overall.
There were a couple of things that didn't quite fully sell it for me, though. At first, I loved the character profiles and the extra background information, but it's not something that I thought needed to be continued throughout the book. At points, it also felt really wordy for a graphic novel, Give me more of the art speaking in the story, please!
Finally, the ending felt a bit rushed. For the most part, the rest of the book was pretty evenly paced, but the ending felt a little abrupt. Though that might be a matter of personal opinion.
All in all, if you enjoy graphic novels a little on the wordy side and love the idea of a group of girls selling bootleg anime, you'll love this.
Rating: really liked it
This is the story of Maggie, Brooke, Kelly and Melissa. Four friends of the small town of Forest Hills smuggle sexy anime to the teenagers around their school. Not only is this book filled with robot boobs, its filled with epic gayness, and wonderful art and you will always know who is left or right handed (leftys are supirior). There friendship will get tested to new levels and.. what if it brakes?
I loved that the cover art was in color. It made the charators really come to life for me.
I loved the art and I liked all the information the authors gave us about everything. I also Liked the Formatting.
The ending was sad. I wish we would have gotten more out of the friends.
