Lisa Sterle

I had mixed feelings about this one! It's got a set of main characters where rooting for any of them makes you feel a little guilty. As a story about navigating the misogynist structure and ever-present gendered danger of a lot of spaces in our world, and as a metaphor for certain kinds of adolescent friendships, I found it really compelling, but taking the story at face value I kept being like 🤔 wait y'all are murdering several people with like, little to no inducement! Murdering!!! Am I show more supposed to like or approve of this main character? ...are these the baddies?! The characters, while "friends", are generally pretty cruel to each other and in some cases racist and homophobic, and they're never really called out on that. It's also hard to square the anti-patriarchy stuff with all the internalized misogyny they demonstrate. There are things I'm guessing we're meant to interpret as overall signs of change and growth, so as an allegory of young women learning and becoming better people with healthier relationships it works, but overthinking it is my downfall. I look at the last pages of this, where Becca is in a much better place, with a loving relationship, and clearly much healthier friend and family relationships, and thinking: but isn't she extremely traumatized by all the murder and cannibalism?! The art was really, really cool. show less

Another graphic novel I checked out at the library in an attempt to read the entire short list fro the Ignyte Awards Best Comics Team. Squad is a YA shifter teen graphic novel -- like what Heathers would be if all the Heathers had been werewolves. And, you know, made today, so that they weren't all straight white people.

This story is campy and fun and a little dangerous, and the artwork is bright and colorful with JUST enough gore -- keeping the focus on the interpersonal drama rather than show more blood and transformations. The story is fast-paced, about girls seeking power within the constraints of their parents, their community, and the expectations of both. When things start to spiral out of control, who will rein them back in?

A perfect popcorn balance of tension, teen rebellion, and dark satisfaction, with a cotton candy perfect queer ending. Good, messy fun. show less

I liked this more than I expected to, and that's saying something. Very neatly conceived and executed, with a tidy ending that probably has no business feeling as satisfying as it does. I love that Becca, the main character, wasn't perfect; she jumped into something she knew wasn't right at all, solely on the teenage girl impulse to fit in and belong. And the initial lack of regret was also realistic, as the feelings of validation overwhelmed any negative thoughts she might have had. Also, show more Marley is a veritable cinnamon roll, and I'm so relieved that they made her eminently redeemable in the end. The love story addition might have felt a little tacked on, but I'm willing to overlook the lack of foreshadowing on the grounds that d'awwwwwwww. show less

I was surprised to find how much story there is here -- or at least that it had more depth than a cheerleading squad gone wrong. I enjoyed the art, enjoyed the idea of choosing predatory males as prey, loved the sapphic representation, enjoyed that so many modern issues are woven throughout. However, like other readers, I was frustrated that there was no answer for any of these -- no calling out the racial microaggressions, no change on the fat shaming, no resolution on the innocent kid they show more kill. I'm also sincerely puzzled about some of the plot holes -- why did the larger pack let Becca and Marly go at the end? If it was too dangerous to let Becca live if she didn't choose the change in the beginning, why is it less dangerous to let 2 pack members escape? What is up with Amanda in the end? It's all very puzzling and implausible. My feeling is that it's a perfectly entertaining book that wanted to be more. show less