Page by Paige

Summary: Paige's family has just moved from Charlottesville, VA, to New York City. Paige misses the greenness and open spaces of her home, but most of all, she misses her best friend, the only person who has ever really understood her. Paige is an artist, so she pours her heart into her sketchbook. And when school starts, she finds friends she likes, and that seem to like her, but they don't really know the real Paige. But how can they, when the real Paige only comes out on the pages of the sketchbook that no one is allowed to see?

Review: My graphic novels have been all feeling a little same-y recently. This is absolutely because my local branch of the library only stocks the YA graphic novels (adult ones are elsewhere), so my random show more browsing picks are limited for choice. But despite the fact that this book is very similar to some others I've read recently (Peanut, Friends With Boys), I enjoyed it quite a bit. The "girl starts new school and tries to find where she fits in" plot was obviously nothing new, and Page by Paige even had the "secret public art" angle of Plain Janes, but this book stood out in two ways. The first is that it takes on the concept of trusting someone enough to open up and show them the real you more directly than some of the others I've read, which is a great message, and still something I struggle with, even though I'm twice the age of these stories' protagonists. The real way that this book stands out, however, is in the artwork. There's a bit of meta-ness about it all, that Paige is drawing about her life and her feelings in her sketchbook, which is presumably what we're reading (especially considering Gulledge *also* moved from VA to NYC), but that aspect of things was kept nicely subtle. The artwork is all black and white, but it really vividly gives a feeling for what it's like to be in Paige's head, playing with panel structure and layout and swapping between various styles, all as appropriate. It's lovely and honest and fits the story perfectly. As I said, the story is not the most original one ever, but in this case, the creative and beautiful way in which this story is told makes this book something more than the typical fare. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If the sub-genre (or maybe sub-sub-genre?) of "new kid in school" books is your cup of tea, then Page by Paige is definitely worth checking out. show less

The design in this book is great, perfectly balancing a harder modernist tendency with a more flowy Japanese anything goes framing style. These styles reflect the two inner states of the titular character Paige. Though the design is superb, the plot falls a little flat. Girl moves to the city and finds herself via help from sketchbook and first kiss. I’d rather watch Gilmore Girls. I’m sure Page by Paige will inspire rich white girls everywhere to have the self confidence to post their drawings to flickr for at least the next few years. After that, I fear all the hip cultural name drops will be a bit dated.Don’t mention Hopey Glass unless you are willing to fight about it.This book does have a really great teenage girl secret show more sharing scene. Ms. Gulledge - that was brilliant. show less

This teen graphic novel was AMAZING. I read it in one giant gulp in my hotel room (yeah, I read a HUGE stack of books in my hotel room!) at ALA, then I made my sister read the one she had picked up. Then, since neither of us was willing to give up our copy, I had to go get a third for my friend Sara-the-librarian.

Paige Turner and her parents have just moved to New York. She feels lonely and disconnected and…just generally unhappy. But she decides that in a new city she’ll have a chance to be a new person – and work on her art. Slowly, Paige makes friends and starts to form her identity as an artist.

It sounds really simple, but there’s so much more in this story. It’s about creativity, going from drawing and writing to show more “artist” and “author”. It’s about friendship and growing up and trying to make new relationships with your parents as an almost-adult. It’s about relationships and maturity and celebrating art and life in the city.

The art is so…good. It’s not fancy or complex, but it has weight. You turn a page and suddenly an image smacks you in the eyes and you think “I remember EXACTLY how that felt!” I really loved that the art looked like something a teen (with a lot of hard work and talent) could copy or create. It’s completely professional, but at the same time it’s a real teen’s sketchbook. Teens will completely connect to Paige and her friends whether or not they aspire to artistic careers as Paige goes through all the self-doubt and angst of a normal teen trying to decide how to relate to the world and other people.

Verdict: So, so, so good. Amazing art, strong text, this is a must have for your teen collection. If you don’t have a teen gn collection, sneak it into the fiction. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 978-810997219; Published May 2011; ARC provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter 2011; Purchased for my library. show less

As someone who has a tough time with graphic novels (don't understand why because as a kid I read comic books voraciously), but I do keep on trying. I absolutely loved this book. The illustrations make this book about teenage angst so excellent. The author is spot on with the insecurities, ups and downs, identity search of new girl in NYC, high school student Paige Turner. While the art make this book, the writing compliments it perfectly.

When Paige's family relocated to New York City, she's faced with having to start over: new school, new people, new city... She knows she's not the extrovert the world seems to want, but who is she exactly? Is she actually the person she wants to be? And if not, can she change the stuff she doesn't like? As Paige fills up her first sketchbook and finds the courage to connect with new friends and be herself, Paige will start becoming exactly who she wants to be.

This is a fabulous book for all those teen wallflowers who are living inside their heads, just like Paige. Not only is it a contemporary story that teens will identify with, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It's funny and poignant and thoughtful and TRUE. Laura Lee Gulledge's show more art says things that I feel (or have felt) in a better way than I could ever articulate. That's going to be the same for teens, who may just be starting to sort out these feelings. show less

The writing is pretty on-the-nose, even if it is relatable to me. The character designs looked cheap, too, but the book is most interesting when focused on Paige's abstract drawings.

Paige Turner's parents are writers and they have uprooted her from her life in Charlottesville, VA and moved to Brooklyn. Forced to start over with new people in a new city, Paige feels isolated and afraid. So she does what any quiet red-headed girl would do: she buys a sketchbook. She has no real experience so the only thing she has to go off are her grandmother's "rules" for art, which include "No more excuses!" and "Figure out what scare you... and do it!"

She draws everything in her new city and everything she feels as she explores it. Sketching keeps her from feeling alone as she can't open up to her mother, who she feels always wears a "happy mask," and she can't open up to her new friends for fear of burdening them with her show more problems. But she follows her grandmother's advice and does what scares her most: she lets her new friends see her sketchbook and, by extension, see her true self.

Paige slowly progresses from shy, secretive, and angsty to brave, funny, and creative as she challenges herself to do the things that scare her the most and learns to trust both herself and the people around her.

The premise isn't entirely original and the protagonista comes to her revelation a little easily but it all makes for a very realistic journey--which is probably because the artist (both author and illustrator) based the story on her own real-life experience. The true draw of Paige, though, is the artwork. It's a little more free-flowing as there are many pages without panels. The author does a brilliant job of combining the artwork with the main character's emotions as the main character, Paige, is an artist and the graphic novel reads like a combination of her diary and sketchbook. Given that the main character is a girl and the focus of the book is her emotional journey, this would also be a great introductory graphic novel for girls, who are sometimes more resistant to the format.

I loved loved loved Page by Paige. When I tweeted about it, I used exclamation points. Two of them. And that from a girl who very rarely emotes. This is a book that I needed when I was a teen. It's just too bad no one wrote it until this year. show less