Might be a good book!
Update: 7/10, I enjoyed this novel, but it could use improvements here and there. The main character was really fleshed out and experienced character development, by making some friends and improving his facial appearance, so he wasn't a social outcast anymore, but he really didn't like the skin care routine to get rid of his acne, maybe it was tiresome, or it was not what he truly wants, but still, his appearance is better despite that. The plot was a bit dragged out at times, due to it having to cover an entire school year, but it was still good. The friends were really supportive of him ever since he became his true self, which I liked, but the antagonists were flat, all they did was ruffle his hair and called him names, but that stopped eventually. I didn't realise that this was actually a memoir until the very end of the book, I like reading memoirs and this was a good one. If you like a good book with character development, this is the book for you. ( )

8th grader Jay has low self-esteem due to his skin issues, and his class schedule keeps him apart from his 7th grade friends, who all seem to be ditching him for new friend groups. Jay struggles with making new friends, a rigorous skincare routine, medication side effects and monthly blood draws to make sure the Accutane isn't damaging his liver. Two of his friends have crushes on him and ask him out, but he doesn't have feelings for either of them. Jay's lack of crushes puts him at odds with his fellow middle-schoolers, as you can imagine. He learns about asexuality due to a conversation with his friend. His being asexual is briefly mentioned a few times in the book but doesn't really come up past that, which disappointed me a bit. I would have liked to see more about him dealing with being asexual and maybe discussing it with his friends. That said, I'm really glad this book exists; now middle grade kids are going to learn what asexuality is instead of not hearing about it until adulthood like me and a lot of other aces (including the author). Another thing I will say is that this book seems to conflate asexuality with aromanticism, which are two separate things. Jay doesn't have any romantic feelings, which to me makes him aromantic as well as asexual, but the book's only mention of aromanticism is one word, aromantic, shown in Jay's googling.

I enjoyed this graphic novel, even though it delved into eighth grade life and worries and that's well over half my life ago. I was kind of disappointed when the book ended; I wouldn't mind reading a sequel that follows Jay into high school. I'd also be interested in seeing how he deals with being aroace then. I would recommend this book to the target audience and anyone who has ever dealt with anything Jay deals with.

Read the full review, plus trigger warnings, at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2022/10/book-review-okay-by-jarad-gr... ( )

8th grader Jay develops severe acne, and starts to realize that he's not really into romance. Based on author's experiences. Really great book -- Jay is a really likeable character, and his friends are as well. Love the art club and the friendship dynamics. it's just a really well told story that feels real and is hard to put down. ( )

Another nearly decent middle school graphic novel ruined by forcing the story to adhere to a full school year schedule. The pacing drags as a bunch of extraneous storylines are crammed in to fill out the calendar and the month-by-month chapters.

And it's too bad, because the main focus on a kid coping with acne and the various treatments for it is interesting. Even the secondary LGBTQ+ elements have value. But by the time we get to the tertiary stuff about friendship groups and the quaternary and more stuff about the value of art and the location of various schools in the Tampa school district I was falling asleep -- and I was reading this book while walking! ( )

This graphic novel was completely not what I was expecting. The A stands for both acme as well as Ace or asexual. Most of the book deals with an eighth grade Jay that has pretty severe acne. They were some of the last people to get acne in their school. They just want it gone and they go to a doctor and go on a very trying regiment to make it all go away. Throughout the eighth grade year, the class schedule, the changing of friends, and the effects of the medication, life is hard. Sometimes it’s the hardships that a personal growth. I quite enjoyed this story and watching the character grow up. I liked watching them except themselves and discover that they are ace. I even liked their concerns over their acne and how it affected their self-worth. This is something I think many students would feel and understand which would make it a great book for any middle and high school to have. ( )