Belle of the Ball

This was charming! I am so thoroughly sweetened by the romance in here- it's fluffy, nerdy, and involves real, actual friendship at the core of the relationship. Plus, lesbians going on an adorable renaissance festival date?? Sign me tf up for more of this. My only real gripe is that the ending happened superrrr fast, and I think the story would have felt more real/satisfying to have those final few scenes fleshed out a few more pages.
Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoyed books like "Heartstopper" or "Giant Days".

Belle of the Ball is a YA graphic novel about a high school sapphic love triangle. Hawkins asks Gina to the dance, but Gina's dating Chloe, who needs a tutor for English. As it happens, Hawkins is an English tutor, and she and Chloe have history...

There is so much good in this graphic novel - the art style, the pacing, the way the panels flow into each other effortlessly. Costa takes time to show a character's thoughts rather than just telling the reader outright, and it makes for a greater depth of understanding their motives and feelings. The plot is a little cliched, but the way Costa handles it makes this forgivable. You know what's going to inevitably happen, but it's exactly what you want, and it's done so beautifully that it's show more worth the read. I can see this being a comfort reread for a lot of people - myself included!

Thank you to First Second and NetGalley for providing a copy for review. show less

Not at all what I was expecting, but I absolutely love the normalization of girls dating, and all the usually relationship angst of high school. I also really love that the drama is worked through so maturely — it’s a beautiful model for how the world can be. Great art, too.

Cute and endearing, but maybe a little too cozy for my personal tastes.

Took a while to get really going, but the characters are all very likable so it's not like it drags. Also the various shades of red color palette made my cones hurt after reading for a while, but I'm old, YMMV.

Cute YA Graphic Novel about navigating the waters of senior year, lost friendship and just finding your way. This was a different kind of YA trope, rediscovering your childhood best friend who was hiding in plain sight all along while trying to fit in with your family/friends expectations of you. This GN hits all the teen angst without getting too cheesy or stereotypical. I wonder if the illustrations will all stay pink or will there be additional colors added when the final book comes out. This is one for MS/HS libraries. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5

A cute little high school story about friendship and love triangles. Fluffy, but oh so nice.