If You'll Have Me

I enjoyed this quite a lot, particularly the fact that Momo remained herself all the way to the end; even happily in love, she was still careful at heart, needing to be absolutely certain before taking big steps like physical intimacy. PG was a fascinating love interest, and I think a few more glimpses behind her eyes would have really let the reader sympathize fully with whether she really was just that sex positive or if she was using sex as a way to feel accepted and loved. The illustrator's affectation of using dark page backgrounds to indicate flashbacks was lost on me at first, so I didn't initially grasp that Momo's people-pleasing nature was being abused back in high school, not in the present; a little extra visual emphasis show more would have helped make that point. I also think giving Momo heterochromia was a funny detail that was lost in a black-and-white comic; I had to go back and examine the cover to see for myself! show less

i really liked the art here (although somehow not the art on the cover??) and thought that even though this wasn't overrun by words, that i wasn't craving more on every page like i usually do in graphic novels. this is more your traditional romance novel in graphic novel form and it is pretty well done and manages to get to some depth even without a lot of words or pages dedicated to any of it. it took me a few pages to get into it, but once i was, i really liked it.

An opposites attract romance between a couple of college students. One is shy, short and romantically inexperienced, the other is confident, tall and sex positive. Cuteness ensues.

I might have gone for a fourth star if only it weren't a trifle overlong and too meandering in places. But this might be a plus for those who want to luxuriate in the characters.

Momo (short, brown skin, dark hair, heterochromia) is smart, hard-working, sweet, and helpful - so much so that her best friend Kayla worries that others take advantage of her. And Kayla is concerned when Momo develops a friendship (crush? mutual crush? relationship?) with tall, short-haired PG, who has a reputation for sleeping around. But PG and Momo's friendship does develop into a mutually caring one, and they're both attracted to each other - but a few misunderstandings provide hurdles before they can achieve romantic happiness.

PG and her family (including younger brother Henry) are coded Asian (Vietnamese?), and PG's ex Soyeun appears Korean.

See also: Chef's Kiss

Quotes

"You know you can say no, right?" (30)

"Why am I always so show more awkward?" (87)

Why is making friends so hard? ...I can barely talk to people in the first place. (92)

"This is the first time in my life I've won anything...I feel like I've used up all my luck." (121)

insightful about others' relationships

"sometimes I wish I didn't care so much" (193)

"...as long as you remember to care about yourself" (194)

"Why would anyone want someone like me?" (250)

"I don't want to be boring" (258)

"Why am I not enough?"
...
"Sometimes people want words" (277)

"I'm used to people liking me for what I can do for them. Not for me." (307) show less

Really sweet story that chronicles the falling in love of two beautiful souls who don’t really seem to believe that either of them is worthy. Awwwww.