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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I feel like I'm missing part of the story. What happens with the ghost? Where did the mother go? But I love the artwork.
Cute little novel. I am not the target audience, but I would definitely pass this along to junior high/early high school aged readers.
Fun, slightly spooky, and jam packed of sibling high school drama.
I want to rate this 3.5 stars. I guess I usually tend to err on the side of generosity, though, so I may as well keep up with that trend.
Accidentally finished it in 30 mins lmao. I really liked it at first but I started to realise that the plot wasn't that fleshed out which was a massive shame and only like 4 characters had actually been fully formed and it seemed like a lot of the points of the book that should've been main points were just there to attempt to prod the reader's emotions without putting in enough effort to make that effective.
Friends With Boys, by Faith Erin Hicks opens with our heroine Maggie preparing for her first day of high school. This is her first time in the public schools as she has been home schooled by her mother. Her mother recently left the family leaving behind Maggie, Maggie’s police chief father, a set of high school-aged twins, and an older brother also in high-school.
The insular nature of Maggie’s homeschooling experience left her scared about facing the wider world. Her mother’s disappearance only intensified Maggie’s instinct to keep to herself. However, she finds new friends (Lucy and her older brother Alistair) with whom she explores the stigmas of homeschooling, sibling relationships, and self-confidence in the a high school setting.
Faith Erin Hicks does a great job pacing the graphic elements of the book. She uses framing, and multiple angles to move the reader forward quickly then pauses the action with two page spreads. Often these spreads build tension or give the reader sweeping views of scenery. Hicks has an eye for architecture, and renders these wide shot scenes with confidence.
More at my blog
http://annajboll.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/book-review-wednesday-friends-with-boys/
The insular nature of Maggie’s homeschooling experience left her scared about facing the wider world. Her mother’s disappearance only intensified Maggie’s instinct to keep to herself. However, she finds new friends (Lucy and her older brother Alistair) with whom she explores the stigmas of homeschooling, sibling relationships, and self-confidence in the a high school setting.
Faith Erin Hicks does a great job pacing the graphic elements of the book. She uses framing, and multiple angles to move the reader forward quickly then pauses the action with two page spreads. Often these spreads build tension or give the reader sweeping views of scenery. Hicks has an eye for architecture, and renders these wide shot scenes with confidence.
More at my blog
http://annajboll.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/book-review-wednesday-friends-with-boys/
What was the point? What character arc or resolution was there?
Whoa! What a sweet graphic novel! Faith Erin Hicks never fails to deliver wonderful, tender tales.
"Friends With Boys" follows the journey that Maggie unwillingly embarks in when she goes to high school for the first time in. Like. Forever? As a homeschooled kid who has always preferred to play with her brothers and watch Alien over and over again instead of going to the mall for a shopping afternoon, she doesn't quite know how to fit in. That is, until siblings Lucy and Alastair save her from Death By Highschooler Loneliness by taking her under their crooked wing. Both Lucy and Alastair wear daring mohawks and dress punk-emo-Avril Lavigne's golden age-ish. They're outsiders. They're weird. They're exactly the people who make Maggie feel happy to have joined high school...
And that would be a pretty lovely story itself, right? But there's MORE! A centuries-old ghost woman has been haunting Maggie for quite some time now, but she won't let our girl know why she still hasn't moved on to the Afterlife. Someone who hasn't moved on, either, is Daniel, Maggie's sibling... Who, aside from being a skilled actor, has quite a feud with Alastair. Wait, you said feuds? Oh, yeah! Just as in the bad vibes between Alastair and the gorgeous golden boy of the school.
All in all, this was a very fun story. Although the end of it isn't quite closed--many things are left hanging--, it still doesn't feel like an incomplete novel. It feels like self-care, if we're being honest! Some of the issues that are approached by Hicks really made me feel for the characters. Who hasn't felt out of place in the overcrowded corridor of high school? Who hasn't had their feelings hurt by other people's poor choices? Who hasn't done something they regret? Not me. And don't lie to yourself--not you, either!
In her dynamic, bold, unique style, F.E. Hicks has put together a very cute story about family, friendship, belonging, home, and the challenges life puts before us at early ages such as teen years. The relationships between the characters were really something, and I particularly love how the author hinted at *certain* ship but didn't feel the need to make it explicitly canon. Too often, authors feel the need to shove some kisses and sugar-covered declarations of unending, eternal, passional love to show how two characters are, or might be, romantically involved. And that's gotten tiresome, as well as super cliché... So it was nice to have F.E. Hicks do otherwise. Still, it's a cute crush you won't be able to overlook or dislike! Just like the rest of the novel... So do give it a go!
"Friends With Boys" follows the journey that Maggie unwillingly embarks in when she goes to high school for the first time in. Like. Forever? As a homeschooled kid who has always preferred to play with her brothers and watch Alien over and over again instead of going to the mall for a shopping afternoon, she doesn't quite know how to fit in. That is, until siblings Lucy and Alastair save her from Death By Highschooler Loneliness by taking her under their crooked wing. Both Lucy and Alastair wear daring mohawks and dress punk-emo-Avril Lavigne's golden age-ish. They're outsiders. They're weird. They're exactly the people who make Maggie feel happy to have joined high school...
And that would be a pretty lovely story itself, right? But there's MORE! A centuries-old ghost woman has been haunting Maggie for quite some time now, but she won't let our girl know why she still hasn't moved on to the Afterlife. Someone who hasn't moved on, either, is Daniel, Maggie's sibling... Who, aside from being a skilled actor, has quite a feud with Alastair. Wait, you said feuds? Oh, yeah! Just as in the bad vibes between Alastair and the gorgeous golden boy of the school.
All in all, this was a very fun story. Although the end of it isn't quite closed--many things are left hanging--, it still doesn't feel like an incomplete novel. It feels like self-care, if we're being honest! Some of the issues that are approached by Hicks really made me feel for the characters. Who hasn't felt out of place in the overcrowded corridor of high school? Who hasn't had their feelings hurt by other people's poor choices? Who hasn't done something they regret? Not me. And don't lie to yourself--not you, either!
In her dynamic, bold, unique style, F.E. Hicks has put together a very cute story about family, friendship, belonging, home, and the challenges life puts before us at early ages such as teen years. The relationships between the characters were really something, and I particularly love how the author hinted at *certain* ship but didn't feel the need to make it explicitly canon. Too often, authors feel the need to shove some kisses and sugar-covered declarations of unending, eternal, passional love to show how two characters are, or might be, romantically involved. And that's gotten tiresome, as well as super cliché... So it was nice to have F.E. Hicks do otherwise. Still, it's a cute crush you won't be able to overlook or dislike! Just like the rest of the novel... So do give it a go!
*SPOILER FREE*
This book was an enjoyable read, I purchased it from a second hang book store\ cafe. I was originally drawn in by the fact that it was written by a Canadian author and it was a graphic novel. Firstly, I LOVED the art style and character design in the book, it was looks absolutely amazing.
The story was nice and I liked that there was many different conflicts in the story whether they were between Maggie and her mother, brother or herself or the struggle between other secondary characters such as Alistair and the pack and her twin brothers, Lloyd and Zander. My favorite characters where Lucy, Alistair and the ghost.
The reason that I rated this book 3\5 stars instead of higher is because I feel like the conflicts and plot were never resolved. None of the questions I had about the plot were answered at the end of the book, which was frustrating because I really wanted to know how this story ended. I felt like this book was too fast paste. The set up of the story, felt like it it was leading up to something however when it came the time for the end, it fell flat.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, however it feels like it needs to be a series or at least have a sequel. I am interested in picking some of Hicks other books and probably will in the future.
-Souffle
This book was an enjoyable read, I purchased it from a second hang book store\ cafe. I was originally drawn in by the fact that it was written by a Canadian author and it was a graphic novel. Firstly, I LOVED the art style and character design in the book, it was looks absolutely amazing.
The story was nice and I liked that there was many different conflicts in the story whether they were between Maggie and her mother, brother or herself or the struggle between other secondary characters such as Alistair and the pack and her twin brothers, Lloyd and Zander. My favorite characters where Lucy, Alistair and the ghost.
The reason that I rated this book 3\5 stars instead of higher is because I feel like the conflicts and plot were never resolved. None of the questions I had about the plot were answered at the end of the book, which was frustrating because I really wanted to know how this story ended. I felt like this book was too fast paste. The set up of the story, felt like it it was leading up to something however when it came the time for the end, it fell flat.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, however it feels like it needs to be a series or at least have a sequel. I am interested in picking some of Hicks other books and probably will in the future.
-Souffle
A coming-of-age graphic novel with a ghost. The ghost bit isn't really resolved, but I liked it anyway.