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A review by theofficialzhang
Constellations by Kate Glasheen
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!
Themes: Trauma, gender identity, addiction, abuse
Representation: Nonbinary, addiction
Content Warning: SA, alcohol, homophobia, bullying, abuse
Premise: A graphic novel about a teen who isn’t sure of their gender identity and their struggle and journey with addiction
Characters
Claire
They are the main character of the book and the book follows through their journey.
I think the author did a good job conveying their character specifically towards how they felt when they get asked “are you supposed to be a boy or a girl?” I liked Claire’s backstory and what contributed to their trauma and addiction was revealed in flashbacks. I also liked how Claire’s feelings towards other things such as their town, their friends and their parents are shown in the book and it doesn't just focus on their trauma since it shows that they are a person who thinks of a ton of things, making them a “good” character. Their interactions and thoughts towards the other characters such as their hatred towards those who have wronged them and their love to their friends are shown in their personal narration.
One thing I wish there could have been more of was their interactions with their parents and family and how it contributed to their addiction. I know the author briefly mentions it and talks about how their parents pick on them but I wish that could have been more of a focus since they talk about how it is a fairly big deal and yet it isn’t mentioned much
Erica
I have mixed feelings about Erica as a character.
On one hand I get that the author was using her character to show that people deal with addictions differently since Erica was more shy and didn’t share in group as much as some of the other characters. I also get that they were there so that Claire could have a big breakthrough about their gender identity.
On the other hand, I wish Erica’s trauma was stated more rather than implied. Spoiler It was implied that her stepdad SA’ed her which was why she turned to drugs. I also wished that Erica didn’t try to Spoiler kiss Claire. Which, again, I get that the author was trying to use that so that Claire could have a breakthrough about their identity. However, I think the author could’ve written her interaction with them differently and still yield the same results.
Pete
I like Pete. Pete was cool. I liked how he stood up for Claire and taught Claire how to stand up for themselves. I liked how the author uses Pete’s story to explore yet another side of addiction and trauma that was different from Claire and Erica’s.
Unfortunately, Spoiler Pete had to be taken out of rehab and eventually died and even though it was sad it does accurately reflect real life situations and abuse.
Tonya
Tonya was sort of annoying. But I think her character serves a purpose to show that someone who is annoying might just be hiding something such as trauma and abuse.
Counsellor
Loved the counsellor. I forgot his name because it was only mentioned once. A lot of what he said is pretty valid about trauma, addiction and abuse and I loved how supportive he was towards Claire. His words accurately reflect how hard it is to heal from addiction and I wish everyone has someone like him that they can turn to.
However, I feel like some of his dialogue was kind of stereotypical of a counsellor.
Claire’s Family
Their one brother was nice. The other brother was not as kind. Would’ve liked to see more interactions between the family and Claire.
Rating: 3.4/5
Plot
Exposition
The book starts off with Claire talking about their town. It was kind of awkward since the rant about the town was kind of long and though being in the town may have contributed to Claire’s trauma, I thought a lot of it was unnecessary. I would’ve preferred it if Claire talked more about their childhood instead.
Rising Action
The rising action starts when Claire Spoiler gets so drunk that they crash into a man, go to jail, and get sent to rehab. I was surprised by what happened in the rising action since I thought the book would focus more on Claire’s identity and it would be about that rather than addiction.
However, once I read on, I decided that it was a pleasant surprise. A lot of what happens in the rising action is what you’d expect. Claire settles into their new environment, they meet new people, and they face some conflicts with those new people as well as their addiction. They try to heal.
Climax
I’d consider the climax of the story to be around the time when Claire is about to return home. That entails Spoiler Claire speaking to the counselor and Erica trying to kiss her. I thought the former was appropriate to the theme and plot of the book, I thought that the latter, although it had a lot of plot tension and was a contribution to the plot, was unnecessary and could have been replaced with something else.
Falling Action
I think the falling action occurs when Claire returns home. They Spoiler get a call from Erica and visit her with their brother’s in tow. I feel fairly neutral about the falling action as it starts to resolve some of the problems of the book appropriately.
However, I wish there could have been more interaction with the parents as to how they reacted when Claire returned home. I think that was only shown in one frame. As well as a more direct addressing on what went down with Erica. Though it was implied, it was not stated directly.
Denouement
This occurs in the last section of the book. It talks about how Claire is many years after their journey. I think it was nice as it gave the reader a look into how Claire is managing after being discharged.
However, it was also sad which makes a ton of sense since addiction is something that can kill. Spoiler One character dies, another is in an implied abusive relationship and a third goes to jail. However, Claire is doing fine which is good.
Other
Much of the plot of the story is influenced by events that occurred in the author’s life. I think this is cool and definitely helps make the story and characters more realistic. Since the author is able to write what they wish they could have seen when they were going through the same journey as Claire. It also helps to shed a light on addiction.
With that I want to compliment the author for being able to write this. It was probably challenging as addiction is something that isn’t discussed much and when it is it is discussed negatively. And also, gender is more complicated than the standard “boy” and “girl” labels forced by society. I know that this will help a lot of young folks out there facing these issues.
Rating: 3.8/5
Style
Art
I liked the art. Although it wasn’t my preferred art style nor was it a style I see frequently in graphic novels (it is mostly digital drawings), I think it fits the book. It is simple and it makes it easy to see what is being portrayed in each frame.
It’s also really cool that it was done in marker!
Diction
Even though the diction (a.k.a. phrasing) was awkward at first, with Claire’s long spiel about their town, it ended up being fairly nice. It fits the story as it accurately describes the inside of a teenager’s minds and their interactions in the modern world without it feeling too “old” or “awkward” or like the author is “trying too hard to be relatable.”
Formatting
I think the formatting was nice as well. I liked how the book was sectioned into six chapters, each one describing what stage Claire was at with their journey.
Rating: 4.3/5
Final Rating
Characters: 3.4/5
Plot: 3.8/5
Formatting: 4.3/5
Final Rating: 3.7/5 (round to 4/5)
Personal Rating: 3.3/5
Date Read: March 31st, 2023
Date Reviewed: March 31sr, 2023
Themes: Trauma, gender identity, addiction, abuse
Representation: Nonbinary, addiction
Content Warning: SA, alcohol, homophobia, bullying, abuse
Premise: A graphic novel about a teen who isn’t sure of their gender identity and their struggle and journey with addiction
Characters
Claire
They are the main character of the book and the book follows through their journey.
I think the author did a good job conveying their character specifically towards how they felt when they get asked “are you supposed to be a boy or a girl?” I liked Claire’s backstory and what contributed to their trauma and addiction was revealed in flashbacks. I also liked how Claire’s feelings towards other things such as their town, their friends and their parents are shown in the book and it doesn't just focus on their trauma since it shows that they are a person who thinks of a ton of things, making them a “good” character. Their interactions and thoughts towards the other characters such as their hatred towards those who have wronged them and their love to their friends are shown in their personal narration.
One thing I wish there could have been more of was their interactions with their parents and family and how it contributed to their addiction. I know the author briefly mentions it and talks about how their parents pick on them but I wish that could have been more of a focus since they talk about how it is a fairly big deal and yet it isn’t mentioned much
Erica
I have mixed feelings about Erica as a character.
On one hand I get that the author was using her character to show that people deal with addictions differently since Erica was more shy and didn’t share in group as much as some of the other characters. I also get that they were there so that Claire could have a big breakthrough about their gender identity.
On the other hand, I wish Erica’s trauma was stated more rather than implied. Spoiler It was implied that her stepdad SA’ed her which was why she turned to drugs. I also wished that Erica didn’t try to Spoiler kiss Claire. Which, again, I get that the author was trying to use that so that Claire could have a breakthrough about their identity. However, I think the author could’ve written her interaction with them differently and still yield the same results.
Pete
I like Pete. Pete was cool. I liked how he stood up for Claire and taught Claire how to stand up for themselves. I liked how the author uses Pete’s story to explore yet another side of addiction and trauma that was different from Claire and Erica’s.
Unfortunately, Spoiler Pete had to be taken out of rehab and eventually died and even though it was sad it does accurately reflect real life situations and abuse.
Tonya
Tonya was sort of annoying. But I think her character serves a purpose to show that someone who is annoying might just be hiding something such as trauma and abuse.
Counsellor
Loved the counsellor. I forgot his name because it was only mentioned once. A lot of what he said is pretty valid about trauma, addiction and abuse and I loved how supportive he was towards Claire. His words accurately reflect how hard it is to heal from addiction and I wish everyone has someone like him that they can turn to.
However, I feel like some of his dialogue was kind of stereotypical of a counsellor.
Claire’s Family
Their one brother was nice. The other brother was not as kind. Would’ve liked to see more interactions between the family and Claire.
Rating: 3.4/5
Plot
Exposition
The book starts off with Claire talking about their town. It was kind of awkward since the rant about the town was kind of long and though being in the town may have contributed to Claire’s trauma, I thought a lot of it was unnecessary. I would’ve preferred it if Claire talked more about their childhood instead.
Rising Action
The rising action starts when Claire Spoiler gets so drunk that they crash into a man, go to jail, and get sent to rehab. I was surprised by what happened in the rising action since I thought the book would focus more on Claire’s identity and it would be about that rather than addiction.
However, once I read on, I decided that it was a pleasant surprise. A lot of what happens in the rising action is what you’d expect. Claire settles into their new environment, they meet new people, and they face some conflicts with those new people as well as their addiction. They try to heal.
Climax
I’d consider the climax of the story to be around the time when Claire is about to return home. That entails Spoiler Claire speaking to the counselor and Erica trying to kiss her. I thought the former was appropriate to the theme and plot of the book, I thought that the latter, although it had a lot of plot tension and was a contribution to the plot, was unnecessary and could have been replaced with something else.
Falling Action
I think the falling action occurs when Claire returns home. They Spoiler get a call from Erica and visit her with their brother’s in tow. I feel fairly neutral about the falling action as it starts to resolve some of the problems of the book appropriately.
However, I wish there could have been more interaction with the parents as to how they reacted when Claire returned home. I think that was only shown in one frame. As well as a more direct addressing on what went down with Erica. Though it was implied, it was not stated directly.
Denouement
This occurs in the last section of the book. It talks about how Claire is many years after their journey. I think it was nice as it gave the reader a look into how Claire is managing after being discharged.
However, it was also sad which makes a ton of sense since addiction is something that can kill. Spoiler One character dies, another is in an implied abusive relationship and a third goes to jail. However, Claire is doing fine which is good.
Other
Much of the plot of the story is influenced by events that occurred in the author’s life. I think this is cool and definitely helps make the story and characters more realistic. Since the author is able to write what they wish they could have seen when they were going through the same journey as Claire. It also helps to shed a light on addiction.
With that I want to compliment the author for being able to write this. It was probably challenging as addiction is something that isn’t discussed much and when it is it is discussed negatively. And also, gender is more complicated than the standard “boy” and “girl” labels forced by society. I know that this will help a lot of young folks out there facing these issues.
Rating: 3.8/5
Style
Art
I liked the art. Although it wasn’t my preferred art style nor was it a style I see frequently in graphic novels (it is mostly digital drawings), I think it fits the book. It is simple and it makes it easy to see what is being portrayed in each frame.
It’s also really cool that it was done in marker!
Diction
Even though the diction (a.k.a. phrasing) was awkward at first, with Claire’s long spiel about their town, it ended up being fairly nice. It fits the story as it accurately describes the inside of a teenager’s minds and their interactions in the modern world without it feeling too “old” or “awkward” or like the author is “trying too hard to be relatable.”
Formatting
I think the formatting was nice as well. I liked how the book was sectioned into six chapters, each one describing what stage Claire was at with their journey.
Rating: 4.3/5
Final Rating
Characters: 3.4/5
Plot: 3.8/5
Formatting: 4.3/5
Final Rating: 3.7/5 (round to 4/5)
Personal Rating: 3.3/5
Date Read: March 31st, 2023
Date Reviewed: March 31sr, 2023