Colleen A.F. Venable,
Ellen T. Crenshaw (Illustrator) (2019)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This was a Pandemic Book Club selection. I was working during the meeting, which is a shame because Venable was invited to take part.
This is a graphic novel, which takes place in 2004. (I forgot that little detail between the first and second times reading the book, and everything in the story suddenly seemed dated. Oh, right.)
The story opens with Mads detailing her lackluster first kisses, particularly the first seven boys she kissed. Given what I knew of the book, I wasn't surprised that this led up to kissing a girl in a car. The girl tells her to get out of the car. There's more to this moment that will be revealed much later.
The story then rewinds a little bit. Mads has two friends, almost by default from where they all live, Cat, who's the fun, crazy one, and Laura, who's the dependable, boring one. Laura has an older brother, Adam, who's started to notice Mads more and more.
Mads goes to Tornadoes ballgames every week with her dad. (The Tornadoes are a nod the the Brooklyn Cyclones, who play in Coney Island, close to the author's home. Go Cyclones!)
Mads is going through typical teenage growing pains and such when she overhears a phone call her father gets from someone named Dina. She also finds a letter with a check for her, and a picture of someone named Sam.
She thinks her father is or was having an affair, and then later comes to realize that both her parents are lying to her. This causes her to spiral a little and act out with Cat.
It becomes more obvious that she is attracted to Cat, who is attracted to boys.
With Laura's help, they track find information about Sam, who used to be Samantha, and the story takes a new twist.
This was an enjoyuable book with the two stories intertwining. It wasn't preachy, and it's most devastating scenes are shown by Crenshaw in a flashback while the narration is stating that the opposite is happening. This is how some stories get twisted and passed along.
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. The fourth book will be available by the time you see this!
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