This one was okay. The art style wasn't my favorite. I can see teens enjoying it if they're avid graphic novel readers. It has promise that might be fulfilled with the rest of the trilogy.

While I very much thank the publisher for the approval on this title, it was unfortunately not a good fit for me. I did, however, add it to Goodreads, so that others may see it and find it more in line with their tastes.

300 pages into this story and we're still just meeting the characters. We've seen several relationships rise and fall, a character get pregnant and have an abortion, and several friendships fall apart and I still feel like we don't know what this saga is going to be about.

I really like the work of this artist, but I just could not enjoy the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review Losing the Girl by MariNaomi. The illustrations are emotionally accurate even though they are minimally drawn. The story tells us about four teenagers and their relationships and the twists and surprises that life can bring. Not really my type of story but 3 stars for material that’s relatable and relevant to its teen audience.

Not a big fan; I’m sorry. The pacing was weird and the story was hard to get into. It just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Thanks though to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the review copy.

I didn't care for the flat art style, nor for the extended pacing, where every action took multiple pages to convey. It's hard to follow, and I found my attention wandering, flipping pages just to see if something would happen. This is a very interior work, concentrating on the characters' emotions, and I didn't find any of them insightful or worth the time spent on what were very typical encounters of teen melodrama and a pregnancy scare.

Claudia is missing. While they wait to find out what happened (runaway, hiding, alien abduction), her friends from Blithedale High are carrying on with their teenage lives. While they struggle with love, belonging, failure, and complicated family life, these four teenagers constantly wonder why their lives are so confusing. Eisner-nominated MariNaomi has created earnest characters who face the reality of the teenage years. Emily is trying to handle surprising changes in her life, Paula is looking for a way to fit into her life and find acceptance. Nigel, a cool skater wants to connect with someone who gets his sense of humor. And Brett continues to push people away for fear of letting people know his family’s secrets. While the mystery of the missing classmate looms, and all the characters connect with that story thread, it doesn’t always seem that important to the story. Instead, the weaving of real and complicated teenage issues plague this group of students with tough decisions and complex family issues. This book is only the beginning and it is rich with potential to wrap real-world teenage issues with the arcing mystery of the missing girl.

This graphic novel is unique in its style and rendering. The artistic style is often minimal and experimental, but always advancing the story in creative visual ways. Each character in the story has a different artistic approach – so with each shift in point-of-view, there comes a shift in visual presentation. This is a complex and woven story that is sometimes confusing because of the wild and experimental artistic style. The risks that are taken are commendable, but they often add too much complexity to the already rich woven story. This is a smart and stylized graphic novel focusing on older teenage themes and issues. Intended for a high school readership, may not be the right fit for some middle schoolers. MariNaomi, a nominated Eisner-nominated cartoonist, has started a fascinating teenage mystery filled with twists and turns. This is a great read for graphic novel fans who want something different in their vision of storytelling.

This was enjoyable for the most part. It was tough to read though because it was on my computer which was not my ideal reading situation.

MariNaomi is an award-winning author and illustrator of several graphic novels. She is the founder of the Cartoonists of Color database and the Queer Cartoonists database. The graphic novel focuses on four different teenagers, and each of their stories are intertwined - and each story is represented with a different style. That said, the characters felt like caricatures, and the author’s treatment of all issues that arise (teen pregnancy, dating violence, divorced parents) is incredibly superficial.

Although the graphics are beautiful, my favorite pages contained no dialogue because they were not offensive like the rest...

A 14 year-old girl disappears, leaving questions and rumors in her wake. She's the topic of conversation at her school, Blithedale High, but a group of teens have their own daily drama to work through, too. Nigel is desperate for a girlfriend who will laugh at his jokes, but Emily, the object of his affections, decides to pursue a relationship with heartthrob Brett, who doesn't really seem to emotionally invest himself in anything. Emily undergoes a major life shake-up, which gives her friend - or frenemy - Paula a chance to steal what she perceives to be Emily's spotlight.

Losing the Girl is about lives intersecting, with the main focus - the "lost" girl - being the common thread. She's the character the conversation drifts back to, the reader's focal point as we glimpse into the lives of four teens. This first installment didn't quite grab me, but I think teens who want real-life storytelling will give this one a shot.

MariNaomi is an award-winning writer and illustrator; she's an Eisner award nominee, and a podcaster. You can find out more by visiting her website.

Claudia Jones has gone missing. Readers are introduced to this information through a colorful cast of characters - four teenagers trying to navigate adolescence as best they can, seemingly without much guidance from adults. Something strange is going on with the missing girl, but she remains at the fringes of the story . . . I am curious to see where MariNaomi takes this in the next two volumes.

Honestly, this title was boring. I could not relate to the characters in any way. While the main character, Nigel, is said to be trying too hard, it felt like most of this book was forced. While each character gets their chance to tell their own story, it was never compelling.

‘Losing the Girl’ is one of my first experiences with reading graphic novels and it was a nice read with interesting characters and simple illustrations that change in each section to really helps add new layers depending on which character is telling the story.

**thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I read this in one sitting. It's funny and serious, realistic and weird. When I finished reading, I felt like gushing about it. I love that each character got a chance to tell the story, and I love their complicated, confusing emotions. The experience feels genuine. The art style is simple but enjoyable. The story about the missing girl seemed incomplete, but I'm assuming that will develop more in the next book.

This book was not what I was expecting and while that was a bit disappointing there were many things I did like about this graphic novel. Through the simple text and images we get to know a group of high-schoolers that felt real, each person I felt like I had know when I was in high school and that helped me connect with them. Their relationships and interactions felt real and this was what helped the story for me. I enjoyed that each character's chapters were presented with a different style of drawing and the different types of text helped to easily read the story.

A cute graphic novel. Not exactly my taste in art style, but a good storyline.

I did not enjoy reading this book, but I think that may be some of the appeal to it. The language is abrasive and startling to adults but could appeal to teens looking to titillation and boundary pushing.