Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Loved this story! Females in a male dominated industry. Nepotism. Young love. Animation. This book has it all!

I thoroughly enjoyed Hayley’s struggle to make a name for herself in a company that she admired. I loved that the novel didn’t focus on her initial fall from grace. And honestly? The love story didn’t hurt. This book is a vibe, I love it and it’s totally appropriate for my 7th grade classroom!

This was a great YA novel, that I would definitely recommend to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

WOW! I love Hayley; her drive and ambition, her confidence in herself- this is how more females need to be portrayed. I admire how the author showed us the inner workings of the animation business, but also gave us the sexist male-ego dominated nerd culture. The female friendships and relationships in this book really stood out because at its core they were positive, but the author also showed the nuances of females working together and also the competition amongst them in a male dominated industry. It felt authentic and Bear's character actions about the secret short film really highlighted the differences between gender and expectations without it being overly dramatic. I was impressed by this book and this author.

This story started out a little slow for me but picked up quickly and I devoured it! The challenges all the girls had to face and overcome were major and yet they mentors they had played a part in the story. Although Hayley had single focus on her goal she was eventually able to see there was life beyond animation. I enjoyed it so much I pretty much finished it in one morning.

I haven't seen any other YA books about animation, and I'm so glad that this one is so good! Hayley is a character who makes mistakes, but she believes so strongly that the choices she's making are correct that it's hard to fault her. There's a cute guy, and he likes Hayley for her passion and talent and gets along with her girl friends instead of falling into the "not like other girls" trope. This book calls out animation for so many sexist things that happen in the industry and prepares young girls reading this to look out for these red flags in future work places and peers. Will be recommending to my friends.

Thanks to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Drawn That Way follows Hayley, whose dream is to get a job at one of the best animation studios (in her Totally Correct Opinion), and manages to follow that dream through an incredibly internship opportunity at The Best Animation Studio. Problem is, things aren't perfect at The Best Animation Studio, as Hayley unfortunately finds out....

This book was made for me....kidding, but it does hits all my favorite topics in one place. Animation, check. Sexism in the work place, check. Also a sweet romance, check...As a bonus, it's not super depressing, it's a very optimistic book despite the dark topics throughout the story.

Hayley is not a typical sweet and kind protagonist, she's self-absorbed (but gets better) and very dedicated to her craft. I absolutely love the author for making her three dimensional and realistic for people who have such hyper-focused ambitions. Sometimes they get so focused that they ignore everything else in life but her friends/boyfriend help her see past that ambition and live life to the fullest instead of animating, hunched over a desk in a dark room all her life.

Awesome and unique story! I hope we get more books like this focused on the animation studios (fictional or real, ha) in the future!

5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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Drawn That Way is a story about Hayley, an ambitious aspiring animator whose dream is to work for Bryan Beckett at his studio. She earns a spot at his extremely selective summer internship, but as industry secrets come to light, Hayley begins to question her future—both as a female animation director and as a Beckett fan.
This was a super fun story, and I’m really glad I had a chance to read it. The writing was sometimes a bit too on-the-nose, but the dramatic and over-the-top writing style helped emphasize the ridiculousness of it all and reminded me of the very animation films the story was inspired by. I adored the little illustrations accompanying the story, and I only wish there were more than a small handful. They were literally adorable, and I certainly wouldn’t complain about more of them—especially one of Sloane’s mural! Speaking of, the side characters were all very cheerful and unique, and I loved seeing the underlying discontent with the studio that surfaced in the adult characters like Sloane. On the flip side of the likable side characters, the unlikable side characters did a great job of making me uncomfortable and angry. As outlandish and caricature-ish as they seemed, there are real, actual people who think and act that way, and I’m not surprised to see it pop up in the animation field. And as for the love interest, Bear? Oh my god I loved him so much. He didn’t seem to have a lot of buildup, but once it gets into the “meat” of the story, he is so sweet and caring and defiant of his father, and I am obsessed. Similarly, I’m super proud of Hayley, and I definitely see myself in her tenacity, ambition, drive, and passion (… yes, those are all synonymous, but they all fit her so well! She’s intense). The literal only thing that I think I could dislike was the heavy-handed writing style, which felt cartoony and thus fit well within the context of the novel, and the too-subtle buildup to the romantic subplot. I absolutely devoured this and it is a fantastic story of resilience and laughing in the face of those who say it can’t be done. 5 stars.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this. 3.5/5 stars.

Okay so...I really could not get into this...and then I couldn't put it down. This is a FANTASTIC story of male privilege in industries and life. I wasn't expecting the amount of misogyny, but it was well done and really felt familiar and realistic to what women experience. I'm not in a workplace like the animation industry in the novel, but many of the experiences felt familiar and made the experiences of women felt seen. I also appreciate the acknowledgement it had to the intersections of race and gender.

3.5/5 just because I felt like the romance between Bear and Hayley was forced, and although cute, didn't really serve a point to the plot. They could have easily just been friends rather than this romance that really happened out of no where. It also felt paced weird, and some of it I was just like?!?! was this necessary?

I also loved the look inside the animation process this novel gave, and I liked the art interspaced throughout it.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

I like the core elements of this Drawn That Way. Hayley is young and ambitious, focused on her career path and studying under her creative hero to make it happen. It’s also clear from the outset that she is sometimes too focused, too starstruck, to realize that she can relax and build friendships, explore other paths.

And while there is an obvious romantic angle from the outset, Hayley’s story isn’t about the cute guy she falls for at her summer internship. She spends just as much time building relationships with the other girls in her program (including some really spectacular missteps) and those relationships are treated with just as much gravity and screen time. Same with Hayley’s mentor - Sloane is a badass who I would kill to have in my corner.

Finally, I love that one of the running themes of this story is calling out the sexist, racist bullshitting of [insert profession here]; although the plot focuses on animation production, it’s clear this is an experience that women and POC have to deal with in many professions.

My big complaint is readability. I love all these elements…but they are written in a heavy-handed way that feels like it’s pushing the moral of the story every singe moment. Every character is overdescribed to emphasize the lack of diversity. All the misogynist guys are over the top blatant about it. Company founder Bryan Beckett may as well be named Mr. Bigworth (a villainous character Hayley bemoans over) for how transparently awful he is. I felt like I was being hit over the head with the moral of the story, and that detracted from enjoying Hayley’s character growth.

That didn’t stop me from reading to the end — I had to see Beckett get put in his place — but it isn’t at the top of my must-read recs.

I absolutely adored Drawn This Way by Elissa Sussman, which deals with sexism in the animation industry. Hayley is a white Jewish aspiring animator/filmmaker who's landed a dream internship with her hero, Bryan Beckett. But when she and the rest of the few girls in the program get passed over on directing opportunities for mediocre boys - and Bryan's own son, Bear - Hayley realizes she's going to have to make her own film to prove herself. I absolutely loved Hayley - she's strong and confident, and even though she doubts herself at points, her belief in her own talent is a major reason she perseveres. I also love how she came together with her mentor and the other female interns over the course of the book. And then there's Bear! I loved the way their relationship developed and how she didn't compromise her artistic values for him. I love love loved this book.

This was an interesting tale about the perils of moviemaking. The story was realistic and felt relatable to anyone who has loved the arts and yearned for look behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, the plot seemed to drag. There just wasn't enough going on, and everything took too long to be resolved. Additionally, the characters were a bit too extreme to feel realistic. They all fluctuated from one extreme emotion to another with little rhyme or reason.