Slip was a difficult read. Honestly, that doesn’t do the story a remote amount of justice. McCoola weaved a story about grief and how it emanates into everything one does. How grief can be a catalyst and the undoing. It’s hard to really capture this story in a review but it resonated so deeply with me as a reader. I appreciated the conversation about how grief manifests differently for everyone and that healing is no small feat nor something that can simply be checked off a to-do list. The use of art in expression and red ink throughout the story was absolutely brilliant and added so much to the storytelling. This is a story that is so vital to be read and to be on shelves. Grief is not discussed enough, not for those enduring grief at the loss of another or at the loss of themselves- or perhaps both.

The graphic novel surprised me with its topics of friendship, love, and processing emotions through art.

The graphic novel follow Jade as she spends her summer in an art intensive program. She was prompted to attend by her best friend. Before she leaves she learns that her bestie has been admitted to the hospital. This knowledge leaves Jade feeling sad and conflicted about her friendship.

Jade processes her feelings via her clay animals. I enjoyed how her art was included included in the novel and the slight magical realism to them. It shows how feeling & emotions can take a life of their own the more they weigh on you.

I really liked the color palette of this one and it was really neat how there were explanations for clay sculpting terms and techniques. This was one emotional read, but I really enjoyed my time. The ending was particularly beautiful!

Definitely, hard hitting one with moments of self-reflection and tenderness. I recommend to readers who are looking for themes of mental health, friendships, new romantic relationships, and stories about art. If you’re not in the headspace to handle topics of mental health i wouldn’t suggest you pick this one up until you’re ready 🙂

Slip is a beautiful graphic novel that delves into friendships, new love, grief, and how the arts can help you sort through the toughest parts of life. As a former studio art student and having sadly lost friends to suicide, this story was incredibly relatable for me. Jade's ability to get lost in her work and produce something so telling about how we handle grief and not having answers that we seek is inspiring. Sometimes there are truly no words and yet the arts is always there to show what we feel and how we may want to express ourselves subconsciously when even we aren't sure how to explain it. The fantastical parts included in the story added even more of a dreamlike feel to a very tough subject to talk about. This is my second time reading this book and I enjoyed it just as much this time around and the first time.

Slip was an extremely unique take on suicide while using art. The main characters friendship with her best friend felt very authentic to the situation as well as real life. I loved how the main character poured herself into her art and the unique take on when she actually put them into the kiln and they came to life. The way the book showed the character being able to express herself with art was really unique and a great jumping off point if someone was struggling with something.

This was my first ever graphic novel that I read. It was interesting but since I’m not used to reading graphic novels and realized it’s not for me.

This book follows the journey of our protagonist, Jade, who joins an art camp just after her best friend tried to attempt suicide. The incident left an impact on her even though she had joined the art camp yet the pain in her heart was not leaving her at peace. They found an interesting way to face her in the mist of all the art work of the camp.
The illustrations were beautiful but i would have loved it more if these were colourful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel! I also received a physical copy from the publisher. I loved how Mario’s McCoola seamlessly wove together elements of adolescence that can feel complicated and taboo for some authors, like self-harm and suicide, sexuality, and the profound and empowering but sometimes painful, confusing, defeating process of following your passion and figuring out how to compete and adapt in a new environment. This resonated with me deeply and I felt grateful to the author for giving me and, in the process, my younger self some perspective on what it means to grow up and experience all the tough, joyful, sad, ultimately genuinely human things we all go through.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc!

I loved loved loved the art style. It was a really beautiful story and I love that is was wlw but I feel like it lacked a lot. There are a lot of ways this could have improved in terms of story and plot line. I did really enjoy the art style and thought it was a beautiful story in general though

a short, angsty, artsy summer read!

we follow jade, a teenager who is just about to leave for art camp when she receives the news of her best friend's suicide attempt. she heads off to camp anyway, and her experience there is deeply colored by thoughts of her friend, phoebe.

the summer camp setting is a temporary place, almost liminal, and with the potential to be transformative. jade struggles to define her art project and to connect with her small group of classmates. she has a tentative sapphic romance, which is marred by the angst she is experiencing about phoebe. it's classic: a messy life relationship sabotaging fresh new love.

jade is slow to process her emotions regarding phoebe. confusion, worry, anger, and a taste of abandonment - thank goodness jade has her art to pour her emotions into. and she does, though perhaps too effectively, as the animals she sculpts come to life, unpredictable and difficult to manage, much like raw emotions.

i really like the moody art and woodsy camp setting. the book is short, but so are sad summers, so it all feels right.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest (and belated) review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Overall I liked this book. I loved the concept, but I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities. I felt the characters were a bit flat (the urge-to-merge), especially considering the struggles they are portrayed to be going through. I think that all these struggles weren't handled in the most thorough way - maybe choosing less and really exploring them would have been better. This is for and from the POV of a younger audience, but I still feel mental illness, and suicidality issues could have been handled more responsibly.

This was a difficult book to read, but it is so important. I thought the art was absolutely wonderful and the story itself was very moving. It's not been that long ago that I was this age and definitely remember those feelings of anger and betrayal and confusion and it's scary! It was lovely to see that represented in book form.

Illustrations were beautiful. Story was fine, always love queer rep, but the characters fell a bit flat for me.

Thanks Algonquin Young Readers for an early copy of this one!

TW in this book for a friend attempting suicide.

This is about a teenage girl who goes off to art camp one summer after her best friend attempts suicide, and she grapples with not feeling good enough for the art camp and with feeling like she missed a bunch of signs from her friend.

Honestly, this book was just too short to fully bring all of the characters to life and as a result the main character and her little summer romance just fell a little flat for me and I didn't really care about it one way or the other.

I also felt like she was making her friend's mental health struggles all about her and how she felt about them rather than being supportive and helpful in the situation.

I did think the illustrations were lovely and the story was cute if a little flat, and I'm glad I had the chance to read it!

This was a gorgeous graphic novel and the story was just so profound. Watching the main character grapple with her feelings surrounding a friends suicide attempt is hard but at the same time an important story and experience to understand.

What a gorgeous story. Both literally and visually. I love the idea that to create your best work, you have to destroy something first. I don't know why. I think that's just so fantastic and there's something to it; the destruction to get to the beauty. I also loved the duality of having to find the balance between doing what's best for yourself while also being the best version of a friend for someone else and knowing when space is more important for them. I thought it was a really refreshing read. And anything that teaches more about art is always a-okay with me!

I felt mixed while reading Slip. Jade felt self-absorbed and Phoebe felt selfish instead of caring. This was obviously not the intention, but it still got in the way of the message and the trauma. It was always going to be tricky to balance this topic and I imagine even if it was done without flaw, that it might still have struck the wrong chords with me. Still, I believe the attempt to tell the story should be rewarded. It is a tough topic to address at any age and there is no way to discuss it without stepping on toes because everyone's journey with mental illness is different.

I received this egalley as part of the ALAN conference and it is kept on a kindle in my classroom. My rating is based on the fact that my students have enjoyed this title and I look forward to when I get the chance to read it.

I started reading this book as the galley and ran out of time but I’m glad I revisited it in its final format. The book is beautiful. It’s all done and blues and shades of red and pink and these colors help elicit an emotion. We follow Phoebe as she heads to an art collective for a summer workshop. Her best friend was just admitted to the hospital under suicide watch. Phoebe spends her time at the art collective finding out who she is without her friend, and how she can be there, but give someone space at the same time. She also finds more of herself along the way. This book was beautiful. The story is one that I think many can see themselves in. It works well and should be on many shelves, both public and school libraries for years to come.

I really loved this heartfelt and poignant graphic novel about friendship, mental health, and self discovery. Jade's world is turned upside down at the news of her friend's attempted suicide.... right before Jade is separated from the situation and sent to art camp. Marika McCoola does a good job of taking the reader through Jade's emotional journey and upheaval, and how creativity and art can be profound tools for processing grief, anger, and growing up.