I liked the way Frizzy was build, as someone with what was labeled as "difficult" hair, I recognized myself a lot in Marlene. More than that, I recognized my aunt's, My cousins, My mom and my Grandma in this story. So it struck strong into the heart.

More than that, I love this new generation of writers and artist, getting to understand their parents and create characters and people with a nice relation, a forgiving relation between them.

I would definitely give this to read to all the youngs girls. Hair is always a good way for them to understand their individuality and who they are.

Besides, the drawing are cute and peaceful. So thats obviously a massive plus in a graphic novel.

Marlene, a Dominican girl maturing into a teen is grappling with her natural hair journey. Marlene is sick of spending Sundays at the salon with her mama taming her frizzy curls into “good hair”, straight hair. After hair mishaps at her cousin’s quince and school Marlene wonders why presenting her best means sacrificing parts of herself. With the help of her best friend Camilla and her Tia Ruby, Marlene begins deconstructing “good” hair and embracing her own. While tackling complicated subjects including internalized racism and white supremacy, the illustrations are full of warmth and color. Great for middle grade readers, resonant of Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith for younger readers, a quick read this book will be beloved by many, but especially any child who battles with their hair!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

An emotional and educational graphic novel that was centred around hard-hitting questions that every person, young and old, finds themselves asking at some point in their lives.

The exploration of tough topics such as anti-Blackism, bullying, grief and miscommunication between mother and child were exceedingly well done. The growth for the protagonist was lovely to see; she started out frustratingly quiet about her inner turmoil but finally found the courage to voice her concerns.

However, I did find the aftermath of the confrontation with her mother was on the unrealistic side. For a graphic novel that had hit on so many home-truths that lots of people would relate to, it was odd to see it taking the easy way out by just having the mother simply accept everything the protagonist said and immediately try to change herself. In reality the mother would’ve likely been in denial and continued in her ways, and it would’ve been interesting to see how the protagonist would’ve handled that and what societal commentary the reader could’ve lifted from that. But, likely due to page constraints, that did not occur and the story ended rather abruptly after the build up to the confrontation. It was a shame because the foundation for that was built well and with great art too. Still, it snagged 4 stars and that’s no small feat!

This graphic novel was so relatable. When I saw this on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it. I grew up with frizzy hair and always hated it and wanted to have “pretty” straight hair. Thank goodness for the curly hair routine that has become more popular lately. Now, just like Marlene, I’ve been embracing my curly hair a bit more and have slowly been learning how to take care of it and which products work well with it. This book was so relatable and I saw myself in many of Marlene’s hair debacles. I’m grateful I never had to deal with her salon experience and that I had a mom who always said she liked me better with curly hair, even when that “curly hair” was just frizzy waves 😂 I really liked the bit about how ideas about our self-worth and what is attractive can be a generational issue and it can take time to unlearn all of that. That’s important to remember. I also loved how supportive Marlene’s tía was and how she taught her how to style her hair. This story shares a good message about how nobody’s hair is “bad,” even if it’s not styled and looks like a frizzy cloud. I highly recommend this for anybody who has ever felt “less than” because their hair never looked like society’s stereotypical beauty standards.

6/5

This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. One of the best that I've seen for the youth market. I also think the story of acceptance - of hair, family, and others - will resonate with many young readers.

Marlene hates one thing above all. Having to go to the salon every weekend. Her mom makes her so that she can have "good hair" and look "presentable." She doesn't get it though, why would straight hair be more presentable than her natural hair.

This was absolutely amazing. I have read it twice and it'q not even out yet. I loved every single thing about it. Marlene is everything, so is her best friend and her aunt. I loved how layered this was. It's a pretty short graphic novel and yet, it made me feel all the things. I laughed, raged, teared up a bit. I just love love love this so much. I also love the message. I just love everything about this. There's nothing else to it. It was absolute perfection.
Claribel never misses. Cannot wait for more and I also looooooooooooved the illustrations. Graphic novel perfection right there.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and First Second Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC).

My first opinion of Frizzy by just viewing the cover of it is that it is really eye catching and the colour palette would draw any young girls eye to it. The illustration tells us that it is a story about a girl who has frizzy hair. Does she like it??

The back cover and description tells us about Marlene, a lover of art and her family and friends. Every weekend her mother takes her to the salon to get her hair straightened son she can have "presentable", and "good" hair. But Marlene hates the salon and doesn't understand why her curls aren't considered "pretty" or "beautiful". With Tia Ruby's help Marlene starts on a journey or learning to love and accept her hair.

The story starts with Marlene and her mother at the salon...

Now I'm at the end and I'm not crying, you are and it's dripping on my face!!

Frizzy is a story I really connected to. Born female, my father had opinions on what I could wear or do to myself and he made these clear constantly, making me feel ashamed of myself. This would have been a perfect book for me to have read all the way vack then. This is a story that every young lady should read. Great for growing confidence about their differences in a positive and empowering way.

Rose Bousamra's illustrations were beautiful and enhanced the story.

An amazing, positive read.

What a cute graphic novel!
I was immediately entranced by the amazing illustrations that populated the beginning of the book. Then the story of this sweet, charming young girl struggling with her self-esteem pulled at my heart.
Frizzy made a beautiful masterpiece out of such a hard tale. It divulges a beautiful message at the end, all about acceptance and your own truth.
The main character, Marlene, touched my heart. She was always caring and kind but is faced with bullying and other hardships. Marlene would inspire the youth of today, which makes this such a great read for young readers.

What I Liked:
• Beautiful Illustrations
• Heartwarming story
• Marlene
• Book loving character
• Self-empowerment
• Diverse read
What I Didn’t:
• It was a little long
• Some conversations seemed repetitive, or like they just kept going

Read This If You Love:
• Beautiful drawings
• Lovely characters
• Natural curls
• Diverse reads
• Coming-of-age stories

Star: 4.3

Where was this book when I was a middle grade reader? Frizzy haired girls unite! While the book is about the struggles and bullying Marlene experiences due to her frizzy hair, the underlying lesson can be related to so many issues that young people face growing up (race, gender, sexual orientation, obesity). The book thoughtfully explores how harmful it can be to children when someone they love sees life through a good/bad lens (straight, blond hair good - frizzy brown hair bad). The book also shows how important and empowering it is for children to have people who support and love them just as they are. And did I mention the art? They drawings are lovely, and the emotions of the book shine through the illustration. I highly recommend this to middle graders and their significant loved ones.

Thank you to Netgalley and First Second for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4869693986

Thus book deserves way more than five stars. Way way more. I love the representation in this book and the promotion of the love for our curly hair. It's amazing. I sincerely hope this book teaches young girls to love their hair for what it is and to style it how they want because it's what they want.
Marlene's mum was annoying though 😭😂

I wish I had this book when I was younger. I cried reading this. I truly hope all my curly-haired- girlies read this and feel inspired to wear their hair how they want. Whether it be curly, straighten, relaxed, or just whatever feels natural.

When I was a preteen, The Princess Diaries was my favorite movie. In that movie, Anne Hathaway goes from a frizzy, curly-haired, bushy-eyebrowed girl with glasses to a sleek, straight-haired princess. It was far from the only example of media from my youth where the girl main character has curly hair before a makeover and is considered beautiful in the "after" scenes when her hair is straight. I definitely internalized at a young age that curly hair equals ugly and straight hair equals pretty. At one point I went to Sally Beauty and bought chemical straightener for my hair. Thankfully it didn't take and over the years I've learned to embrace and love my curls.

In this middle grade graphic novel, Marlene goes through a similar journey. She dreads visits to the salon every Sunday, but doesn't know how to tell her mom that she hates it. So many people in Marlene's life, from her aunts and uncles to the bullies at school, tell her that she has "bad" hair when it's curly and frizzy. Thankfully Marlene's cool tia is there to show Marlene how to love her curls and that there is no such thing as "bad" hair.

I appreciated how this graphic novel showed how much pain it causes a person to straighten their naturally curly hair. Marlene is drawn with tears in her eyes when she's at the salon, having her scalp tugged and burned under the dryer. Being that Marlene is Dominican, there's an added layer of anti-Blackness in the comments people make about her hair, which Tia deftly explains to her. My one criticism with this graphic novel is that it relies on Marlene's internal monologue too much. While the occasional thought bubble or narration is okay, I prefer graphic novels to rely on the illustrations to convey character's thoughts and emotions. Regardless, this is a book that struck a cord with me, as I'm sure it will for any curly-haired kid. A must buy for all middle grade shelves.

I've grown to love middle grade graphic novels this year, so I was excited to see this available to request on Netgalley. This graphic novel is unlike any I've read before in the way it tackles emotional topics whilst maintaining a fun, lighthearted feeling. We're following a young girl who's struggling to embrace her natural hair due to her over bearing mother who takes her to the salon to have it straightened every week. There were some really beautiful family relationships and friendships depicted here which made for a very powerful story which I'm sure a lot of readers will be able to relate to. I think the art style was really vibrant and engaging, and was particularly great at showing the beauty of natural curls. Overall, this wasn't my favourite graphic novel I've read but I still think it was a great read and will be particularly powerful in the hands of the right readers.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced ebook copy of this title!

I truly love it, I though it was just a simple graphic but it much more than that. The all point of the graphic is to be who you want to be, how you want your hair to look like and to be happy and feel beautiful. Frizzy succed to bring me to tear.

Marlene is a amazing little girl who only want to be beautiful and let her hair all curly like she want but she also want her mom to be happy and that mean for Marlene to be someone else.
The art is amazing and pastel, I understand a little more about some of my friends, all the character play a big role in Marlene story, I loved her relation with her Tia and with her mom.

More people should read Frizzy, this graphic was truly amazing and I can't to read more of Claribel A. Ortega works.

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books for an advanced digital copy of Frizzy.

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is beautifully illustrated. I cried, I laughed, and I wanted to give Marlene a big hug. I wasn't ready for the amount of emotions I was going to feel while reading Frizzy.

Marlene has such a big heart and she wants nothing more than to feel like herself, but with how her family treats hair and what they view as acceptable or good, it’s not what Marlene wants.

This story is so relatable. With the family pressure, the bullying, the desire to simply be yourself and to be loved and accepted as yourself.

Frizzy is by far one of my top favorite Young Middle Grade Graphic Novels that I have read this year. I can not recommend this book enough.

Claribel Ortega (Ghost Squad, Witchlings) provides the text/storyline for this realistic fiction graphic novel and artist Rose Bousamra creates the wonderful illustrated panels. Those in grades 4 through 7 who enjoy Chmakova’s Berrybrook Middle School, Hale’s Friends, the graphic Babysitter’s Club, and Scrivan Nat books will be glad for another realistic, school setting drama. The adults who love those readers will appreciate the positive messages of self-worth and individuality that permeate the story of Marlene’s unhappiness over her hard to manage curly hair and her friends’ and family’s certainty that she would do better to continue the weekly ordeal of salon straightening in order to fit in with and look more attractive to others. The characters of Mami, best friend Cam, Tia Ruby and even more supporting ones like cousin Diana, and classmates Angel, Ramon, and Stacey present unique and definable personalities and are each crucial to the plot in their own unique ways. All could easily be used for character studies within an ELA classroom, whether whole class or in a literature circle. Representation: Main characters are Dominican and illustrations show a variety of skin tones and assumed diversity in cultural backgrounds; a single parent home as well as traditional two parent family are present; one minor character is referred to using plural pronouns; in the arc, the phrase “anti-Blackness” is used once when Tia Ruby and Marlene are discussing why ultra curly hair can be viewed as unattractive by some. No profanity, sexual content or violence is present. Recommended purchase for libraries with high turnover in the graphic novel collection.

I want to thank NetGalley for giving me a digital copy of “Frizzy” to review.

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, especially fiction ones, but I loved Ortega’s book Witchlings, so I decided to give Frizzy a read. This book was brilliant! It follows Marlene’s journey to accept her hair and realize that she doesn’t need anyone else’s approval for her happiness.

The characters were relatable and dynamic. The plot itself was very simple, but I don’t think there needs to be a complicated plot to get the message across. The illustrations were well done and helped move the story along beautifully.

Overall, I thought it was a sweet book and it’s great for adding diversity to your shelves!

My CAWPILE score for this book was 8.14 which is equivalent to four stars.

Interesting book about uniqueness and how to embrace your identity.A young girl finds herself in the process of taming her curly hair.
I am not familiar with hair days and hair routines so this book gave me an insight of this cultural norm.
I liked the illustrations and colors. Fun ,intersection read.

Beautiful and colorful book abouta Dominican-American girl learning to embrace her curly hair. As a Black woman, I noticed the hair care method was a bit different (no bonnet or protective style at night?), but I was glad anti-Blackness was clearly named. The color were bright and the illustrations really used the curvy lines to express mood well.

A Wash Day Diaries for middle schoolers, this graphic novel teaches girls there’s no such thing as “bad hair”. Very cute. Art is great. Story is good.