Book provided by NetGalley

As someone who may not typically gravitate towards graphic novels, "Paper Planes" is an excellent entry point into the genre. The combination of Wood's powerful writing and the stunning artwork creates a story that is both visually striking and emotionally resonant. The use of visual storytelling is particularly effective in conveying the inner emotional world of the characters, allowing readers to connect with them on a deeper level.

Despite tackling weighty issues such as grief, trauma, and mental health, the story never feels heavy-handed or preachy. Instead, Wood allows the characters to drive the narrative, revealing their struggles and triumphs in a way that feels authentic and relatable.

Ultimately, "Paper Planes" is a story about the importance of resilience and hope in the face of adversity. It is a touching and inspiring tale that will resonate with readers of all ages, and a testament to the power of graphic novels as a storytelling medium.

This graphic novel wasn’t what I was expecting but I really did enjoy it. I loved the LGBTQ representation and the storyline throughout was really good.

This story encompassed many aspects of growing up, especially with differences among peers. Leighton and Dylan are two friends trying to navigate growing up in their friendship while outside influences and misunderstandings pull them apart. There are two timelines: the present day where Dylan and Leighton are in a summer camp for special situations unknown and glimpses into the past showcasing the start of their friendship and ultimately leading up the scenes that landed them in summer camp.
Leighton and Dylan provide much needed asexual/aromantic and nonbinary representation respectively. And due to this, it also leads the reader to think about common misconceptions that exist about these two identities both in and outside of the LGBTQ community.
I think Paper Planes tried to cover too much ground. I would have preferred a deeper dive into some of the discussions and themes. But I do acknowledge that this is a teen graphic novel, so there was only so much length this could have taken up. Plus, the characters are about 13-14 so they are not going to have interactions the ways adults would! Sometimes books make me adjust my own expectations in a good way and this was one of them.
I am excited to see where Wood's career goes in the future and will keep my eye out for future publications

"Paper planes" is a very ambitious graphic novel; unfortunately it does not quite deliver what it promises. The author simply tries to squeeze too many subjects in one go, without managing to resolve them - I think - due to lack of narrative space.

We have for a start the LGBTQIA+ representation, which I much appreciated: the main characters are Leighton, an asexual girl, and Dylan, a young non-binary person. Their relationship is a very important part of the graphic novel, although the real centre is the unknown reason why they're spending their summer in a "special" camp.

We see various flashbacks which I found not very helpful, cause the book's main subject remain unclear. Is it Leighton's issues with her mother, a half Black woman who rejected her father to pass as white ? Is it Dylan's family's poverty, which created a barrier between the two characters' families? Is it Leighton's asexuality or Dylan being a non binary person ?

I still am not clear about it. Some of these issues resolve by the end, some others float there without anybody really facing them. I did not manage to empathise much with Leighton; maybe just a bit with Dylan. Overall, it left me unsatisfied. Nothing to say about the drawings, which did not strike me positively or negatively.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of "Paper planes".

Paper Planes is about a two teenagers, one rich and one poor. The differences in their lives when they get bullied at school, and yet their friendship continued. What would be the breaking point for you for a friendship? I liked how the book shows growth for Dylan. I’m not sure Leighton grows much.

I loved this book so much! As someone who identifies as non-binary It was very nice to have a character a lot like me! The overuse of modern slang was a little bit off putting but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I recommend reading this super cute, queer graphic novel!

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book!!

Thank you NetGalley, Mad Cav Studios and Maverick for early access of Paper Planes by Jennie Wood!

This is the coming of age story of Dylan and Leighton, two teens sentenced to summer at a camp for troubled youth. I feared that with both of the POV characters, as well as at least one of the notable side characters, being queer, that this was a conversion camp. It is most certainly not, but the incident that has Dylan and Leighton forced to go on teamwork hikes and make friendship bracelets stays a mystery until the end of the story. The narrative switches back and forth between their time at camp and their past together, growing up together and becoming close over the years. The dynamic between them evolves in our eyes as more information regarding the circumstances that landed them in camp is revealed. There is also lovely moments of discovery for Dylan and Leighton concerning their own personal journeys with gender and sexuality. This was a fun read with a bittersweet ending. I will gladly read whatever else Wood writes!

The way i just got to the end of the book and audibly gasped and said "what?? that's it??"

I am a sucker for happy ending but everyone in a while a bittersweet ending sneaks it's way in. As much as i hate it i also loved it.

Starting off the story I did struggle to keep up with the timeline and what was actually going on with the characters. After getting into it a bit i started to understand and piece things together. Once I did I was invested in the story. Dylan was absolutely my favorite character.

The representation in this was great and a main focus of the story. The struggles felt real and also made it easy to understand the characters while bringing exposure to those issues.

I do wonder if there will be more to the story though. Things felt a little open ended on Leighton's side. Dylan made incredible progress as a character and had me so happy for them. As much as I want more of their story and them figuring life out, I feel like Leighton has more to learn.

Overall I really enjoy this! A great story with ace/aro & nonbinary rep.

This story was beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure. This cast is so diverse and the content tackles some fairly heavy issues surrounding those diversities in a way that felt so thoughtful.

I adored Dylan. They were just such a lovely main character, and their “gender euphoria” comment made me so happy for them. Also, that last shot? Gosh, that made my heart fuzzy. Such a beautiful piece of art.

Leighton really resonated with me in regards to her asexuality, even though the rest of her life was miles from mine. I felt so conflicted about my sexuality at her age and for years after, too. The way she ghosted Dylan, largely out of fear that Dylan expected more from her than she could offer, is legitimately something I’ve done in the past and my heart broke for both of them.

The major conflict felt somehow weak and over dramatic at the same time. The whole story with its dual timeline builds to this big climax of what happened and it kind of fell really short for me. Luckily I loved both the journey there and what came after a whole lot.

If you’re looking for a new graphic novel soon, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Beautiful artwork and an emotional story.

Paper Planes is a graphic novel about two friends struggling their way through some heavy issues like gender, sexuality, belonging, identity & friendship.

Paper Planes is a beautiful drawn book with a very interesting story.

The story is about Dylan and Leighton who grew up together. After an accident they got sent to a summer camp.

I really liked the premisse of this book and the story itself was good but for me it felt like something was missing. The end felt really flat for me and I would have liked if it was a bit longer. It didn't really felt like the story is finished.

Overall the story was easy to read and the represantation felt real.

I would still recommend this graphic novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for this EARC.

3.5 stars
I really liked the illustrations in this graphic novel. I enjoyed the story but was a bit confused especially in the first half of the story. It almost felt like I had pages missing. The timeline jumps back and forth a lot, and all over the place so it was a bit hard to get invested at first. After the halfway point I got a better feel for the story and understood the flashbacks better but sometimes they were a bit hard to place and make sense of. I liked the LGBTQ+ themes and was interested with the storyline of Dylan and Leighton's friendship. I would recommend this graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the eARC of this graphic novel!

This follows two friends at a summer camp where their friendship seems to be going through rough times. Throughout the story, their past is slowly revealed, including why they're at this camp to begin with, and they discover more about themselves and each other. The characters are flawed and human; their hurt feelings affect their actions. There is also focus on living up to expectations. However, I do not like the side trope of a person who bullies someone because they like that person.

It was great to see aroace and nonbinary representation and the path to self-discovery within this graphic novel. I especially felt for the aroace character's feelings because of my own identity.

The art style was very pleasant, and the characters were distinct and pretty diverse. Although I found it fairly easy to differentiate between past and present because of the visual style choices, the amount of switching between past and present meant I had to really focus to work out what was happening when. Visually, I liked how the paper planes were used as stand-ins for the state of the characters' connection and communication.

Overall, I think this is worth the read for the ideas of self-discovery and as an introduction to some queer identities that aren't often discussed wrapped up in a fun art style and solid story.

<b>Actual rating: 3.5 stars</b> (on 5)

First of all, visually, I really liked the art style and the coloring. It was clean, pleasant and a pretty good match with the story.

On the story itself, even though I'm not much into romances, it was okay. The storytelling alternates between the present and flashbacks at various point in time leading to what brought the teens to the current situation. The pacing was a bit strange and I found the conclusion a bit rushed compared to the rest, but I didn't mind too much. I struggled a bit to like one of the two main characters because of the way she was treating the other but I guess that does make a point in the narrative. I can imagine that some people won't like the ending but I personnally enjoyed its nuances and thought it was adding something closer to reality than an happily ever after would have.

The queer representations are a plus (and not to be dismissed) but it's mostly a universal story about navigating that fine line as a teen between first crushes, friendship and discovering who you are. I think that makes it a pretty good YA graphic novel for that public.

Based on the cover of the novel I did not expect the stpry itself to be so bittersweet. I really felt for Dylan. They were left in the dark by their best friend for a long time, which I think hurt Dylan more than if Leighton would have just told them everything.

I'm not sure I'm entirely on board with the whole troubled youth camp being wholesome and accepting, since we mostly hear bad stories about these sort of camps. But it did provided the needed tension into the story as Dylan and Leighton both figure themselves out.

It's a shame Leighton wasn't able to break free from her parents and felt the need to keep being someone she's not. I wish her representation as someone on the ace spectrum would have been done a little differently; specifically with regards to having to pretend to like boys and go out with them.

My favorite character was Cricket to be honest; they were very true to themselves which I liked..

In the end everything sort a works out, though I feel in a way that Leighton got of too easy for her part in the reason they were send to that camp.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jennie Wood, and Mad Cave Studios for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The graphic novel captivates with interesting and multilayered characters and a well-told plot. I endorse the art style and color scheme throughout the book. The only drawback in my opinion: the conclusion of the story was not very satisfying, it didn´t seem like an ending but it also didn´t leave many points open to continue the story.

This book was a lot heavier than I expected, but I would also consider that its strength. Based on the description and cover I was expecting a light YA comic focused mostly on romance, but the ending is more bittersweet. I think this adds to the realism and makes it stand apart from a lot of the YA comics I’ve read, and also ends up making more sense than if they made it a perfectly happy romance.

The art is beautiful, and the flashbacks & non-linear storyline worked very well. I found themes of class, race and family to be explored well but I would have maybe also liked to see more time devoted to Dylan’s gender and Leighton’s asexuality.

The only thing that I found a bit frustrating was Leighton’s lack of character development - she spends the entire story doing her parents’ bidding and she is clearly unhappy, and that is never resolved. I understand that sometimes that’s just how it is in life, but for the sake of the story I wish that Leighton’s unhappiness with her own life was addressed a bit more.

a bitter sweet queer graphic novel about identity, finding yourself, coming of age, and friendship.

It was a very diverse book with lgbtq+ rep. It had very cute artwork, and dealt with a bit of difficult subjects.

Would definitely recommend if your looking for a book that touches on adolesecence and sexuality.

This one took a while to grow on me, I wasn't sure how I felt about it as I read it but the more time I spent with the story, the more I enjoyed it. The moments of sweetness, of friendship, of discovery are really meaningful.

Paper Planes is a graphic novel with a bittersweet taste. The non-binary and ace representation was nice, but representation sometimes isn’t enough. The timeline was confusing an difficult to follow, and the storytelling was not all that clear. However, the depiction of finding who you are in your teenage years was spot on!