A well done transition between past and present with beautiful artwork. The characters are well established and their motivations develop beautifully as the book progresses.

Thank you Jennie Wood and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel follows the story of Dylan and Leighton who got sent to a summer camp after an incident. Both of them are struggling teenagers trying to save their friendship while protecting their future. Slowly the story itself is revealing what exactly happened during their past and the reason they need to attend the camp for troubled kids. We get to see their relationship growth and as individuals which I adored. The art style was amazing which made the setting feel more vibrant and livelier and additionally the reader feels more connected to the characters. I do however feel like the story could have been longer which would give the characters more space for development. Nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel and I am excited what the author brings next!

Representation: non-binary, ace, poc, nblw
Content warning: bullying, attempt of outing, arophobia, alcohol drinking

Paper Planes follows Dylan and Leighton, childhood best friends who are sent to a summer camp as a punishment, and the navigation of both their fractured friendship and camp activities.

I loved the artwork in this and thought the illustrations and colouring was really well done. I also appreciate the LGBTQ+ rep, with a non-binary MC and an aromantic asexual MC with other sapphic/queer characters also on-page.

A lot of what's going on in this graphic novel is hinted at but then fully revealed over the course of the story. Flashbacks form a major part and help to give context to both why the main characters are at a summer camp and how their friendship has developed over time. Whilst I understand this as a storytelling device and it did somewhat work, it also seemed to slow down the pace of the storyline a little bit.

I wish I had liked this more than I did, but I think there was just too much going on which made it difficult to give ample focus to all the storylines they had going on. Romance is woven throughout but only one pairing is adequately addressed. Given that this is presumably a standalone, introducing any topic that isn't resolved is somewhat frustrating as a reader and takes away from other storylines which could've been fleshed out more. There is also the trope of a bully targeting someone they have a crush on which isn't the greatest trope in the world but is another aspect that is introduced and then not properly addressed. The final pairing is something that was hinted at but never spoken about between the characters involved. The interactions between these characters could've definitely been changed to either expand upon the possible connections introduced, or to give an increased focus to other issues that the graphic novel wanted to tackle.

Racism and classism also form part of the story, but again not enough attention has been given to either. There is a subplot with the MC exploring their heritage but it seems to be placed into the story with no build-up, addressed quickly, and then not really brought up again. Classism is also huge and is one of the main reasons why the MCs have a fraught friendship (and why one of the MCs is bullied throughout) but isn't really confronted until the end of the graphic novel in a conversation which doesn't take place between the MCs. I admire the number of important issues the writer wanted to explore, but I think too many were chosen.

Honestly, this graphic novel could've easily been another 100 pages longer and probably would've been better for it. Whilst I thought this didn't live up to it's potential, I would read another graphic novel or other project from those who were involved in this one.

It took me a while to finish this book…. I did not know much about asexuality, but this book taught me new concepts which resonated with me. I did not enjoy the story very much though. Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This is a cute and touching story about growing up and figuring out who you are. I liked the characters because they were pretty realistic.

This was a super cute queer graphic novel touching on some important topics of guilt and doing what’s right. I liked the way this approxhed the topic

The art is really cute, the story, however, had good intentions with the Enby and Ace representations but felt rushed.

The main characters seem to have a really sweet relationship that feels kind of one-sided. One would do everything for the other, and the other one is keeping important things from them. Also, their gender and sexual identities were just randomly dropped into the story without any explanation. It seems like a missed opportunity to skip over that part of them. The story also seems to have no real conclusion.

Also, maybe it's just me, but the whole gender euphoria/dysphoria explanation really bothered me.

It is really confusing at first to figure out who the inner monologue belongs to. Also, a character list with names, ages, and pronouns would have been really useful. And what is up with that scene with the fall?! It makes no sense.

Leighton and Dylan couldn't be more different.
Leighton is popular, rich and with a bright future ahead.
Dylan has an impossible dream and not so well seen by others.

However, both have one thing in common, wanting to run away from that life that does not allow them to be who they want.

Their meeting is random but they start exchanging paper planes with messages on top and things change, their friendship turns into something more..
There are continuous time jumps that range from the meeting of the two girls to an event that will change their lives.

I loved the boards, the dialogues and the whole story of Leighton and Dylan, extremely real, extremely deep.
I liked how the theme of asexuality was treated, about which we read too little in the books.
It's a story of growth, of discovery but also of disappointment and above all it's a story of life.
Super recommended!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this beautiful book early!
Rep: non-binary MC, nblw, asexual MC
CW: side characters trying to out MCs, poverty, bullying, some mentions of aphobia

Content:

Leighton and Dylan have been friends for a very long time, but their friendship has not always been easy. The graphic novel takes place in the present, when the two characters are being sent to a summer camp for troubled youth after a tragic event in which they were involved. Throughout the book, there are many flashbacks to the characters’ past which slowly give the reader an idea of their history with each other and the reason why they are in the summer camp.

Leighton is the “perfect” daughter of her parents. Her mother is half-Black, but she tries to ignore it, which makes it difficult for Leighton to connect with that side of her family. Her parents are very proud of her tennis career, but Leighton doesn’t actually enjoy it, she only plays tennis to please her parents and would much rather pursue art. Her older sister, Caroline, has caused her parents a lot of trouble and is not well accepted in the family. Therefore, Leighton faces a lot of pressure to be perfect. At the same time, she is trying to figure out her asexuality, and she especially struggles with other people not understanding her sexuality or telling her “it is just a phase”.

Dylan is a non-binary teenager who comes from a poor family. They are an outsider at school, they get bullied for being poor and for not fitting into gender stereotypes. Dylan also has a cat, Daisy, which they care for a lot. They want to become an astronaut one day, but because of their family background, most people don’t believe they would ever make it far in life.

Leighton and Dylan have been friends since third grade, but over time their friendship has progressed further than “just friends”. However, figuring out their sexuality, class differences and dealing with an ignorant social environment make their relationship very complicated.

What I liked about the book:

The first thing I noticed when opening the book was the beautiful art style. I have read a few, but not a lot, of graphic novels before this one and I really found the art style to be outstandingly beautiful. The colors were really well chosen and I loved how the color schemes changed when there was a flashback.

I also loved the representation in this book. While not every side character in the book was super supportive, overall I did not have the impression that the character’s gender or sexual identity was used as a big problem in the story, which I really appreciated. In flashbacks from early years of their life, classmates were not very supportive of Dylan’s gender identity, but as they became older, it was not a problem anymore and people used the right pronouns for them without any questions (as they should, of course). Leighton does face a some problems from her environment because of her asexuality, but she is still confident in her sexuality and does not let that make her insecure of it. Overall, I had the impression that the negative comments from the outside were meant to show how the characters stay true to themselves, even when facing hardships, which I really liked.

I also really liked how nuanced the characters were. They both came from very different backgrounds, which was not just briefly mentioned but really shown in the book, and I could understand both of their perspectives really well.

Overall, the story made me feel a lot of things when reading it, it was bittersweet and I really felt for the characters.

What I did not like:

The only point of criticism I have is less about the plot and more about the structure of the book. I think it was great that the author did not give away the whole backstory from the beginning, so that the reader stayed curious to learn more about why the characters are in the present situation. However, I found them to be placed quite out of nowhere or in the middle of a scene, which really threw me off sometimes. But after a while I got used to it.

Also, this is not a happy story with a happy ending, which is perfectly fine, but if you go into it expecting that, you might be disappointed.

Conclusion:

I really liked it overall and I would definitely recommend it!
4 stars

Before starting with the review, I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The art was simple but it did the work. Maybe it was a little bit long, but this is just my opinion.
During the first few pages, the main characters expressed their need to not define themselves with a certain gender, which I very much appreciated, and also thought it was a marvellous way to open this graphic novel.
I felt very seen, mostly because I relate very much to rebellious Dylan, I loved that their thought was very out of the box, reminiscing my younger years as a preadolescent.
There was very much needed LGBTQ+ representation, mostly regarding queer and asexual. I’m very proud that young kids can be inspired to be who they want to be while reading this.
Throughout this novel, topics such as ecology, health, gender disphoria and race are brought up and mentioned. Loved that.
I very much enjoyed the present vs. somewhere in the past time settings, also considered as the main characters’ memories, so the readers can get context and understand the present events much better.
Another topic that is clearly portrayed throughout the whole graphic novel is the miscommunication between Dylan and Leighton, which I consider that is a big issue; not only regarding young people, but also adults.
To sum up, this is a relatable, very queer story that I liked very much.

This was a nice graphic novel: I liked the art which was pretty simple but very cute!
It's really great to have so much diversity, I was glad to see an asexual rep even though I felt like some elements were a bit confusing and didn't make sense.
The story was a bit rushed sometimes but I liked the flashbacks that let you discover the important elements of the story as you go along. I'm just a bit disappointed with the ending which I think is too quick.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (Thank you NetGalley) in exchange of a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

I really liked that book. I knew that after this summer camp Leighton and Dylan are not going to be that much of friends, but i know that is best for them.

Jennie Wood did a good job. She explained what it is like to be LGBTQ person and all the hiding.

The only thing that i didn't liked was that in the last pages where its 3 weeks later Leighton gets a boyfriend on the first day of school. She said that she was asexual and she still git a boyfriend.

Overall i really liked the book.

I received this as an arc from NetGalley.

I was interested in this book simply because it was queer and it definitely delivered on queerness.

I was quite confused on the switching of povs and times.

I didn’t quite understand the small little plots like who was spray painting and turns out to be dead ends.

It was also kind of slow and confusing what was happening with the plot and their past.

A summer away at camp should be fun, right?

Wrong.

Our former best friends Dylan Render and Leighton Worthington are trying to survive a summer camp for troubled youth. They come to evaluate what brought them to the camp in the first place.

I enjoyed the fact that it followed to friends who were no longer friends. After finally realizing who was narrating what parts I was engrossed in the story and the art. The representation of a Non-binary individual and someone who is asexual was very interesting to see in the way the creators did this one. I wanted Dylan to figure out what exactly they had done to Leighton the whole time.

In the end I was fuming at the events that had happened but loved Dylan a bit more than I did Leighton, and I think that was mostly because of their narration throughout. Also shoutout loved the side characters and them sticking up for each other.

Overall loved this, can't thank Netgalley and the publishing team enough for my copy of this. I can't wait to grab my own copy of this.

Paper Planes follows two central characters, Leighton and Dylan, as they attend a camp for troubled youth in the summer before their first year of high school. The incident that sent them there is revealed late in the graphic novel, a choice which emphasizes that this book is primarily about our two characters, their growing pains, and their relationship.

This is ultimately a bittersweet read about friendship, navigating romance as a young teen, gender identity, sexuality, class, and race. I looked through some other reviews of this graphic novel and they largely echo one another with praising the ace and non-binary representation in the book. As such, a lot was packed into the 200-odd beautifully illustrated pages of this book and the storyline suffered as a consequence.

Recommended if you're looking for a gentle graphic novel about finding yourself as a young teen, a strong ace or non-binary representation is important to you, and you're ok with a somewhat rushed story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC!

It really was a little boring for me. Don’t get me wrong,I loved it. The story is so what the queer community need. More representation.

I received this copy gifted from netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own
This book is so cute! Nonbinary and ace rep, and the art style is gorgeous. I read this in one sitting and thought it was adorable. It did at times move a little slow and felt like nothing was happening, but I loved the characters and their development. Great for LGBT kids of all ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I'm relatively new to the world of graphic novels. My tweens read them frequently and I always like to find quality books for them to enjoy. When looking for new books I try to find material that represents the diversity in society. This book will be a great addition to our growing graphic novel collection.

I absolutely adored this queer story about two friends at a crossroads after an event tests the limits of their bond with one another.

The two main characters are aroace and non-binary, who both face their own challenges in their lives, some of which are related to their queerness, but are also from other factors such as their family, other students at school, and ambitions. The story is told in a linear fashion with flashbacks that eventually help piece many pieces of the overarching plot together, and it was some fantastically. The artwork and colouring is also gorgeous, which plays a massive part in setting the tone, returning from flashbacks, and vibe.

I would definitely be recommending this to anyone looking for a book about "testing the limits of friendship", values and what it's like to be queer. So good!

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for giving early access to this wonderful story.

Okay, this was sweet. It was different from what I was expecting and the reveals throughout were surprising and well crafted. Equal parts uplifting and sad, this stories flits between multiple timelines in the relationship of the two main characters. From their friendship as children, through their high school journey, it explores what family, expectations, societal norms, and gender preference and expression can look like. This story is incredibly diverse and takes a great deal of care with it's representation and clarity through the eyes of many characters without being harmful or uncomfortable even when the characters are suffering. It's a good story in and of itself but it also says something important about coming of age and growing up and out of the past complexly. Overall I recommend this to really anyone, but especially those who have grown apart from friends, or who're struggling to find themselves in a world that wants to put people in boxes and explain away their differences.