I'm putting Paper Planes right up there with my other MUST-READ LGBTQIA+ books!

This is a quick story that I found super important for any family, allies, or even the LGBTQIA+ community.

Paper Planes brings up the topic of a handful of crucial topics(finding your gender and sexual identity, learning to stand up for yourself, friendship, love, familial drama, etc). Note that as much as I love this graphic novel the only reason that I didn't give it a 5-star is because there was definitely room for needed depth into some of the topics. That being said, this is a great starting point for conversations that must be had.

I'm really hoping that there will be more books to follow because I devoured this in one sitting and there are so many more things that I'd love to see in following novels!

Thank you providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a longer graphic novel following the relationship between two teenagers from the moment they meet through conflict and closeness. Both of them are strugelling with societal/ familiy expectations and it is extremely interesting and touching to see them deal with that with different approaches. The complex and somehow contradictory nature of their relationship, the desperation of trying to fit in while also following your heart, the anger and hurt and hope and confusion is portrayed so well. This is a for me new angle on nonbinary and asexual representation, as they don't aim to explain these labels but rather braid them into this story to be defined by their effecs on character development.
In general, I had my struggles with the structure of the story. There are different timelines and unsaid things standing between characters for a while, some of them resolved in a blink of an eye, so they are easier to miss, some solely explained by context, some of them getting longer story arcs. This is one of this stories where it is beneficial if not necessary to read a short synopsis just to be aware of the broader frame of it all. I also think even though the visiual asthetic and the age of the characters are suggesting a young adult read, it is more for older teenagers and young adults.
All in all I was deeply moved by the character dynamics and the struggles they faced, I wish it would have been a little clearer in its structure.

This book was everything I wanted. The representation was so nice to have in one book, it felt so refreshing and nice to read. I loved that we saw glimpses in their lives in present and in the past. The dynamics of all the characters were really interesting to read. And through those dynamics I learned to love the characters more and more. I LOVED the art style as well, it was so pretty and well done. Overall a great graphic novel that I would recommend to anyone.

I think I would give this maybe a 1.5 if I could, I thought the art was beautiful and the LGBTQ themes that were represented was awesome, but the story was really not written well for my taste. It is possible that maybe this book was just not for me but the synopsis and the concept I felt was so compelling and the delivery was just not good in my opinion. I think it needs a lot of work, and for sure a better ending unless there are other volumes planned? Not sure, I don’t write graphic novels so I am by no means claiming I can do it better, but I didn’t like it and I thought it was generally disappointing.

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

Paper Planes by Jennie Wood Is released on May 16th, 2023

3.5⭐️

Paper Planes is a graphic novel that touches on the struggles of adolescence and the struggles of finding one’s own sexuality. I really liked the side character Cricket, my favorite quote from the entire story came from her, on page 88.
The art style gave me Kim Possible vibes, which I really enjoyed.

Thank you Net Galley, Mad Cave Studios, Jennie Wood, Dozerdraws, and Micah Meyers for sending me an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🫶
.
I absolutely loved this one and highly recommend it! It takes place in two different times. The present where the two are at a summer camp. And the past showing how they got there. I thought this was a very interesting way of telling this story and it slowly reveals itself. The ending is a bit bittersweet but still a story I recommend. It has a main theme of friendship and growing up. The illustrations are also gorgeous and the pages are colored different for if its part of the story set in the past vs the present which helps you understand alot! I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to get a physical copy for my graphic novel collection! 💕
.
Dylan is non-binary and I interpreted Leighton as aro-ace however I've seen people just describe her as asexual.
.
Just to note, in the E-ARC I was provided the illustrations were slightly blurry. At times the text would also be blurry but was normally very clear. I’m sure this formatting will be fixed in the final copy, I just wanted to mention it! 😊
.
Paper Planes, by Jennie Wood, Dozerdraws, & Micah Meyers releases on May 16th!

Long time friends Dylan and Leighton attend a camp for troubled teens; this graphic novel explored connections, queerness (non binary and ace representation) and friendship and the story goes back and forth between their camp present to their past in which we find out what happened that put them there. The art is beautiful, but I felt the narration was confused and frammentary.

First of all, the art was so freaking cool???🤩
Paper planes is a queer graphic novel about love, friendship, and finding about yourself.
Dylan, a non-binary adolescent, and their asexual closest buddy Leighton are followed throughout summer camp in this novel. Dylan and Leighton are forced to go to this camp to learn responsibility after getting into issues with a school bully. Flashbacks of the two's friendship over the years are used to tell this lovely, gorgeously illustrated coming-of-age story. While Dylan's mother struggles to make ends meet while working three jobs, Leighton is a tennis pro from a wealthy family. Together, these two buddies have matured and developed into their individual selves. They consider their friendship and how things have changed for them both over the years as a result of the summer camp activities.
My favorite part of the story was, obviously, the paper plane communication between Leighton and Dylan!

Paper Planes, which debuts on May 16, 2023, is a great choice if you want a coming-of-age tale with LGBTQIA+ representation and stunning visuals. :)

This is a great read and I wish I could reread it again for the first time. It's definitely going to be popular!

While I'm not normally a graphic novel consumer, Paper Planes made me want to consume more of them in 2023. I loved Dylan as a character because they were unapologetically themselves throughout the years of neglect and bullying. I really enjoyed that Wood never made the character address their gender or sexuality. They/them pronoun usage without a gender coming out sort to speak is something that I wish was in more books because it aids in normalizing using they/them automatically. It also helps in the simple way of exposure. The more we read/listen/view characters with they/them pronouns, the more used to it we get and it stops being this taboo or 'brave' subject.

My reasonings for taking 2 stars away lie in the lack of conclusions that we get for major plot events/subjects. Some of these include, what actually happened with Caroline and what diseases/disorders was she struggling with? I wish we would've gotten a glimpse as to why Leighton continued to push Dylan away. By the time it was revealed, Leighton's likeability and character stock had already taken too much of a blow to recover in the short amount of novel that was left. There is also the fact that Leighton finds her long lost grandfather while on a tennis trip, see's him, and confronts her mom one time and then it's never referenced or spoken about again, Given that the grandfather was POC and there is content in the novel that Leighton's mom is biracial (meaning her daughters are as well) I believe this should be been explored more. It would have been beneficial for the author to elaborate on Leighton's sexuality a bit more because we can use the context clues that she is asexual, and presents as aromantic, there are direct contradictions in Leighton's inner dialogue.

Lastly, the conclusion of the relationship between Dylan and Leighton had zero closure for the reader and that was disappointing. The storyline would've benefitted tremendously from any type of closure between those two. Instead, we were left with each of them being awkward and pretending like everything they went through didn't happen which was disappointing given the rest of the content in the novel.

It

This graphic novel follows two teen friends, Dylan and Leighton both during a summer camp for troubled teens and in the past before this camp. You unravel both why they were sent to the camp and the complexities of their relationship as they discover more about themselves.

The beginning of the story was challenging because things are revealed slowly in the first half of the book. The reader isn’t sure about many factors. While this frustrated me at first, I realized that it mirrored what the characters were going through as they process the event that led them to camp and who they are as people.

I wasn’t sure who to root for in the story as the two main characters have a lot going on internally and that makes them react in some angst ways that make sense for a teenager. But one stand out character for me who I loved was Cricket. She was so understanding and kind, even when both Dylan and Leighton were not. I love how sure she was of herself and her values. It gave the other characters an anchor and balance.

The plot has a lot going on with socioeconomic, gender, sexuality, friendship, and more. Sometimes I think it was a bit overwhelming to read about. But again, I feel that was intentional because real people have to deal with these duplicities in their lives and figure out how to juggle them.

While I think the main friendship portrayed with Leighton and Dylan is toxic, I think it has a lot to teach people like loving people can look a million different ways and to communicate clearly what you want and need.

Paper Planes follows Dylan and Leighton as they navigate their relationship with each other, as well as their time at a summer camp for behaviour correction.

I thought this graphic novel did a wonderful job at displaying a very diverse cast of characters and each of them felt well fleshed out. As well, it seems like it covered so much ground around wealth disparity, sexuality and racial identities. Our characters are trying to figure out who they are and what that means for them. I also loved how we got a dual POV to empathize with both of the main characters.

The passage of time was a big part of this story, showing how relationships can grow and change. Really recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful coming of age LGBT+ story.

This comic was an amazing read! For me it was the first time reading a comic book and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much 😄
I loved the drawing style and how the present and the flashbacks were shown trough different color schemes, it was brilliant! The story in his simplicity manages to deal with themes that are not too obvious and also gives some great representation of the LGBTQIA+ community. The only thing is that when I finished it I wished there was more to Dylan and Leighton, but in the end I understood why it had to end like that.

This graphic novel was fantastic. I loved how the author handled the topics of queerness and gender identity. I loved these characters so much that I lowkey wanted more. One thing I wish was handled better was the parts about the main character's grandfather. It was such an important topic that dealt with race. It felt rushed and underdeveloped. Overall, a great graphic novel that I will recommend to everyone.

Four friends have stolen aboard the Titanic. They're after the Rubaiyat - a book inlaid with priceless jewels. Josefa is a charismatic thief, Hinnah a daring acrobat, Violet an outstanding actress and Emilie a talented artist.

It is Josefa's plan, but she needs all of their skills. Despite their very different backgrounds, in a world of first-class passengers and suspicious crew members, the girls must work together to pull off the heist of their lives.

This is my first graphic novel for this artist/writer. Leigh ton and Dylan are two best friends getting in trouble and having to go to summer camp. There their friendship changes. This is a wonderful coming of gap with the cusp of disappointment. The graphics of this art work are vibrates with a message of acceptance of oneself. But trying to be true to myself. Leighton is good at tennis but she likes art but doesn’t want tk admit it since her family is pushing her for other things. Thinking it’s just a hobby. Dylan, his mom works three jobs to just get by. But he himself has dreams of going to NASA, but how. During the summer reflections happen between the two friends. Where you think it brings them together, in a way yes and no. The ending confused me, No disappointed me. I know this my opinion but I don’t know.

This was a fantastic story about the experiences of two young adults who have been through a bad experience. I love how the color tone of the pages changed to tell whether they were present or past. The artwork was absolutely beautiful and I was completely hooked on the story. Plus the ace and non-binary rep was wonderful. Thank you NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I got this book from NetGalley and devoured it in one sitting. I absolutely loved the characters and their development as the story progressed. Both Leighton and Dylan felt realistic thanks to their flaws and character motivations. The art style was stunning, and I adore the repeating image motif of the paper planes in this very transitionary point in their young life. I wish I had a book like this growing up because of its high stakes and amazing representation of both an ace character and a nonbinary character. Can’t recommend this book enough!!!!

Okay, this was REALLY cute and it dealt with a lot of different stuff going on in a really nice way for such a short story. All different aspects of LGBTQ+ (someone using they/them pronouns, something who is asexual, someone who (in 1 scene) suggested she liked girls), different social problems (someone being on food stamps, addiction, bullying). It was just really good and really fun and cute to read!

I really loved this graphic novel! The artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely beautiful, and the colours and style make this novel very easy to read. I think this novel did a good job speaking about issues like sexuality and class differences. I really liked the side characters at the Camp - specifically Cricket. The two main characters were flawed, and at times frustrating. But I needed to remind myself that they are younger, and still learning and growing. I think the ending of the story was great, I like how Leighton and Dylan had moved on from one another. I think it's rare for stories to end in this manner, but it seemed to be the mature and right decision. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It was an easy, quick read that I did in one sitting. Thank you!