An interesting and original story about two young people dieting out their sexuality and their relationship with each other, with extra layers about socioeconomic differences.. I was a tad confused at points about the camp but it all came together with the flashbacks in the end. A worthwhile quick read.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I think it perfectly shows the way friendships and relationships can work when you're a teenager. I found both Dylan and Leighton to be interesting characters in their own way. They are very different from each other, which I think is a very important part of how their relationship works and develops. Leighton is asexual and seems to be a people pleaser thanks to her parents. Dylan is non-binary, they are a bit more impulsive and willing to stand up for themself. I liked that we got bits of the past while reading the present, it was very helpful in keeping me interested in the stories of the past and present. It explores their personal journeys and how it relates to their overall dynamic, we understand both parts and we get to know the characters very well.
The art style is also very nice, the coloring helps to understand the story, I really liked it.
It's a great story and I highly recommend it.

cw: Acephobia, Alcohol, Bullying, Homophobia

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I wasn’t sure what to rate this, but it made me cry so I’ll give it 5 stars. This is the story of Dylan and Leighton who are best friends and who are sent to a summer camp because of an incident with a girl from school.

I knew from the beginning this one was going to be deep. It was heart shattering and I still don’t know if I should cry or smile at the end. I think there was an ending there that will be happy someday.

Dylan is non-binary and has a rough home life. They lean on Leighton and Leighton’s family. Leighton is constantly pressured by her parents to be perfect and does everything they want her to in fear that she will be written off. She is asexual, and coming out to her parents has sent her to several rounds of therapy.

This graphic novel shows how easy it is not to really know the people you love the most. I loved Dylan’s character. They were very loyal and kind even though they did some things they probably shouldn’t have for love and acceptance I also really liked Cricket. She was cool as hell. Leighton just wanted to be accepted too, but couldn’t because of her family and the fear of what her peers would think of her. I can see her being an amazing friend an ally in the future for Dylan.

There were some parts where I didn’t like the things that Leighton did to Dylan. I know that Dylan did things they shouldn’t have for Leighton, but Leighton took full advantage of what was going on.

I really loved this art and this story and I’m ready for more like this. It gave me a weird feeling of hope in times where you feel like your world might be breaking apart.

Loved the art style! One of the most important things about a comic is the art and being able to feel immersed. I think the store did a great job of bringing color and vibrancy to the story through art. I love being able to see comics discussing identity and sexuality in a way that is really realistic and approachable. I think this is a wonderful story for young readers, especially people looking for queer stories. The time jams weren't my favorite but I loved the story as a whole.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I think the overall story, message and art style are really enjoyable and the characters were fun and interesting.

I definitely favored Dylan through this entire thing. Perhaps Leighton's struggle didn't really connect with me as a reader but I found that she didn't have much personal growth and still continues living in the same bubble she always did. She didn't communicate properly (or even try to) with Dylan then blamed Dylan for having expectations Leighton couldn't meet.

It can be difficult being young and queer, sorting yourself out and finding your path in life. Some people figure themselves out right away and others will spend all of their lifetime learning who they are. This graphic novel encompasses a piece of that struggle quite well.

The time skipping can be a little disconnecting but I think by the end we've gotten a really solid story. Overall I really liked this one!

4,5
I liked everything about this book, the illustrations which were beautifully done, the plot, the characters and the message that the story transmits.
It's a sad and beautiful story, that touches on several important topics like bullying, discrimination both sexual and social, family pressure, and more.
I really enjoyed the fact that we discover slowly through the story what happened with the main characters, and the way it was written, going from past to present scenes.
Really recommend this book!

Thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC!!

What a wonderful graphic novel, the colors and art are beautiful. The story is beautiful and sad at the same time, the topics covered in it touchs your heart.

Leighton and Dylan are friends that after an "accident", are taken to a rehabilitation camp. During the story we see passages of time between what happened in the past to the events of the present.

The graphic has non-binary representation as well as ace. I don't want to give spoilers so I advise everyone to read this beautiful story full of emotions and see for yourself what an amazing history it is.

Ps: i really loved that bittersweet end and how realistic the author made it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of Paper Planes! I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The colors and art style are PHENOMENAL. I loved the representation of ACE and nonbinary characters. The story felt real and was definitely emotional. I think anyone who reads this will get something great out of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Something happened at the end of middle school, and Dylan and Leighton need to show that they can take responsibility and make changes through their delinquent summer camp. As the summer unfolds, so does the truth of what happened, and they'll have to come terms with more than just that night to get through the next four years of high school...

This graphic novel covers some heavy topics - gender identity and sexuality, different living situations, pressure to be someone you're not, and more. It definitely feels sad, but it peels back layers as the story continues, and you do get a bit of sweetness at the end. Definitely recommend!

Out May 16th!

CW: gender dysphoria, bullying

Recieved an early copy through Netgalley!

This graphic novel has really beautiful art and the story becomes powerful fairly quick. I enjoyed having a story that doesn't have the happy ending you expect. It shows how complex relationships are, especially around high school age, and the crazy things people might to do impress others or even their parents.

At points I wished it was more obvious time was jumping around. I also wish some of the smaller plot lines were fleshed out mostly because I was curious about them.

Overall I enjoyed the story and the emotions it caused. I like seeing something that shows its okay for relationships to change over time.

This book was breathtaking, heartbreaking, and devastating all in one. The representation that this book contained was absolutely AMAZING! I loved all of the friendships and relationships, and they weren't all perfect but messy and real. Overall this was such an amazing graphic novel, I absolutely loved every page of it and am so glad that I got the opportunity to read it.

I really enjoyed this book. The representation was great, following a nonbinary character and an asexual one as they deal with the repercussions of an incident before they enter high school. I thought the art style was well done and nice to look at, and the characters felt very well-rounded. Overall though, I thought the story was quite sad and melancholy, especially by the end, and not that I think it needed a fully happy ending, I would've liked to see the characters come back together in some way at the end.

This graphic novel follows Leighton and Dylan as they spend their summer camp for troubled youth. Throughout the book, we get glimpses of how they met, experiences from their shared past, how they're spending time at the camp, as well as slowly learning what happened that they ended up there to begin with.

Art/Style:
The art in this is fantastic! Because we're working with present and past events, the art style changes slightly to differentiate between the time periods. The present time is in sharp and bold colors while the past is shown in what I would describe as the style of old photographs (still in color, but more muted and fuzzy). I think the one issue with the style in general I had was that Leighton and Dylan both occasionally have thought boxes that appear, there is a symbol to signify who is talking (roller skate for Leighton and a rocket ship for Dylan), though that wasn't immediately clear and the symbol only appears on the first of the series of boxes.

Characters:
There is a really good and diverse cast of characters in this book. We get to see some character background through the past portions of the book, especially the developing relationships between the characters. Even just seeing the different home lives of the characters was nice. When it comes to their time at the summer camp, we find (in my opinion) the best character: Cricket. Honestly, sign me up for a story all about Cricket, because talk about character. She is simultaneously unapologetic and caring, she lets her thoughts be heard, but she also goes out of her way to make sure that others are comfortable and happy.

Story:
Overall, the story itself left me wanting a bit more. Before you read this book, understand that you're not going to have the cutesy, all tied up in a little bow ending that you may be looking for. That's okay! I don't want to get too into it to avoid spoilers, however I felt left down by the motives of one of the characters in letting a relationship (or friendship) go. I understand boundaries and wanting people to respect who you are rather than expecting you to be who they want you to be, however some of this was compounded by the character imposing boundaries that they were told to put in place by others. To me, the ending and the "reveal" felt a little weird, and I think a little more space and time could have given a bit more to the characters to complete their arcs and more time to develop some of the other subplots (like with Leighton's family).

This book covers topics everyone should be more educated on! And I loved reading it! Sometimes we just don’t understand what we don’t know, and learning more about those things is the only way to go!

I really liked this book!!!! I am so happy to see LGBTQ+ representation like this to hopely make people feel more alive in their own skin. I am also happy to see aroace characters, I do wish that Leighton had a little more character development but other than that it was great.

just got a netgalley arc of this, and while it's not my first time reading something with the same undertones this felt blissfully new i loved everything about dylan because? They're adorable, but god their entire relationship with leighton hurts, it hurts so much because? How quickly friends you loved dearly turn into strangers, kind of. But? Unlikely alliances and all that jazz
AND THE ART STYLE WAS AMAZING it's just? Now i want a physical copy like right now. over all, a recommendation <3

I really loved this story! The art style is really pretty. I loved all the diversity and representation included in this graphic novel.

this graphic novel is a really good representation of a lot of friendships and relationships in life. [SPOILER] it’s sad, but most relationships don’t work out. some just are better off apart, even if they still love each other. [END] i spent a decent amount of the end of the book crying. it was an ending that i didn’t expect simply because it really deviates from what most books would push for, but it makes more sense, and i really appreciate the fact that it was realistic. it was a happy ending, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just more unexpected.

the representation is great. i’m glad that we had a non binary protagonist. usually, if there is a non binary character, they are the love interest and we don’t get their perspective, so i’m glad that dylan had a fair share of the graphic novel from their point of view. leighton was a great representation of asexual people. i’m glad that she didn’t change because of what others wanted of her. instead, she changed their minds and their thinking. i don’t like how [SPOILER] she let dylan take the blame and didn’t say anything afterwards about it [END], but other than that, i didn’t mind her character as much.

it’s a good graphic novel. i would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved seeing some asexual representation! I loved the message of the story, the friendships that developed, and the artwork

I did not love how Leighton acted, nor (SPOILER) how she let Dylan take the fall.. seemed like the typical rich person, let's throw some money at it and get away with whatever.. (END)

The time jumping I thought was well done but I was confused at first, and it took me awhile to figure out whose inner dialogue was whose.

Recommend!

This is so sad, and so heartbreaking, and so good, all at the same time.
Dylan, who is nonbinary, and Leighton, who is ACE are friends. They even love each other, in their own way, but, of course, their love is forbidden. Not because of who they are, but who their parents are. Leigh’s parents are well to do, and don’t talk about having Black genes at all. Dylan’s mother is poor, works three jobs, and no one cares about what they do.

But, something that happens, something they did, made them get sent to rehabilitation camp. We don't find out what that *something* is until nearly the end of the book.

And all the while Leigh wants to be normal, and Dylan just wants to protect her.

And as sad as this all is, this is also dynamics of friendship and young adult relationships, and bullies, and all those things.

Oh, and the title of the book? Because they both pass notes desguised as paper airplanes.

I kept trying to wait until later to read it, I kept thinking I could read it in bits, but I read it all in one go, because I was so invested in what would happen, and I felt the heartache of them both.
<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>