Not a great storyline. It felt too toxic and with not enough reasons to feel invested in characters ( besides like Dylan & Cricket ). It also definitely felt middle grade for how immature decisions were, but I don’t think it’s a good read for a middle grade book, it’s really negative in terms of blowing things out of proportion and showing the majority of the story of toxicity & forcing people to be something they’re not/claiming someone is being someone they aren’t/filling in the blanks for them on their sexuality…? Not sure about it. I also don’t get why the parents & Leighton’s sister all seem HORRIBLE but then have really strong moments ?? It doesn’t make sense for the flow.

I also think there needs to be a better discernible feature to showcase how the time is jumping back and forth. Maybe it should be rearranged and broken into parts to show the Incident, the Camp, the Before, the After?? Just because I was SUPER confused until about halfway through when I realized the color schemes were different.

Ooooof this book is the definition of bittersweet. I absolutely tore through this arc, and loved every second. I also got a bit of a shock seeing a character like Dylan, who looked so like me.

Friend breakups are, in my humble opinion, so SO much more painful than romantic breakups, especially when you’re in that teen stage Leighton and Dylan are. The pressure of being perfect is just so overwhelming, and the desire to be yourself versus who you’re expected to be is one I remember very well. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the twist of why this duo ended up at camp, though!

I want to give all the characters a hug, and I cannot wait for everyone to meet them this summer - just in time for us all to go to camp with Leighton and Dylan (though hopefully for different reasons…)

This was a very enjoyable graphic novel.
The different timelines was confusing at times.
I enjoyed the character development and the LGBTQIA+ representation.
The graphics were were beautiful.

This is a strong, middle-grade “finding out who you really are” book that adds an interesting bit of mystery through the use of enlightening but not intrusive flashbacks. The LGBTQ representation is integral to the story without a moment feeling forced, as is the middle school to high school experiences. A good, honest, positive read for middle school readers.

I really enjoyed this book. The development between Leighton and Dylan was presented pretty realistically. Even though the ending was bittersweet, it fit perfectly into the story. The art style was also a nice component of the story.
Mostly, I liked Dylan and Leighton's friendship. Their friendship in the timeline before the camp was beautiful until it started to deteriorate. There were ups and downs in the timeline taking place in the camp which was interesting to read.
I really tried liking Leighton herself, particularly as the plot progressed past half of the story, but as her actions not only hurt her, but also Dylan, I wasn't very sympathetic towards her at the end. Although, I could understand Leighton's struggles with her parents' expectations which put pressure on her.
Dylan was a nice character who developed well throughout the story.
Overall, Dylan's and Leighton's story was intriguing and realistic.

This graphic novel tells a story of twocharacters Leighton and Dylan who are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth because of an incident that happened in the past. We follow their experience in the camp and also their relationship.

I thought that this was such an amazing read! I loved the past and present perspective and the storyline overall was really interesting and it made me emotional. I loved the camp shenanigans, the relationships, the drama! One thing that I also loved was the variety of characters, characters of all shapes and sizes and sexualities.

I would recommend this to adults and teenagers!

Paper Planes was a beautifully written graphic novel. I think that the target audience is young adult, but it is a great read for adults too. Looking forward to reading more by Jennie Wood.

This graphic novel was wonderful! It is a very classic young adult story. It contains many tropes as you see them in teenage stories. However, they were spiced up with a wonderfully diverse cast. My heart aches for the two main characters.
They are both struggling so much, for different and the same reasons. They should be together, friends or more, but their circumstances make it impossible. All the while they make mistakes and try to figure themselves out. What I personally really appreciated what Dylan being nonbinary and Leighton being asexual. While it didn’t make their entire character, it was important and it impacted the story.
The whole story and the characters were wonderfully developed. The pacing was exactly right and add to that the beautiful art style: I was swept away.

"Paper Planes" is a heartwarming tale about friendship, survival and growing up. Set in a summer camp for troubled girls the story weaves through a complex web of flash backs to reveal why the two primary characters Leighton and Dylan are actually there. Although the mystery is finally resolved in a thoroughly satisfying and mostly believable way the real strength of this story lies in the journey the characters undertake.

Through out their shared journey Leighton and Dylan communicate with each other through artistic notes written on perfectly folded paper airplanes. This device underscores Leighton's passion for the arts and Dylan's desire to be an astronaut. The tenuous and secretive nature of this communication also serves to illustrate the furtive and erratic nature of their friendship which is clearly not fully supported by their families and many of the adult characters in the book.

This story is clearly aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. Dylan seems to identify as non-binary, is described by less enlightened characters as suffering from gender dysphoria and is referred to as "they" in latter parts of the book. Dylan is also deeply attracted to Leighton, who is cis-female and at least to a certain extent initially reciprocates Dylan's affections.

However, due to its complex multifaceted characters and its broad coverage of themes revolving around maturing into adulthood this story should have a broad appeal beyond the LGBTQ+ community. It also touches on complex issues of race and class while portraying the characters' difficult passage from childhood into their early teens. Leighton explores her African American heritage which her family refuses to discuss or acknowledge and Dylan's precarious family social-economic situation emerges as a major factor in how the character is treated by others and is viewed by themselves.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for providing me with a advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ok… I just… This was such a fantastic book

It was both visually and soulfully stunning.

I loved the featured representation, and that gave a depth to the story that was just *chefs kiss*. The characters were awesome, and the ending was just….so lovely. So refreshing in the grand scheme of things! The ending wasn't typical ‘all is sorted and that’s the end of the book’. It’s not a book where the characters end up together and everyone was happy. It ended on this kind of heart breaking, bittersweetness.

3.75 - 4 stars (4 round-up)

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an arc!

This was a beautiful book to read, both visually and content-wise. The representation was amazing, the characters were great, and the ending was so refreshing! It wasn't a happy-go-lucky ending where the characters end up together and everyone was happy. No, it ended on a kind of bittersweet note, and that was really interesting.

I loved how this book showed how the parent's influence could seriously affect how a child thinks and behaves, and how it can also affect the child's actions.
Also, the ace rep was top-notch.
Anyway, highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a quick, sweet graphic novel with beautiful illustrations and incredible representation

This graphic novel is a great fit for high school classrooms. It had a ton of representation for LBGTQ+ students, and I am all for more characters representing out students within the classroom. I did find myself absolutely adoring Dylan and skimming through Leighton’s part more. He was a much more relatable and likeable character. I found myself rooting for him.

[this review contains spoilers]
Paper planes is a fun and quick read perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms.

The art is absolutely beautiful and I loved that the flashbacks were made in like a different colour scheme so it was very clear when there was a flashback.

The story itself is also very good, the representation is amazing and the characters are wonderful. I loved getting to know Dylan and Leighton and I’m kinda hoping for a sequel so I can know if they ever become friends again.

Overall, 4.25 stars, it’s a really fun and cute read with great representation and I’d love to read more about these characters.

I didn't like Leighton at all. I did like Dylan a lot. But Leighton was just awful. Never actually explained anything to Dylan. I hate people who just say "you don't/wouldn't understand" instead of actually trying to let the person understand.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. The art style was incredible and the story line conveyed the struggles of finding your identity and place in the world. It also navigated friendships, and how easily they can disolve. I loved all of the rep of the LGBTQ+ community and how well it was done. I would 100% recommend this adorable and sadly bittersweet graphic novel to literally everyone.

The book was very good. It was a great way to do a coming of age story about Asexual people. Will be recommending with book to students when published.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc for an honest review.

I really liked the message of the book. Especially as someone who lives queer novels and graphic novels, I appreciated how it was delivered.

I really liked the characters too, especially Dylan. I loved how you could see how imperfect both the characters are and I liked how their relationship was portrayed.

I did slightly confused in the beginning with the shift in the timelines but got used to it later. The artwork was adorable and I loved it.
I’d definitely recommend it to all graphic novel fans

I thought I'd extend the #TransRightsReadathon like suggested by reading a couple more trans books this week. Paper Planes is one of them, and I really liked this graphic novel.

It has both an asexual biracial MC and a questioning non-binary MC, and you meet them while they're at a camp for troubled youth after "The Incident". The story is told from there, with flashbacks from when they first became friends, working up to what happened to land them at the camp.

The way the flashbacks were executed made the story work really well, and I really liked both characters. They were realistically flawed and well fleshed out, which is not always the case in a graphic novel.

My one criticism would be that I would have loved more of a resolution towards the end, but other than that, I really enjoyed this.

3.75/5 stars
This graphic novel is a queer coming-of-age story tackling how growing up can influence friendships. It follows Dylan, a nonbinary person, and Leighton, an aroace character, struggling with different parts of their identities. I think that the story was really good and Dylan's storyline in particular was really good. I loved the art style it was beautiful.

I think for me the main issue is ending was rushed and could have been improved with a good conversation between Dylan and Leighton about their feelings. Further expansion of the ending would have elevated this for me to at least 4 stars or even 4.5 stars, because I overall really really liked it and would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows a non-binary teen Dylan and their asexual best friend Leighton at a Summer camp for troubled youth. The reason for them being sent there is not revealed until later on making it a bit of mystery that makes you want to keep on reading. The pair come from different backgrounds with Leighton being from a rich family, while Dylan's mom having three jobs. We follow them growing up and coming to terms with their identities. This story is told by switching between present day and flashbacks of them growing up together. The art style is very pleasant and I liked how the flashbacks were distinguished by having a different color pallet.

This book is told through dual-POV where the thoughts are distinguished by a tiny drawing and a different color. At first I was confused by whose thoughts were whose until I got the hang of it. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a coming of age story with ace and nb rep.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.