5 stars for Tillie Walden's artwork, 2 stars for the writing.

Tillie Walden's artwork is amazing as always here, and I've come to never expect less. The writing, however, didn't work nearly as well for me. The writing style felt clumsy, but I was especially alienated by the choices when it comes to fictionalizing the story.

The story is based on Tegan and Sara's actual lives, but it's fictionalized by setting this story in the present day. I think this was a strange choice because their experiences were clearly influenced by growing up in the 90s, so it was alienating to read some of the ways the story was updated to the present day. I think this would have worked much better had it actually been set in the 90s, and I don't really understand why this choice was made.

Identical twins Tegan and Sara move and start junior high at the same time in this fictionalized account of their real-life experience. I enjoyed this book as it captures the feelings, relationships and angst of the tween years, but the illustrations were a bit confusing at times. Parts of the book where it was just the twins had them color-coded, the main story had them portrayed in the same color. I feel as though the reverse would have worked better.

I am a fan of Tegan and Sara's music. If you haven't checked them out, you should. This is a somewhat fictional version of their childhood. It's been updated to take place now instead of 1991. Their original band was called Plunk, not Gunk, etc. It's about their time in 7th grade after moving to a new school. The first half of this is your typical middle school girl stuff. Mean girls, getting your period, fitting in at a new school, etc. I was pretty bored with it until they found a guitar (which they didn't get in real life until they were 15.) Once it became more about their music, I was much more engaged with the story.

I know there are a ton of Tillie Walden fans out there. I thought the art here was just OK though. I did like the monochrome coloring. The character designs were often very similar though and I'd have a difficult time telling all of the characters apart, not just the twins, Tegan and Sara. That's also where the monochrome coloring didn't help.

The perfect graphic novel for middle school girls: those that are trying to find their place, trying to navigate the halls of MS and new relationships, adjusting to not just their physical but emotional changes. New friends, new school, the horrors of needing their first bra, experiencing their first periods, new relationships, discovering a passion for music…they did some of these separately but always came back to each other. I liked how they were able to translate 1991 into 2023 (1991 was when they were actually in MS). The support from their parents was great. I loved the illustrations and how the illustrator drew in Red for Sara & blue for Tegan, which helped distinguished between which twin was speaking. Definitely adding to my library collection!!

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), for allowing me to read Tegan and Sarah: Junior High early.

This was a very cute graphic novel. I'm not a fan of the two singers, music-wise, but I love their literary journey.

4 stars

I love Tegan and Sara's music and have enjoyed the FreeVee adaptation of their first book, so I was really excited to check out this prequel nearly as soon as I got my hands on it.

Fictional Tegan and Sara are in junior high, as the title states, and it's hilarious to see them \experience that in a modern setting (since they are currently fully grown adults. I am very close in age to them, so I cracked up the whole time thinking about (1) the horrors of actually being in junior high, (2) how strange it would be to think about myself being back at that life stage, and (3) the translation of their junior high experience into modern times (with parental figures who like the "classics," like Nirvana).

Highlights include the sibling/sister/twin relationship, the connection both characters reveal to music, and the way that their queerness comes through in their music, their thoughts, and their interactions. There's a great authors' note providing more insight into these points for the real Tegan and Sara, and that is not to be missed.

This is a quick, clear read, and fans of these two will enjoy getting 'a little bit closer' to the characters and authors in the process.

While I have heard *of* Tegan and Sara, I don't think I have heard their music, and did not know they had a show based on their life in high school, that this is a prequel to.

It was an average story, and only really got interesting when they got into their music. Up until that point, it was just another one of many middle-grade/junior high school stories with girls being mean, and girls getting their period, and fighting, and friendships. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is what makes up most of the middle grade stories out there.

But, when they get into their music, then the story gets interesting, and you see the sparks that drove them to their musical careers.

So, for that second half of the book, I will recommend this book.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Just three years have passed since those queer Quin kids from Calgary -- Tegan and Sara -- released a triple-threat: a revisit to their childhood jams with the album "Hey, I'm Just Like You," a New York Times bestselling memoir called "High School," and its Freevee TV adaptation.

After flourishing in the musical landscape for more than 20 years, the Twins are set to conquer publishing. After the success of "High School," they turned their introspective, frank storytelling style into a graphic novel for the young'uns: "Tegan and Sara: Junior High." Their experiences are relatable to many a North American teen: kissin' and cryin' and singin' and laughin' and -- in so many cases -- menstruatin' through life.

The perfectly-titled pseudo-memoir follows our titular heroines through a contemporary version of their junior high (middle school, to Americans) experience. Part of us yearns for the early-90s experience to be told and drawn in all its grungy glory, but the bump to a 2022 universe may help the work resonate with YA readers more strongly. Storywise, the graphic novel is all "Hey, I'm Just Like You." Tonally, though, it's a perfect companion piece to the poppier, more neon "Heartthrob." The song and video for "Closer" make an excellent side dish to "Junior High."

Autobiography and memoir is a solitary activity. What makes the tale -- and the dual-colored illustrations -- so unique is the omnipresence of Another Perspective. The girls, perched precariously on the edge of puberty, tell their story both together and apart -- interrupting core memories with metafictional observations and emotional outbursts that explode across pages. The novel's surrealist manipulation of time, space, and biology is made all the more striking by Tillie Walden's detailed, yet unfussy, illustrations. She eschews conventional, boxy panels in favor of a more abstract, free-flowing journey through the girls' minds.

The memoir, which culminates with a life-changing creative discovery, is a marvelous glimpse into those tiny moments of queer self-discovery that we remember equal parts nostalgia and terror. But, as they should, our trio of artists focus on the many things that unify and separate the sisters -- queer discovery included -- rather than becoming exclusively a Lesbian Coming-of-Age story.

"Junior High" is must-read for middle school and high school kids, especially those who menstruate, as the book handles the topic with both frankness and humor. And it's the kind of queer fiction we want: stories about queer people's lives that aren't only about their queerness. We're more than Just Gay -- we also get chicken pox, learn to play guitar, and embarrass ourselves beyond redemption at every turn.

Tegan and Sara Quin are starting a new school in a new part of town. Like any kids, they are nervous and excited, but middle school is a big change from being a little kid! New best friends, crushes, and just figuring out who they are can be a full time job!
This middle grade graphic novel is basically perfect. Tegan and Sara are great at channeling what it is to be 12 years old, and Tillie Walden's art is gorgeous and funny. Perfect for Raina Telgemeier fans.

This is a great book! I hadn't heard of Tegan and Sara till the Freeform show came out but now I'm so interested in their lives before they became famous. This book showcases how distance can grow even with the person you have been with since before birth. I loved how realistic the friendships were and the fights the girls had throughout. It was a great take on junior high from a modern perspective.

Tegan and Sara: Junior High Review
This book was very cute and we really enjoyed this slightly fictionalized version of some of Tegan and Sara's stories. We read High School and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. This really feels like a modernized version of their story, a few pieces of it were obviously adapted from their adult memoir and written for a younger audience.  All in all we think that it's going to make their stories accessible to Middle Grade children in a way that will encourage LGBTQ+ youngsters that it is ok to have the feelings they have and to also help them to not feel so alone.

A fun coming of age story that kept me reading until the very last page! If you’re a fan of Tillie Walden’s art and Tegan and Sara, this is the book for you.

I had never heard of Tegan and Sara Quin or their music before reading this book. This book follows the twins in junior high figuring out how to be their own person, friends, growing up, and crushes.

This book was so sweet. I read it mostly for Tillie Walden (amazing as always), but the story was really relatable and well done. I loved seeing the dynamics between Tegan, Sara, and their parents. I also appreciated how sensitively the issues surrounding growing up, dealing with toxic friends, and uncertainty about relationships were handled. I definitely see this becoming a staple in tween graphic novel collections, alongside titles by Raina Telgemeier, Shannon Hale, Gale Gilligan, and other popular creators. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

I wanted to like this book but i could tell that this was written by a group who weren't writers initially. I found the characters super one note and the story didn't go anywhere.