Came because I love Larson’s graphic novel work, stayed for the 90s vibes and epistolary style of the story.

Really hard to read most of this. The font choices and sizes made it almost impossible to read. Interesting concept, but it was so much effort to make my way through it.

Strong voice interspersed with comic panel illustrations of a teen girl's last 2 years of high school. It touches on her friends, boyfriends, and family, but mostly on the protagonist's growth into a woman of her own.

I have gotten into graphic novels as palate cleansers in between books. I wanted to like this one but I just couldn't get into it. It grabbed me because it was about a girl growing up in the 90s, and I was intrigued by that as a fellow 90s girlie. But I found myself losing interest at m points. The format of the journal entries is super cute. It just wasn't for me. But I would recommend this to any young girls. The way it addressed the issues that young teens experience is great. And with it being told in journal format in a teens perspective makes it even better

I absolutely loved this. Growing up I loved books that were like journals/diaries, and so I was so looking forward to this and was not let down. The art is beautiful, and I love that it is set in the mid 90’s. I am looking forward to more from this author. Also the cover is very eye catching which I love.

Growing up is hard. And for our protagonist Christine, she wants to be a writer, save for a car, and pass her SATs. She writes her New Year's resolutions in her diary and adds drawings to chronicle life's mishaps and adventures. They become more sophisticated over time.

Yet as a high school junior, life keeps lobbing curveballs at her. For one, her best friend Landry starts shunning her in favor of private school acquaintances, and starts drinking to cope with excessive stress. And for another, there's boy trouble. Her best guy friend is dating a catty teen, and the local lawyer's son wants to write while hitting on her. Navigating high school shouldn't be this tough!

Hope Larson reminds us that being a teen is never easy, even in the days before the Internet put all our lives online. Christine wants to have a boyfriend and grow up, but what does that even mean when you are gaining and losing people? I can relate to her sadness when Landry grows apart, and when she tries to navigate the summer and end of the school year. That's not even going into her attempts at relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Really enjoyed this graphic novel - it was a quick and engaging read full of believable levels of teen angst. The characters were well rounded and on the whole I enjoyed the story.

The nostalgia factor really worked for me, and I loved the little nods to the era in the writing.

Fabulous time capsule of growing up a teen in the 90s, when everyone was media obsessed before everyone had the ability to publish and create online. Yet the "is this friend good for me?" "does he like me?" "how do you cross the line from friend to boyfriend?" conundrums are universal, to all teens.

I'm not usually a fan of the illustrated diary format, and the slant here is much more towards the diary text. Still, while I wouldn't call it a graphic novel, it was an involving read, and the art items were well-chosen and included when needed.

"Be That Way" by Hope Larson is a nostalgic journey to 1996, following high school junior Christine's quest to be the noticed cool girl. Blending prose, illustration, and comics, Larson crafts a compelling coming-of-age story as Christine navigates friendship, romance, and self-discovery. After losing her best friend Landry, Christine embarks on a transformative summer, exploring courage, art, and unexpected romance with neighbor Whit. Larson's Eisner-award-winning talent shines in this heartfelt graphic novel, reminding readers that authenticity trumps the pursuit of coolness in a universal tale of adolescence and self-expression.

I think it was the author style that didn't work for me with this book. I found it hard to read and that is not why I read graphic novels. Not to say that gn can't be complex, but for some reason, it did not work for me. It could also be the fact that I'm not the target group.

Overall, nice story about looking to the future, friendship, navigating high school, som angst and just beeing a teen in the 90's.

/ Denise

A journal style novel attempting to capture the aging Diary of a Wimpy Kid market. Since it shares vibes with that series I don't really love it. I find the protagonist unsympathetic and unlikeable.

Hope, betrayal, friendship and coming-of-age are themes that teens can relate to and those that drive Be That Way. The book was a little slow in places, but overall it is one I would add to my classroom library.

4.5 STARS! Be That Way by Hope Larson is the journey through Christine's high school years in the mid to late 90s, as seen through her journals. This was a fun read that I devoured in hours and allowed for a view into growing into oneself and through pain and not allowing other to take away the best parts of you. I enjoyed the mixed genre of the book and enjoyed the journey. It was painful at times to read but only because it reflected on my own journey in high school in the 2000s and how I wish I would have made decision like Christine had.

🎨REVIEW🎨

Be That Way is a YA coming-of-age story by Eisner Award winning author/illustrator Hope Larsen. The story follows high school girl, Christine, as she navigates through grief, friendship, romance, planning her future, and more. The story is told in diary format and includes illustrations and comic panels.

First of all, I thought the format for this story was so much fun! I loved looking at the illustrations and I looked forward to the comic portions. Beyond that, it was fun to read a YA coming-of-age story set in the 1990s…it was definitely nostalgic for me, but also interesting to think that it’s “historical fiction” for the teenagers of today. Regardless of the differences, I think that teen readers will be able to relate to many of the challenges that Christine faced in the story and that they’ll appreciate how she learned and grew as the story progressed. 🖌️5/5🖌️

Full transparency, this one was a bit hard for me to sit through and read solely because the pacing was too slow for me. I didn't connect with the protagonist at all. I sat there and read the book through my own eyes, instead of hers. I did feel like overall the story was authentic though. I liked the honest journal entries and how accurate the setting was. At times, I truly felt like I was in the 90's! I did feel myself kind of rooting for our girl, but like I said I could not relate to her at all in any sort of way.

Have you ever experienced nostalgia for a time you weren't fully a part of? When you were alive but not old enough to "get" what was going on with teenagers? But yet it somehow feels like your experience and that you belonged there?

I enjoy reading your book! It's fast paced and I loved your writing and the drawing too. I think I like it mostly because thinks don't work like that in the country I live. I couldn't even think of owning a car before I was 25 if I wanted to buy it myself for starters. Moreover it felt real. Most of us had gone through bad breakups (or what we thought was a bad break up in school), and definitely, all of us had a crappy friend one way or another. Please, keep wrtiting like this and, if the sketches are yours, they are awesome too!

Be That Way is another fantastic graphic novel from Hope Larson. As someone who grew up in the 90s this graphic novel is spot on! This is a must for YA collections!

Oh man, this was so awkwardly true to life in the late 90s that I got cringey and self-conscious and couldn't read it. Will definitely be giving it to all my library teens who love this sort of thing.