Such a fun inclusive sports book. It brought the quirky sports wold of pillow fighting to life and drew me in more than I expected.

It was like roller derby, but with pillows, and it was weird to me. I didn't feel like I got to know the main characters, either. I couldn't finish it.

Pillow Talk is about how Grace Mendes finds her alter ego Cinderhella while competing in the PFF, the Pillow Fight Federation. As Cinderhella gains attention, Grace has to face challenges and fears and she uses Cinderhella to find her true self.

I'm conflicted on how I feel about the pace of the book. I expected it to be fast paced - lots of action from the pillow fighting and the rivalries that would present themselves. But the book was actually a bit slower paced - there were a lot of conversations amongst the characters about identity that led to the slower pace. These conversations weren't entirely distracting or out of place, so I would just make sure readers have a realistic expectation for the pace.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Alley for the e-arc of this title! I absolutely adored everything about it. It covers big topics like body image, family dynamics, friendship, coming to terms with your sexuality, single parenthood and so much more, yet never feels like it is trying to do too much. I could read about these characters over and over again. I am looking forward to this officially coming out!

Pillow fighting x roller derby x wrestling??? SIGN ME THE HECK UP!!!

This is a fun graphic novel with lots of action, fun wrestling names, and a realistic story about body image and imposter syndrome.

The only thing I didn't vibe with was the time jumps. Some of them didn't flow well imo. During those parts I desperately wanted it to be an ongoing series so we could see the personal and team growth more.

content/trigger warnings: anxiety, cyberbullying, fatphobia

representation: ace, Black, body diversity, fat, nonbinary, poc, queer, sapphic, they/them pronouns

This is a mashup of the movie Whip It, about roller derby, and the TV series Glow, about professional women’s wrestling. This book was such a fun read. Based on the cover, I thought it was going to be a middle grade book. It is solidly an adult graphic novel. Teens may enjoy it, but it is aimed for young adults. The story is very similar to the movies mentioned before and that a girl discovers that professional pillow fighting is a thing and thinks “I can do that”. They not only become very good at it, and comes out of their shell because they found their new niche. I love everything about this! I love the idea of taking a pillow fight from ladies in skimpy negligee, to real women controlling their outcomes, and taking the male view out of pillow fighting. There’s also the idea of family, of standing up for yourself, and seeing all the good things about yourself that other people see. This book was a joy from the first page to the last and I would love to see it get read by as many people as possible. And all honesty I want to see this on the Goodreads list of best graphic novels come the end of 2024.

College freshman Grace, after attending a pillow fighting federation (PFF) match with a friend, decides to join. Together with her long-time friend and roommate Callie, Grace immerses herself in PFF competition, building her matchsona Cinderhella. She builds a network of new friends and learns to balance life.

This was an absolutely delightful graphic novel, with an illustration style that perfectly compliments the narrative. It's a great story of (queer) found family, the journey towards self acceptance, and the hard task of dealing with past trauma.

Thank you HarperCollins Children’s Books and NetGalley for access to an eARC of this incredible graphic novel!

Grace is a shy college student looking for a way to express her fierceness through the art of pillow fights: part roller derby and part professional wrestling, the Pillow Fight Federation allows people to compete in pillow fights while wearing costumes as wild as their hearts desire. Grace slowly works her way up the ranks and makes friends. But social media can be cruel and Grace sways between confidence and fear when it comes to her participation in her new club. Will her friends help her shine or will she go back to the shadows?

The art is gorgeous and I love the costume design of all the characters. Their ability to express themselves through their costumes and embrace different parts of their identities is one of the best parts of this phenomenal graphic novel.

5 out of 5 stars

I had no idea that professional pillow fighting was an actual sport until I read this book, but it was such a blast! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys other queer, sports-related graphic novels. I wish we’d gotten more time to flesh out some of the other characters, but maybe there’d be more room for that if this was a prose novel instead of a graphic novel.

This was SO fun, I love all the body diversity! The writing was a little clunky; the moral messaging was bit too strongly delivered at times (like the random PSA on registering to vote). But overall it was so nice to see a group of friends—many of them women—supporting each other, having a good time, and feeling empowered. Reminded me of SLAM! but queerer and more wholesome. The artwork was super cute, too! (even if everyone's noses looked the same lol) (also, soft side-eye to reviewers saying the art is too "comic"-y for a graphic novel... y'all... graphic novels are comics, ffs🙄 There's no one way that the art style is "supposed to" look like.) 3.5 stars

TW: fatphobia, internalized fatphobia, mention of past bullying

Comforting, colourful and kick-ass

This graphic novel brought me so much JOY!
It was so positive and just what I needed. The diversity of characters was great and awesome to see! This graphic novel felt like a big hug! It tackles sometimes difficult to talk about topics such as body image issues but I feel like this deals with it in a great way. There was such a sense of community and acceptance and I absolutely adored it!

I would love to have my own PFF persona and get to compete in something so absolutely kick ass! The illustrations are wonderful and the bright bold colour palette really emphasises the awesome characters.

Pillow Talk has grabbing visuals, a fun coloring style, and a low-stakes plotline. I liked the style the characters were drawn in, and the graphic novel had some good messages. I felt that the plot and characters were underdeveloped in some aspects. There were very limited backgrounds - the characters often floated in space. The pacing was uneven, with no real flow and large time jumps. The plot is overly convenient - Grace doesn't work for her accomplishments in the novel; everything is handed to her without a real explanation. Thus, there is no real conflict, and her fear of failure feels short-sighted. I liked some points in the novel, but it felt like the author was trying too hard to fit political opinions in, and it made Pillow Talk flow unnaturally. While there are some good messages, this feels like ideology overkill - there are too many messages, which leads them all to be underdeveloped. Overall, this story has good bones and is fun, but it spends more time being affirming with unrealistic dialogue than developing the plot or three-dimensional characters.

Pillow Talk by Stephanie Cooke may be my FAVORITE graphic novel this year! It is a wonderfully queer & diverse read about a university student, who becomes a fighter in the Pillow Fight Federation (basically pillow fighting and wrestling together in some sort of amazing mix).

First, let's talk about the art. It was absolutely gorgeous! All of these deep purples & blues that made everything so dynamic. The fight scenes were illustrated so well & I am obsessed with the way these characters are drawn.

There is so much to love about this book. It had a large focus on confidence and body positivity. It also talked about coming out and sexual identity. I loved that there was non-binary, sapphic, and ace representation!

Grace, the main character, grows so much during this story. I loved watching her put herself first and choose something awesome & fun.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Stephanie Cooke, and HarperCollins for the chance to read & review this e-arc! Now to go buy a print copy, because this book is too pretty to not live on my shelf 😁

I enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I think it would made a great addition to anyone's graphic novel collection.

Grace feels like she has finally found her place in the PFF, a pillow fighting federation. When her amateur story goes viral, it brings attention to the organization in the best way. Full of friendships and humor.

Modeled after the WWE with the fighter backstories and dynamics. Gave roller derby vibes. Lighthearted fun, full of girl power.

Fat representation is everything to me and this graphic novel does a great job with it. The way Grace feels about her fatness and how society treats fat people is very real. The representation both for characters in the book and its readers is sooo important. Other books like this would usually have a romantic plot line, but for Grace it was just about her coming in to her own and using her voice and her Cinderhella persona.

I also really liked Grace and Callie’s friendship and the way they supported each other throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

I'm sorry but I'm not able to review this book even though I really wanted to read it. There's something wrong with my netgalley shelf app and despite having asked for help to fix this, I've just never been able to access the book. :(.
I'm leaving an average mid 3 stars for this book as I don't know what I would have given it if I could read it. I don't want to have to leave a score at all but if I don't it affects my netgalley ratio. Thank you to the publisher for approval and apologies for not being able to read it.

Grace is a college freshmen and feeling insecure. After attending a match at the Pillow Fight Federation, she is inspired to join. Although she is enjoying herself, she still struggles with loving herself.

I thought this comic overall was pretty good. It was a little slow at first, but once Grace joins the PFF, it definitely picks up! The art isn't my favorite style, but it is still good (and that is more of a personal preference). I like how inclusive the author was and the way they handled complex issues.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All Grace Mendes wants is to blend into the scenery. From a young age, all being noticed got her was bullying, body shaming, and a loss of self-worth. When her best friend, Callie, drags Grace to a Pillow Fight Association (PFF) match, Grace is swept up in the confident, larger than life people in the ring. Seeing them owning their strength and oozing fierceness and confidence has Grace immediately enraptured—so much so she decides to try out with little hesitation. It soon becomes apparent that when Grace becomes Cinderhella, she’s a force to be reckoned with. Her skills quickly gain her attention and she catapults through the ranks. As Grace begins to incorporate the confidence of her persona, she becomes self-assured and happier. Unfortunately, the toxicity present on social media is even more intense for those in marginalized groups, and with Grace’s intersectional identity, there are many ways bad actors can denigrate her. Will the voices on the internet destroy her hard earned courage or will Grace finally claim her right to live comfortably in her own skin?

Pillow Talk is a really sweet and affirming coming-of-age story. It’s a very quick read full of friendship, solidarity, and overcoming fear. Grace is filled with self-doubt and anxieties from her intense body-image issues. Because of bullying and an acrimonious relationship with her stepmother, Grace struggles to believe that random strangers and people she meets don’t hate her. Callie is there to coax her out of her shell, but only Grace can take the steps needed to be her best self. Though the PFF is a rough and tumble sport that’s a cross between roller derby and wrestling, all the people are giving and welcoming. They embrace Grace immediately and help her quiet the self-hatred she projects onto others. Plus, with the league populated with fighters of different body types, identities, etc., Grace doesn’t have cause to focus on her “deficiencies and differences.” Between the group’s acceptance and Cinderhella allowing Grace to tap into her inner strength, she begins to stop thinking the worse about herself and others.

The illustrations in the graphic novel complement Grace’s journey well. Vargas does a good job conveying emotions and Grace’s inner turmoil without words. The color palette features warm analogous colors with schemes that function not only as indicators of time of day, but that highlight Grace’s bruised sense of identity and Callie’s sunshiny nature. The colors on most of the pages have a matte-like appearance; however, scenes involving the matches/Cinderhella and Grace gaining some clarity and perspective are sharper and more focused—like Grace herself in her Cinderhella persona. The pillow fights are also dynamic enough to convey the participants’ intensity and the rough contact of the sport. My main issue is that neither the narrative nor illustrations show the supposed conflict growing in Grace.

As her first official fight performing as newly crafted alter-ego/ring persona Cinderhella looms on the horizon, the real battle taking place is between Grace and her growing insecurities. What if people laugh or make fun of her? Why did she think she could pillow fight in the first place when she doesn’t look like your “typical” athlete?

This “looming” fight and her growing insecurities are not portrayed as the story goes along. The story begins by showing how insecure Grace is. The illustrations do a good job displaying her tendency to shrink in on herself and that the only times she’s at ease is with Callie. She is self-conscious going into tryouts and worries people will laugh at her before her first two fights, but these are fleeting moments quickly overpowered by her knockout skills in the ring. Her thoughts seem like the normal ones anyone would have about competing in front of others. Additionally, there are quite a few other fighters who don’t look like “typical” athletes, and the montage of panels after Grace’s successful fights shows her growing confidence, not growing insecurities. I was just primed for a different narrative progression based on the blurb.

To be fair, most of the book *is* Grace’s journey to self-confidence. The conflict happens in approximately the last quarter of the story, and the resolution is very fast. However, it’s such an affirming “We Are Family” ending, it’s lovely to see. It helps that the inciting event triggers all her insecurities, so her rapid downward spiraling makes sense for Grace, and the self-worth and support system she’s gained makes her regaining her equilibrium so quickly believable as well. However, I’ve seen the target audience for this story listed on average as 9-13, so the quick pace and rushed ending probably won’t be an issue for them. The younger demographic also probably explains why the characters’ discussions about the state of the world—diversity, economic prospects, etc. are very blatant. However, they are incorporated into the conversations well enough to not be overly distracting.

Most of my issues with the story stem from not being the target demographic. I think Pillow Talk will speak to younger audiences, as well as the piece of almost everyone filled with self-doubt, and make those who share marginalized identities feel seen. I think it’s a very empowering and lovely story of self-worth and friendship many will enjoy.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

Pros:
-Cute artwork
-Diverse cast
-Powerful message

It's a cute story about a couple of college girls who get involved in Professional Pillow Fighting. It has a great message about self-expression and overcoming anxiety. The target audience is probably more geared toward high school and up.