This book is a mess. I expected to read a story about a woman getting involved in the wrestling scene and while that was definitely there, it was surrounded by a scattered mess of other storylines about domestic abuse, mental health, eating disorders, etc, none of which are mentioned in the blurb or on a notes page. As a reader, it was extremely jarring. I also feel that the text would have benefited from a developmental edit by someone experienced with graphic novel memoirs. There were a lot of time jumps and context jumps between panels that made it extremely confusing at times (and I wondered if I had skipped a page). Adding in chapter breaks or headings with references to time passing or even creating a series of 'short story vignettes' would have greatly helped this story.

Frustrated, Georgie decides on a whim to check out a wrestiling show to write about for her writing job, a pop culture website. Her mom is not a fan, but, as readers will find out her mom has a lot of opinions. Thus begins Georgie's foray into wrestling, finding men who are not good for her, and a tale of self discovery that leads to her finally finding her friends and herself. This graphic novel shows the underside of wrestling as well as a person who has to finally face her mental health and insecurities head on in order to move on. I really enjoyed Georgie's story while also not sure where this story was going. The fact that it's based on the author's own life adds a new layer to the story and to the struggles Georgie works through. Hand to fans of wrestling, readers who need help navigating toxic relationships and abuse, or just a good glow up.

A fun but Adult level coming of age graphic novel that covers heavy topics like eating disorders and abuse from parents and sexual partners all in the backdrop of local wrestling teams. Great for fans of the show GLOW! The illustrations are fun and lively, really bringing the story to life with movement and color. Inspired by the author’s own experiences in the pro-wrestling world it gives hope for being able to find yourself after heartbreak and loss.

I liked the concept of this graphic novel a lot; and i liked the focus on wrestling. My biggest struggle however was the pacing; it felt very choppy and there was no flow in time jumps which took me out of the story a few a times.

I really, really wanted to like this. Sadly, there wasn't much to like. There were stakes with no resolution, and plenty of weird moments that made me dislike the characters I was supposed to like. Honestly, it feels like half of the book is missing.
The art is lovely though.

I think wrestling as a community and an art of performance is super interesting and overlooked especially when it comes to women. "Total Suplex of the Heart" is based on Starer's experience in the early 2000s. It's harsh and vulgar, at points I felt super uncomfortable and I think that's the point. The main character's own personal struggles with body image was super relatable, I don't see it alot in fiction dispite this thinking being very common. She's not a perfect person by any means and hard to cheer on but neither are we.

I do think the story suffered from pacing, months would pass in 2 panels and there wouldn't be a mention of it. People go from meeting to being best friends with no development. I just wish the story had been longer and spread out or maybe segmented into chapters. When I was reading it it was super frustrating and I had to put it down to let myself breathe. Also I think a content warning to the beginning would be nice.

Brilliant art gives this original story the perfect vehicle to take off and reach its audience. But even though this graphic novel is based on a true story, it still needed to have better story beats. This felt like two different stories, and I did not have enough information to make the leap from the first story to the second at the halfway point. And on top of that, there wasn’t much of a resolution at the end. I don’[t regret picking up this book, but I do wish it had more to it.

Definitely not a cute feel-good wholesome story that one could assume it is from the cover and description.
It should have specified trigger warnings for eating disorders, family and partner abuse, toxic relationships and more. The plot jumped around too much, and there were moments where I wish things were further expanded upon. The art was very nice but the humor fell flat.

Definitely not a cute feel-good wholesome story that one could assume it is from the cover and description. It should have specified trigger warnings for eating disorders, family and partner abuse, toxic relationships and more. It is biographical in nature, speaking of hardships that the author went through in her own life.

The story is a very slice-of-life one, with time jumps between different parts, and it talks mainly about the wrestling business (and its darker sides), difficulties of women in that business, navigating life with trauma, then it turns its focus to toxic relationships. The art was really nice, the panels easy to read through. The characters felt a bit flat to me, I couldn't really connect to them, and we didn't see any growth in them. Well, I know it do be like that sometimes in life, but it would be nice to know in advance that this book is not an uplifting read that I was expecting. The way it was done made me feel quite uncomfortable in fact, I felt down after I finished reading it, since I think the heavy themes weren't tackled properly.

I got an ARC of this book.

It wasn't the best book out there, but I mostly enjoyed reading it. It was really just a messy slice of life with a minor league wrestling theme. I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters by the end or understood any motivations. There didn't really seem to be any, but lots of abs.

I did like the women of wrestling aspects. There was talk about the way that women are treated in wrestling and then a huge focus on starting up women shows (and how men can co-opt that). I just didn't really care about the romance or the characters. I think that if it were multiple volumes some of my issues would have worked themselves out, but it would have felt even more slow to read.

I wanted to love it, but I just didn't! I thought that the plot jumped around too much, and there were moments where I wish things were further expanded upon. The art was very nice, but none of the characters were likable, and the humor fell flat.

The art was gorgeous, but that's about as far as I would go. None of the characters were likeable and the ones that could have been fell flat. This was different and I am always game for a graphic novel that pushes my tastes. I would avoid buying this one for your collection.

This sem-autobiographical graphic novel revolves around wrestling, especially the lives of female wrestlers or females in the wrestling scene. The beginning of the book covers a lot of the toxicity, abusive behaviour and the ugliness of the whole scene which really demotivated me to read this further. It takes a while for you to process all of these incidents or topics and even if you don’t want to read it further, you realise why it is important for someone to talk about these things.

The lead character’s friendships, relationships, and the way she looks at herself are explored in depth in the book, in larger glimpses in the second half. Her struggle with her own image and her struggle with choosing a partner who seemed perfect for her but was not is explored with clarity and also in an unbiased manner.

My problem with this book arises when you start off reading the book as a journalist’s perspective on the wrestling scene but there is absolutely no mention of journalism or any sort of investigative thought put in by the character.

The art was definitely a big element of the book which I liked. I would recommend this book if you are ready to read something funny which deals with heavier topics.

Thanks to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc for the ARC for an honest review!

Recommended: sure
for wrestling fans, for a story of overcoming yourself as your own worst enemy, for characters who make bad choices or fail but just keep trying despite the setbacks

Thoughts:
This was pretty tough to read in a few ways. First up is that it's about the wrestling scene in the early 2000s, which is a pretty toxic and terrible place really. Especially for women. So seeing the way she was treated made me feel kind of sick especially since I'm sure it's all quite accurate. Secondly was seeing the pain and struggles she faced, and how sometimes she made it worse for herself despite how much she was trying to change. She was often too close to the problem, couldn't see the forest for the trees kind of thing. The ending was really well done, and I think it could be dependent on each person's read of it whether it's "happy" or not, you know? Arguments could be made for a few different ways which I appreciate. There's lots of room for discussion.

The art is so perfect for the story. It had a lot of emotion that it could carry in the way people moved and the expressions, the coloring, all of it. I think it suited the story really well and emphasized the emotions in certain scenes to really bring me along with it. Subtleties were rare in this book because of the way the characters are as people, but the art helped fill and soften some of their forthrightness.

Getting a little glimpse inside wrestling life at that time was engaging if mildly sickening (not that I wasn't expecting it). If you're unfamiliar with wrestling, just know that the stuff in here is not exaggerated and the quip about having to do bra-and-panties matches her whole career is 100% accurate and that was a thing wayyyyyy longer than it ever should have been. :l

Thanks to Humanoids Inc and NetGalley for a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.

I really enjoyed the plot line of this graphic novel and I the art was really cute. The formatting was a little hard to follow, but I think that was just because I was trying to read it on my phone.

Thank you Net Galley for this e arc. Total Suplex of the Heart is an adorable ode to wrestling and the female wrestling scene. The humor in the book is definitely a strong point for the book. I also love the art style. The story isn't the most compelling but it sure is fun.

This graphic novel was pretty good. I really loved the art and the color scheme. I appreciated that the book addressed some pretty complicated topics such as eating disorders, domestic violence, physical abuse. There probably should have been some mention of triggers or content warnings. A few of the reasons I only gave this three stars is because of the pacing, it was a little disjointed and erratic, it made it difficult to follow at times. I was also a little disappointed at the end that she wasn't able to have any positive female friendships. I understand that this work is semi-autobiographical so that's just how it goes. I appreciate the author's bravery for sharing her story and introducing me to some of the world of wrestling. That being said, I still felt like some of these heavy topics were just glossed over and I would've appreciated more conversation and resolution therein. I would recommend this graphic novel, with some content warnings for readers.

3.5 ⭐

I enjoyed the graphic novels. I love the illustrations and the colors. I feel that at the store needed some more developing. I love pacing was a little off, at times. Some topics, such as eating disorder and domestic violence, were presented but not addressed. I wished resources for those heavier topics were included. Overall, I would recommend it. It was a fun and quick read.

I imagined a more fun and light-hearted read from the description and the cover, and I think this graphic novel should have some content warnings, like eating disorders and emotional and physical abuse, from family members and partners.

The thing I enjoyed the most about the book was the Author’s Note at the end, saying it takes years to heal and start living in a way that is safe and good for oneself. She was so real for saying that, and I’m sure it can bring a lot of comfort for people going through similar stuff.

I did learn a lot about the wrestling scene (I knew absolutely nothing about it before), and as sad as the book is, it made me appreciate my “boring” but wholesome life.

I liked that many characters called G out on her bullshit, and pointed out toxic things she was doing, or other people were doing to her.

It was really sad that she ended up having no good female friendships, though.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
For some reason, right from the start, I knew Steve wasn’t the wholesome guy the book made him to be. When he was presented in a good light, he just seemed really basic to me, not wholesome. Yes, he wasn’t some complicated dude, but basic dudes can also be toxic.

I couldn’t understand Cassidy. She seemed a good friend, and she was presented to us as having moral integrity. However, she was all the time secretly betraying Georgia, and she didn’t even seem to regret it in the end.

Also, I think the version of Steve that Georgia got, and the one Cassidy got, were quite different. I mean, I’m guessing toxic men have varying degrees of toxicity, and they know which people they can abuse the most. But still...

All in all, I'd recommend it to people who like wrestling or want to find out more about it, especially women in wrestling. Or if you like graphic novels that present crude and heavy topics, without that being the main focus or deeply explored.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a super entertaining read! Based on the author’s experience in the wrestling world. It was full of relationship drama and hard issues like abuse and eating disorders. There’s a lot of language and abuse, so be aware going into it.