I really enjoyed this book and wish I had something like this when I was younger. It's not just about growing up as a transgender teenager, it's about growing up as a teenager who is a girl, learning how to be her own person, trusting in her true friends and herself, dealing with the frustrations of clueless parents and boys who haven't learned to deal with their own stuff. Recommended!

Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio is a beautiful story of girlhood, friendship, and being trans. This graphic novel takes a hard look at how teenagers not only experience being queer, but also how they experience other people's queerness and how society sometimes thinks they own other people's identities. Phoebe, our protagonist, has moved schools late in her high school career, to live with her dad. She has also recently transitioned. At her new school, Phoebe meets a host of people who try to tell her how to be a girl, how to date, how to survive high school in their coastal town. But everyone's "best intentions" turn out to be wrong for Phoebe.

Not only is the narrative of this story great, but the artwork is stunning. The colors, bold lines, and character design all left me craving more from Visaggio and Ganucheau. The composition of the pages felt just right, and the layout of the story made it feel perfectly-paced.

This was really sweet and tender. The pacing worked really well, the issues felt very realistic (not everything was tied up cleanly with a bow), and the teenagers were teenagers. I liked that there were multiple examples of what unhealthy relationships looked like--I think that's really important for young adults to learn to recognize, especially when it's not *always* bad all the time. Watching Phoebe figure that out in real time was really hard, and it's understandable to see how Mackenzie tries to protect her. I would have loved to see more scenes with her dad, what a sweetheart. The art is really lovely, especially with characters' hair and outfits.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

Absolutely one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. The character growth for not only Phoebe but Mackenzie too was stunning. I also loved how Phoebe doesn't end up with anyone by the end of the story. Even though I liked both boys (Ben in the beginning for a little bit, and Ethan for most of their relationship) it was fitting for Phoebe to stand alone (with Mackenzie) in the end. I also really loved how Mackenzie joined theatre and was in Little Shop of Horrors! That musical is honestly very traumatizing but still good and it's wild that a high school would put it on to me lol. The art for this story was also SUPER pretty. I was really glad in the end when the girls were able to make up and be friends again. IT was a really sweet ending for them.

Girlmode is a heartfelt and relatable graphic novel about Phoebe, a trans girl navigating her identity at a new school. The story beautifully explores friendship, self-discovery, and the challenges of fitting in while staying true to yourself. With its fun art and well-drawn characters, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves stories about growing up and finding your place in the world.

I usually really enjoy reading queer comic arcs, but I felt very questionable about the way this story was represented.

To preface, I am a lesbian and some of these things rubbed me the wrong way:

Lines like:

“You have really gorgeous hair, too. It’s so thick! I bet the right stylist could work miracles.”

“Oh, that’s not really necessary…”

“Of course it is! Unless you’re a dyke. You a dyke?”

Not only is an expressed straight character using a slur, but what is that insinuating?

But that isn’t the only time that slur is used.

They have a drawn girl in what looks like the most basic outfit ever labeled as dyke and a girl dressed up with makeup as slut beside it. These are the negative things men will call them—is suggested. If you’re trying to look pretty you’re a slut and if you’re not you’re a dyke. (Thats basically a line) okay.. idk how to feel about that. I’m not saying some men don’t think a similar way, but why act like them and use a slur? The word lesbian is used in this story on the next page once, so why weren’t we using it all along?

On the next page dyke is used not once, not twice, not even thrice, but FOUR times between the two girls. In this line specifically, why the fuck could you not just use the word lesbian. “Bitches can be dykes and vice versa, but they also figure dykes just haven’t screwed the right guy.” Why are we so casually using slurs. Like there’s quite literally no reason to. Neither of these character even like women…why is it treated like normal conversation…

And again-this is partially the character’s personality, but it’s never corrected. “Now, let’s take care of this mess.” This is her referring to the mcs curly hair. Could you say in that moment she meant it being tangled? Yes. However, because of that earlier comment and the fact they straighten it, it makes you feel strange about the way curly hair is being viewed. After the mc stops hanging out with this character, she starts letting her hair stay curly. But afterwards they become friends again and she never mentions anything and they never treat the slurs used as if it were problematic, they only mention the time when she was verbally aggressive (in a transphobic way) towards the mc. So is this friend wrong for the other behavior or not? They don’t say.


All in all, I really loved the art style, but being slapped in the face by a slur used against people like me so quickly with no criticism, then continually used in the story, ruined it for me. It tainted the whole thing. I’m not trans, so I can’t say much about how that representation is, but I think if the author knows enough to write one queer character, then they should also know that that word is unkind and not for these characters to use without thought.

I don’t want to rate this story one star because I believe queer stories should be told and should be valued. If this felt important to someone else I don’t want to demean their opinion, only share my own.

I wanted to love this and I probably would have if all the secondary characters hadn't been so awful.
Our MC keeps making weird and stupid decisions after stupid decisions while being guided by terrible people. Some who redeem themselves in part by the end but I still couldn't understand what had even happened. The other secondary characters are pretty much non-existent and don't bring much to the story except the surfer and the little sister. But even them, who were my favorites of the whole book weren't very layered.
I, honestly, just didn't get into the story which is a shame cause I love a trans girl story and I wish we had more.

Girlmode was an enjoyable graphic novel that blends the growing pains of girlhood with coming into yourself as a trans girl in high school.

At times, I did not know how I felt about certain characters and situations, and I found myself constantly worrying for our protagonist and the intentions of the people around her.

While I appreciated the story as a whole, I was not a fan of the lack of repercussion for the violence against Phoebe from Ben. That was my biggest qualm.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this!

Real, approachable. Obviously a graphic novel, so characterization has to be quick in pacing, especially for the length of this one. I did like Girlmode, though the pacing felt very fast. I do love the arc it shows, and the fact that the main lead is advocating for herself. This graphic novel shows how messy relating to one another amidst trying to find out who you are and transitions. The heartbreaking realities of being a gender-minority!

3.5/5 stars, rounded to 4 because I like how realistic and nuanced it is, though the characters can be very unlikeable, particularly the best friend (though she redeems herself) and the two boyfriends. I understand that high school can be cruel and figuring out that these types of people can exist in your life is gross, and I like the wide spectrum of characters, but it can be triggering and overdone at times. I do like the book and hope that more people read it.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

I absolutely loved Visaggio's previous graphic novel "The Ojja-Wojja" so I was very excited for this one! It mostly met my expectations. I love the art and story, but sometimes felt like Phoebe was too passive and everyone else so aggressive. This story definitely had more bite than a lot of current YA graphics, which took me by surprise and will give me pause about recommending to some readers, but for those who like their teen stories sharp and cutting (ala Heathers) will enjoy it!

Thank you to negalley for the free arc. I have mixed feelings about this graphic novel. On the one hand, I really appreciated the authentic representation of a transgender character, their trials and tribulations, and the realistic portrayals of both positive interactions with other characters and negative ones. However, I felt like this book had difficulty sticking to a consistent plot. At times, there were powerful moments when there was an impactful scene or something important that was said by a character. At other times, the graphic novel seemed to go off tangent and I found my attention drifting. Perhaps this graphic novel would benefit from a little bit more editing to finely tune all of the details into the plot of the book.

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Phoebe is new to California. She's moved to live with her dad, and to start a new life. Her new school is more accepting of her gender identity.

Phoebe quickly meets Ben, a nerdy guy who shares her interests, and Mackenzie, who wants to help her be the best girl she can be. But all isn't what it seems. Nerdy guys can be jerks. Pretty girls can be insecure. And trans girls....can find a place in high school..right?

Phoebe is a well written character and her struggles to find herself will be familiar to EVERY teen girl. Mackenzie is also far better written and more empathetic than I expected. She also needs to find herself.

The guys come off less 3d, but again, that's the teen girl experience.

This is a beautiful book. It deserves a place in school and community libraries. I plan to add it to my little free library. There is nothing graphic, nothing that couldn't, and doesn't, take place in halls of high schools around the country. Unfortunately, due to where I live, this book likely won't get shelved. So, parents, we need to make up the difference. Because there are girls who need this book.

That was amazing. It was multi-faceted and layered and touched upon a number of topics including gender identity, family issues, friendship, dating, and transphobia.

I'll admit I was predisposed to like this, Magdalene Vissaggio is one of my favorite comic writers, and her handling of transness in Kim & Kim and The Ojja Wojja are really deftly managed without becoming the focus of those more sci-fi and fantasy narratives. Girlmode goes entirely in the other direction, where Phoebe's trans girl identity is central to the narrative in this realistic fiction graphic novel.

East Coaster Phoebe moves out to LA, has recently transitioned, and is quickly adopted by queen bee Mackenzie and the girls of the popular clique to help teach her how to be a girl in their specific (and very narrowly defined) way. There's tension here between Macakenzie's group, and Phoebe's early crush Ben, who shares a number of nerdy interests with her. She also takes up surfing, one of the few activities that isn't defined by her social desire to perform girlhood accurately. Ultimately, Phoebe is pulled in a number of directions, a lot of which center around her being used as a token around which others can perform their allyship for social points. When these performative relationships break down, it turns ugly with Phoebe's former friends and partners engaging in transphobic speech to hurt her or dismiss her femininity. While the bulk of the story is about Phoebe finding her way, it's gratifying that a huge part of the narrative is the redemption arc of her former friends becoming real friends, and the focus being on solidarity rather than romance.

4.5 Stars rounded up - There's some really great commentary here on female expectations and how navigating these as a trans person presents unique challenges; a party scene gives us a brief glimpse of Phoebe's view of her own body compared to the other girls feels very genuine, as do her fatigue and feelings of hopelessness over whether she can be accepted as a girl after being dumped by a boy threatened by muscles she built up from her surfing. There's a lot here, and sometimes the drama swerves in ways that feels maybe a bit over-the-top, but often come about because of Phoebe hiding some aspect of herself from others out of fear of being perceived as the wrong kind of girl or performing femininity incorrectly. The relationships are messy, but (with the exception of Ben's performative ally heel-turn) are handled with a lot of finesse as the characters grow into less shallow versions of themselves who appreciate Phoebe as the kind of girl she wants to be as opposed to who they want to mold her into being.

I enjoyed this sometimes over-the-top but emotionally resonate story of a trans high school girl navigating discovering what femininity looks like for her.

4.5* rounded up.

Every time I thought this book wasn't going to go somewhere (and, most importantly, was afraid it would pull a punch) I was pleasantly surprised. I read a lot of trans stories, but I don't read many that take this approach.

For one thing, Phoebe is out the whole time, so while she does experience some transph*bia, she is never outed, which was a relief. The characters who get redemption arcs do say some rancid stuff, but before their arc is complete, they have to deconstruct their own biases around social expectations. While this book doesn't get into it in detail, I would argue that the overall message is that we can't deconstruct transph*bia without also ALSO deconstructing our expectations around gender roles. This book walks an interesting line of the relevant characters realizing that they can't singlehandedly change society, while also realizing that they need to grow in order to be happy and have healthy relationships. For example, Phoebe learns things along the way, and then adapts her relationships to those things as she figures out who she is. She initially hates/fears makeup, then wears makeup the way other people expect her to, and eventually decides what to keep and what to pass over. Furthermore, the decision to be conventionally girly is not ultimately vilified. WEAPONIZING gender norms, however, absolutely is.

Mackenzie is, arguably, the second main character, and I loved that her arc isn't based solely on guilt for her words and actions toward Phoebe. She's forced to do a lot of self-evaluation. It's never fully explored that she's been perpetuating a lot of the very things she claims to despise, especially when it comes to using certain language to tear down other girls, but the work she DOES do on-page addresses it sufficiently for this story. It's implied that all of these characters still have room to grow and adapt, whether or not they take it. They're kids: they all make mistakes, many of which are based on social pressure to conform.

And can I just say that I LOVE how this book turned a popular trope on its head in the character of Ben? I don't want to leave spoilers here, but this story deftly uses and reframes some popular high school tropes in a very satisfying and realistic way. Also, the dad is the underrated MVP. He's so cute and sincere and trying his best even when he's way out of his depth.

The one thing I would have liked to see addressed more directly is some of the hom*phobic things some of the kids say throughout the story. While there is commentary on this, and there is a bada$$ queer character of indeterminate orientation, I was still left feeling a little iffy on that front. I don't think every single book is obligated to explicitly confront every topic, but was kind of odd to me that the issue was raised but never directly addressed. I suspect that some people will be uncomfortable with how much work this story does to be mainstream in a time when, even on a legal level, transness is inherently counterculture. On the other hand, this is a story about navigating social pressure and figuring out what matters to you. It's nice to have a brightly-colored graphic novel about two girls learning to like themselves and set boundaries in a story where Pheobe's struggles are different from, but not totally INDEPENDANT from, the struggles of her cis classmates.

Overall, I just found this really charming, and I loved that everyone had room to be messy and confused. I very much enjoyed the ARC of this book (thank you, NetGalley) and I am so glad that there seems to be more space in mainstream publication for stories like this, with #ownvoices authors exploring a wide range of narratives.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The main characters actually felt like teenagers in a way that not every writer is able to capture well. I will definitely be recommending it to those who might like it.

This is a really great graphic novel that does a really good job of navigating the complexities of being a teen girl, dealing with boys, dealing with friendship, and compounded by experiences a trans girl. I love the ways it showed different dynamics and the ways Phoebe has to figure out what she wants her own life to look like, instead of following expectations in order to be seen as a girl. I really enjoyed this even as several scenes were rough to get through.

I feel bad that I've been in such a reading slump because I haven't been able to care about a lot of these anticipated releases like this one. I really wanted this one to be the one to break the slump, but unfortunately, this wasn't it for me.

Girlmode depicts the expectations, pain and joy of teenage girlhood and first presents you with a Mean Girl narrative (mean girly girls vs nerd nice guy) to flip it on its head and present a story about finding yourself (also weird lowkey lesbophobia that's never fully adressed despite the presence of (narritevely isolated) lesbian character, although i think the author may be a lesbian and i know we're supposed to view it negatively, it's weird that a story where transphobia is adressed, this one remark is not adressed, especially given the backlash against trans dykes)

That being said I fully appreciated the nuance of what started out as a cliché story and turned out to be way depeer than I expected out of YA graphic novel. Phoebe just moved to the West Coast to live with her father, away from her estranged famous mother. SHe just transitioned and want to enjoy her life fully out as a girl in this new high school. In a typical teen movie fashion, Phoebe must choose between the popular girls who want to teach her feminity and the way of girls or the nerds, with a nice guyTM who accepted her before her makeover. Phoebe's makeover lands her in the hand of a popular surfer boyfriend, and then the nice guyTM, but both turn out to be controlling, transphobic who make her miserable. Whereas the narrative is sympathetic to the popular mean girl and depicts her own struggle with the sexist assumptions and rules placed on teenage girls. But at the end Phoebe must learn to choose herself, her hobbies, her style, her own way of being.

Overall, a story with great art about the harmful expectations of patriarchy demanding you to mould yourself into someone else, toxic masculinity and parental love and abandonment.

A stunning graphic novel that navigates the complexities of girlhood.

I LOVED this story. It captures how being a girl is ... well, complicated, especially when there are societal rules that women feel must follow. The latter idea is specifically portrayed in Macca, the popular girl in school, and taught to Phoebe, our mc. As the story progresses, Phoebe slowly deconstructs societal expectations, toxic masculinity, and harmful biases; ultimately leading to self-discovery and the enduring love of female friendships.

A pleasant surprise was Macca's character arc and it's artistically shown in theater!

If you are looking for LGBTQ+ graphic novels, Girlmode is NOT to be missed!