Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for this arc

4/5 stars

This was a messy read about college kids trying their best but not exactly getting things right and dealing with the fallout (eventually). I liked the art and colour choices for what was happening in the story. The story was hard to read at times, simply bc I could tell (and so could the characters) the bad decisions would have heartwrenching outcomes, but that's life!

Molly’s life is a mess. Her girlfriend, Olene, dumped her via email — an email written while she was on the plane to France for a year abroad, giving Molly neither a warning, nor the chance to reply. Now all Molly can do is watch Olene on social media as she lives a whirlwind life with her new roommate. Said roommate, Yona, was Molly’s friend and her best friend’s girlfriend until she dumped them both in order to spend more time on her voyage of self discovery in France. With Olene.

Lou, Molly’s best friend, is also suffering through the heartbreak, but not as much as Molly. Still, it’s nice to have someone around who feels just as crappy as she does. When Molly gets invited to a party, she drags Lou along and there the two of them meet Anjali. Tall, beautiful, and everything Molly could want in a rebound girlfriend.

The problem is that Anjali and Lou seem to have struck up a relationship. Plus, Anjali is the ex-girlfriend of Molly’s roommate. So, yeah, Molly’s life is a mess. And it’s about to get even messier.

This graphic novel, story and art both by the author, is a slice-of-life story that takes place over the course of one year in Molly’s life as she mourns a lost relationship, decides to move past it, and makes a stupid decision that will cost her everything. Because Molly is hurting. She’s also selfish, needy, and lost. That isn’t an excuse for her actions, but it’s part of the underlying snarl of why she decides to make her bad decision.

This book is 80% buildup, and then all the fallout of Molly’s shitty choices. There are glimpses of Olene and Yona, off in France, having their own issues — Olene struggling with her sexuality, Yona with her crush on Olene and her assumptions of why Olene encouraged her to break up with Lou before coming with her to France — but it’s mostly Molly.

I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but I also appreciate when a character has to accept and deal with the consequences of their actions. Be a shitty friend, lose that friendship. Be thoughtless, and maybe people won’t bother to think much of you in return. It’s not a happy, feel good book, but it’s a well done story showing various people’s lives, how they come together, and how one person can sever all those ties.

The art is decent, and I enjoyed the variety of body types and skin colors. The color palette, with its soft pastels and softened edges, makes for a lovely visual reading experience. If you’re into sapphic romance, graphic novels, and complex characters, you might enjoy this book. There’s no happy ending, though; instead, it’s open ended, leaving room for Molly to grow and become the person she wants to be.

This book was a great read! The story had a great pace and the characters were well developed. It was very easy to get sucked into the story and in just a few sittings, I was done reading the book!

How Could You by Ren Strapp [Oni Press #egalley #gifted]

A diverse cast of college students as they navigate the complications of friendship, love, and the excitement of being young and exploring the world. This was a fun and heartaching collection of stories as these characters' lives are intertwined.

3.5 stars. Loved the many kinds of people represented within this graphic novel, which was unapologetically queer. The art style was fun, colourful. However, every person was so incredibly messy, which made for drama but may not be everyone's cup of tea. I wanted more time with each character to understand them better and came away more stressed than anything else.

This comic definitely belongs to many other important works you should read or recommend to someone who's discovering themselves or being introduced to the topic of LGBT+. The illustrations are beautiful, the story is pretty engaging as well and despite being chaotic at times, I still had a great time.

This story was a whirlwind of emotions and activity, and I enjoyed the ride very much. The characters were real, flawed, but imperfectly human, and I really felt for the relationships, both romantic and companionship. This is an LGBTQIA+ books dealing with the uncertainties of love and loss and finding yourself while going through college and determining not just who you are, but who you want to be. One thing that took me out of the story on occasion was the formatting, it is a graphic novel however EVERY panel is meant to be read straight across and not along the shared panel edges that might indicate alternate directions (look at page 183, for example.) I believe telling the readers at the beginning to read across primarily or even adding corner arrows on panels may assist with this. Regardless, through this story you will see character growth, lovely graphics, and introspection. I would definitely recommend reading this!

Thank you Ren Strapp, Oni Press, and NetGalley for the ARC! And congratulations Ren Strapp on your first graphic novel!

Unbearable characters which made it hard to root for anyone. Did find the drama interesting tho, like watching a train wreck. And while I hated the characters, it did feel like a realistic messy college queer friend group dynamic. Problem was I don’t think that was the intention, when the author tried to make the reader gain sympathy for the characters, I still couldn't empathize with them

I just think this was just ok. I enjoyed the story but there wasn't too much that really gripped me. And the art style while cute didn't connect with me in a way that rammed up my enjoyment of the story

I don't know. The characters in this book were mostly messy and not very likable (with the exception Lou and Jackie). And be warned - this is not a romance. I have to remind myself that young people are just figuring things out and sometimes things will be messy and you will do things that make you unlikable I guess. And the story was compelling enough (visually and plot-wise) that I went through this super quickly so I don't regret reading it. I just don't think I'm the target audience to be able to love it.

I received a digital Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

thanks to NetGalley for my copy! all opinions are my own.

i loved the characters and how intertwined everyone is. the art is so cute! i really liked all the characters, flaws and all. the ending was ok but it felt a little flat to me. i feel like i didn’t get enough from it but maybe, just maybe, there will be a second one 👀

Ren Strapp offered us a heart-warming, relatable story about a bunch of people who discover themselves through their relationships. I liked that the characters truly fucked up, breaking people's heart and behaving like atrocious people, and found their redemption through friendship, but were not forgiven by the people they wronged. Because, sometimes, some things can not be forgiven, ties are severed, and no amount of apologizing can change that.
That being said, I had a very hard time distinguishing characters, and that even with panels explaining who was who. So that put me off a bit, and kept me from following the story.
Also, the whole woe-is-me side of the story after the fuck-up I talked about irked me...
Nevertheless, this was a nice comic and I'm glad I had the chance to read it!

The art in this is lovely and I really liked the color palette, the story was engaging. The only thing is that I just never connected to the characters. I just did not like how they treated their friendships and purposefully hurt each other. Overall I think this is a good standalone graphic novel that explores the last couple of years of college and how this is a time of lots of change and exploration.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

Molly Song’s only goal this semester is to get over her ex-girlfriend. As a part of her plan, she convinces her best friend, Lou, to go out to try to find rebound dates. But when Molly falls for someone she’s not sure feels the same way, things start to get a little messy.

Meanwhile, Molly and Lou’s exes are having a great time in Paris, and maybe even developing feelings for each other. Will their own journeys of discovery lead them together or apart?

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advanced copy of How Could You by Ren Strapp to review! I was initially drawn to the cover of this one, and the art overall really impressed me. Strapp captured all the characters as well as their emotions in a very realistic way.

I’m glad that this isn’t classified as YA because it seems like these kinds of college stories are often pushed into the YA sphere. These more college age stories, though sometimes about teenagers, feel like they fit better in the adult market. Especially because a lot of the things that Molly and Lou go through feel like more adult problems.

Flipping between the two settings and seeing how differently everyone was dealing with the breakup also felt realistic and true to a college experience. I’m glad this book exists, and if you like queer graphic novels, definitely check this one out when it comes out in December!

How Could You is a fantastic coming of age novel for New Adults. The illustrations fit the story perfectly and the narrative flows well, fully portraying the angst of the character. This is a first purchase for graphic novel collections servicing college age readers.

I adored this. The characters are raw and real and hurting, and their story is a beautiful reminder that we all mess up and life does not end with those mistakes!

Cute artwork but the plot did not make it for me. It lacked something deeper. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

How Could You ended up being a bit disappointing to me. I enjoyed the artwork and overall feel of the comic and will definitely check out other work by Ren Strapp in the future. I'm generally a fan of work that covers the young adulthood phase of life, especially relationships. But I found it frustrating to read a story where most of the characters were awful to each other. How Could You follows four college students, Molly and Lou who are attending Hillock College, and Olene and Yona who are studying abroad. They navigate a constantly changing arrangement of crushes, friendships, and relationships. They betrayed each other, lied to each other, cheated on each other, and (mostly) never owned up to their actions. And it felt like nothing much was resolved by the end. Although a lot of these things are realistic for young people, particularly college students, it wasn't the most enjoyable reading experience for me.

Summary:

Molly Song just had the biggest heartbreak of her life when her girlfriend broke up with her before traveling abroad. The good news is that she has friends willing to stay and support her through this.

The bad news is that Molly’s feelings are all messed up. Combine that with the freedom of freshman year, and Molly is poised to make a whole lot of mistakes in her life. Will she make it through, or must she learn how to grow and change?

Review:

I'll admit, this is probably the most conflicted I've felt about reviewing a book in a long, LONG time. On the one hand, I enjoyed the brutal reality that comes with relationship drama. On the other hand, it felt a little…forced and heavy-handed at times.

How Could You is a story about a group of four characters all dealing with a break-up (two initiating, two blind-sided). Naturally, that means we get to see very different reactions to said break-ups. Guilt, freedom, devastation, betrayal, the works.

I enjoyed how raw and emotional How Could You felt, even if most of the characters' actions took them out of the realm of relatability. Then again, we all messed up when we were young, right? So, sometimes, messiness comes with life.

Highlights:
Coming of Age
LGBTQ+ Romance
Finding Yourself
Chaos of Relationships

Thanks to Oni Press and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What I loved: new adult sapphic/queer rep, gorgeous art, and a large cast of characters. What did not work for me: the characters themselves. I just could not get behind any of the characters and did not feel invested in them. The story was fine and I was interested enough but I was not really rooting for anyone. I would be interested in reading more from Ren Strapp, though. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!