How Could You is a realistic YA graphic novel for older readers, depicting the aftermath of two break ups. Readers will likely connect to the hurt and disappointment the characters feel as they grapple with tough feelings, especially while they think their exes are moving on. Fabulous illustrations help readers visualize as they read. Older high school students/college aged kids will appreciate this book most of all.

This gorgeous graphic novel follows the lives of four queer college students. Each of these characters are unique, and often as loveable as they are messy. Certainly, this isn’t an accurate portrayal of all queer twenty-somethings, but nonetheless, it is very applicable to some, not to mention, wholly entertaining!

The art style of this graphic novel is beautiful and easy to consume. Despite the short length of this graphic novel, the characters are all well developed, each having entirely distinct personalities which shine through the pages with ease. I particularly loved the representation in this graphic novel of all types of queer people, whether that be POC, trans, disabled, butch, or otherwise. The explicit use of the terms ‘lesbian’ and ‘dyke’ also earns it an immediate special place in my heart!

I highly recommend picking up this book, especially if you are a lover of other queer graphic novels! I, for one, am eagerly awaiting Ren Strapp’s next novel!

p.s. I received this as an ARC through NetGalley, but the publication date is the 17th of December! Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press!

Genuinely charming and beautifully illustrated. I really admire the discussion and navigation of the many types of queer relationships

the artwork was absolutely amazing, but i really didn’t like any of these characters. they were all very petty and shitty towards each other. i really don’t think it’s a good portrayal of queer 20 year olds, and any time one of the MC kisses the other, there was no consent or confirmation they liked them too, which was super fucking weird

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was messy as hell and I loved the shit out of it. The art style and coloring is absolutely gorgeous, and I laughed out loud a couple times while reading. I enjoyed that while there was a lot of conflict and arguments that went on, the fast pace of the book meant that it didn't feel too overwhelming. It felt very realistic and relatable type of drama. While everything wasn't perfect in the end, some things were open to the opportunity of continuing to get better, and some relationships just drifted apart completely. I feel like that's a highly reasonable thing to happen in college relationships.

Basically, I love some messy lesbians making bad choices in college. That's the time to do that.

Also! Loved the rep of Lou using a mobility aid, and the use of the labels of lesbian and dyke frequently. I don't see that often and love love loooooved it<33

This was okay. It was entertainingly messy and I laughed out loud a couple of times, but it kinda felt like there wasn’t a lot of there there? I don’t mind unlikable characters, but everything felt so rushed, despite it being over 200 pages. I did like how colorful the art was, and I suppose it’s interesting to see college friends realistically drift apart when some of them graduate before the others, but overall that’s not really my thing. 2.75 stars rounded up to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the digital ARC, all opinions are my own.

I really liked How Could You. The art was all good and easy to follow. I liked all the characters and their storyline. Definitely would recommend it!

„How could you“ is a sapphic and inclusive story around mostly 4 queer young women who study at a smaller college. The graphic novel accompanies them through one semester.
They used to be 2 couples, but when two of the women decide to go and study abroad in Paris for the semester, they both break up with their respective partner „to be free“. Most of them are not happy about how things went down and are now struggling to find back into a regular life.

This graphic novel is cute and sad and heartwarming and feels genuine and real. Nobody is perfect, each person has their own troubles they habe to work out, and each of them try to solve the struggles that come with their feelings.

It is a very nice read with relateable (or at least understandable) characters. It is drawn with love and joy albeit not the most detailed work.

Love sapphic relationships. This graphic novel presents university friendships and relationships but also showing drama and how messy it can be.

The relationships and dynamics presented are definitely an example of how falling in love or losing friendships can be. Especially in queer relationships by showing the nuances in them. This was a quick read and I absolutely flew right through it. I had a fun time!!

Absolutely beautiful artwork telling the story of a messy friend group in college.

Breakups and getting together and thinking you're in love with your best friend and friendship breakups. Strapp's graphic novel sublimely covers what it's like to be a queer new adult. I loved the various representation, and I can't get over the beautiful artwork. I hope the characters get over their toxic behavior. Would have loved to see something about them going to therapy.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I'm really starting to like and appreciate graphic novels. Didn't read a lot of them before. They are so easy and fast to read, i love it. Also like this one, the story is nice. But ouch the break up and betrayals tho. They hurt. Liked how we got like 2 perspectives/timelines. Molly and Lou in college, and Yona and Olene in France. I do have to say it felt a little bit easy at the end tho. Not to sure what i think about the characters. I like them, they were nice, most of the time. But idk if i really felt a connection with them. Love the diversity.

a beautiful queer graphic novel that covers the complexities and nuances of young relationships. i’ll absolutely be recommending this one - the colour palette, characters, and plot line was amazing.

I honestly had a really fun time reading it. The characters in this graphic novel are so MESSY but their messes are realistic, and I truly loved how this also didn't excuse the mess. However, it does recognize that it is part of life, especially when you're young, sometimes. You just need to grow and get better from it all. I also loved the art style. I just had a blast reading this. I just thought the end was a bit too abrupt. Definitely highly recommend this one!

thank you netgalley for giving me an earc

this was definitely something i would call a lesbian drama, i liked it but maybe i had too high expectations

I really liked this book! It was a fast and entertaining read for me. Personally, I could tell the characters apart just fine, idk why some people were confused?
As someone who loves drama and gossip, the story was made for me! I also like that it didn’t resolve at the end; that would’ve been such an unfitting ending.

A graphic novel with awesome queer representation? Yes, please! That alone makes this book stand out.
The storyline could have been made more flow-y, more smooth, but it goes well with the art and the flawed characters make it a fun read.

I didn't know that a book could capture queer dating and the messiness as accurately as this book does! I love that so many of the characters are so far from perfect, and that while there are loose ends that are not wrapped up perfectly in a bow, its because of the honesty of the book. The demographic representation is diverse, but where How Could You really hits the nail on the head is in the accuracy of naviagting queerness in settings where every queer person is known to you in some way, alongside the fluidity of gender and sexuality. I cannot get over how REAL this book was.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy, I cannot wait to buy a physical copy in the winter!

Hmm, I didn't really like this story as much. I felt like there was constant whining about exes and therefore all four girls started dating each other, which, obviously, went totally wrong. At the end of the book I still hadn't had any idea what I've just read. I did like the artwork though.

Welcome Back!

Last week I talked about a goal to read 7 books in a week, let’s just say I totally failed the challenge. It was a really tough week overall in my personal life and things are finally getting back on track. So I am going to make another run at it this week. I think I can absolutely do it this week. Even though I did not read 7 books last week I did manage to read a graphic novel that is upcoming called How Could You (thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions).

SPOILERS AHEAD

Molly is currently attending a subpar college at best and living in the dorms, life is not perfect but it gets even worse when Molly gets broken up with via email. After several days of wallowing and being extremely upset, Molly decides its time to try to get back out there. But that turns out to be much harder than Molly initially thought as whenever Molly uses social media, her ex is everywhere having the time of her life during study abroad.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Throughout the story, we got to see many different perspectives of different people involved in Molly’s life or linked to Molly in some way. We also got to see the study abroad trip through the eyes of Molly’s ex. Outside of the story the art, looked amazing. I will definitely try something else by this author and illustrator in the future!

Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

An engaging debut full of queer college drama between sapphic friends, roommates, and lovers over the course of their spring semester. Break ups, one-sided crushes, hook-ups, and situationships fill this aptly named graphic novel in which multiple characters make some questionable decisions.

I enjoyed the flawed characters that I didn’t necessarily love but felt accurate to the sometimes self-centered scrambling for affection and meaning that can be part of late teens and early twenties. There is a prevalence of very cute sapphic love stories and coming of age stories, many of which I really like, but it’s great to see some variety of messy characters and big mistakes.

I do wish we had a bit more time with Lou and Molly (maybe if they were roommates and Jackie had a smaller role as someone who invited them to a party, and the ex was Yona’s friend, so we had more of a cast of 5 vs 6) so we could at least see why they’ve been best friends for years, as we only saw Molly’s post-break-up self-centered behavior and zero positive interactions between them. It felt a bit too far on the side of unlikable characters.

I liked the use of color, the diverse cast, and the variety in how panels were sized and framed to keep it interesting. I liked the ending and the focus on self-growth and that some big mistakes can’t be undone or hugged out. I’d read more by Ren Strapp in the future.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Oni Press, and this is my honest review.