This comic is a perfect slice of life transformed into an artistic format. I greatly enjoyed this story and getting to know the characters and the intricacies of their relationships and what they wanted for their lives.

Sometimes the memory of how someone treated you in the past colors completely how you perceive them to be in the present. This comic takes that idea and gives new contexts to past events and allows Tessa to see Olive in a new light.

This comic ultimately became about growth, time, and evolving relationships. I loved it. It felt and was very real and it gave me comfort to see two people mature together and rediscover and revive an old connection.

I recommend this complicated romantic comic. It is so well done and reflective of the realities of how many relationships play out in reality. I greatly enjoyed it.

I throughly enjoyed this graphic novel, I was immediately sucked in by the art and the story line. The characters and their struggles felt so real, and fully developed as I got to see them grow learn and become better versions of themselves through the story. The art fit the story perfectly and created such a beautiful and real world with a simple and consistant design.

This was cute!!! I was thrilled that it was Canadian, and I thought it handled discussions around sexuality/coming out to yourself with nuance and care. I wish it had been longer––I tend to prefer longer graphic novels though, so your mileage may vary!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It was quite easy to read, flowed naturally and focused on some important topics.

As a person of similar age to Tessa who is still finding herself and struggling with her job, it was very easy to connect with her character. She is a strong woman who did not have a pleasant experience in high school. Her older sister's friend Olive used to be her friend but then turned into bullying her due to her own struggles with figuring her own sexuality. Years after, Olive lives in the basement of Tessa's parents house. The girls meet again, Tessa struggles with being near Olive but her feelings come to the surface again. Slowly, the girls start to connect more, have a heart to heart about what happened in high school. They realise they really like each other and a beautiful relationship begins.

It was lovely to follow this story. I felt very intrigued and enjoyed my time with this graphic novel. At first, it was a bit hard to get into the art style, but as I read on, I fell in love with it. It's just a wonderful story touching up on self-discovery, bullying and internalized homophobia surfacing in various ways.

First a big thank you to NetGalley, the Author, the Artist and the Publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this one, it is good for some lighthearted fun reading.

It's a entertaining queer graphic novel that gives you an idea what it's like dating and exploring ones identity both as an adult and as a teen. And how miscommunication or the lack of communication or just assuming you know what someone is thinking/feeling can lead to awkward or hurtful situations, for both parties.

I like how Tessa's parents are incredibly loving towards both their daughters and their friends.

The art is simple but it give's a certain debt to the whole story.
And though the story might be a bit predictable, it is wholesome and a real feel good read.

4.25 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed my read of “I Hated You in High School”.
The art was well done and the pacing of the story was spectacular. It was a non-stop read for me and I relished each page. The layout and visual storytelling complemented the narrative beautifully.
While I was worried that the tone of the title was a little dark for my usual taste, the story was very well-balanced and even included lovely portrayals of supportive family and community (which are always fantastic to read!).

All-in-all, a great read and one that I definitely recommend!

I was honored to be able to enjoy an ARC of this book through NetGalley. Thank you to author/illustrator, Kathleen Gros, and Andrews McMeel Publishing.

So charming! A very lighthearted lesbian romance graphic novel. I'm a sucker for some quality queer "candy" reading - meaning stories that are sweet, fun, and easy to read. This checked all those boxes :o)

“I Hated You in High School” was a fun graphic novel read! I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Tessa and Olive. The author does a great job at describing experiences of queer individuals. I found it to be an easy and enjoyable read!

‘I Hated You in Highschool’ is a fun, charming romance with a limited color palette.

It’s very tropey, very fun and a reminder that queer joy is formed in many different ways. Sometimes you fill yourself with queer hate for a girl you had a crush on that one time and then SOMETIMES that girl turns out to be also queer and living with your parents??? And then you decide, okay whatever, gotta try I guess. And sometimes that ends in a relationship! Oh, the wonders of messy situations and messy characters.

This had a fun cast of characters and simple illustration style that paired well with the story and narrative and characters that truly leapt of the page.

Ok so I'm not usually huge on graphic novels. But this one is gay, so it was a no brainer! I am so glad I decided to pick it up; I was hooked on the humor, the realistic characters, and the way Gros managed to perfectly encapsulate the dreaded high school experience of unrequited love. I will say sometimes the langauge felt slightly contrived in that it felt like it was for the plot rather than natural conversation, especially towards the end of the book. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but not my cup of tea. Overall though, it was a cute wlw story with unique art and heartstrings to pull galore.

Thank you to the author Kathleen Gros, the publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this contemporary, romance graphic novel Tessa is a struggling twenty-something artist that is struggling with her creative career at the same time she is fired from her job as a barista in Vancouver. After the cofee shop she works in closes abruptly she decides to visit her parents and sister for the first time in years.

A bitter surprise awaits for her when she arrives at her parents' house, as she discovers that they're renting the basement apartment to her high school bully: Olive.

Unhealed wounds and complicated feelings resurface as they attempt to keep their distances from each other and be cordial and nice, until they get trapped together in the attic while searching for something for the upcoming anniversary party for Tessa's parents.

I'd love to highlight the artwork of the author. It's beautiful and stunning. I really adored it. On the other hand, Tessa's character is what I loved more about this book. Tessa is resilient and strong despite circumstances force her to face difficult, awkward situations like being trapped in an attic alone with the person that made your life miserable in high school after backstabbing you.

I have to be honest. I liked Olive at first, although I was a bit biased thinking she made Tessa's life miserable in high school. I just didn't know what happened. I was open-minded to think and judge whatever she did. That was until I read what she did. It's inexcusable how she publicly humiliated, isolated and bullied Tessa at the time. Even though Tessa didn't quite understand what she was feeling at the time and considered her a good friend, her best friend even.

It's a slow burn romance bloomed from being high school nemesis (well, Olive being Tessa's bully) to almost strangers in their 20s to a slow cordial friendship to being lovers.

I found it quite realistic and relatable. Frankie is such a good supportive friend, I love her support towards Tessa. She's the best.

I was happy with the ending as Tessa deserves happiness but I still stand by what I said about the bullying Olive made her go through.

This book comes out tomorrow 15th April, so stay tuned and read it!

#IHatedYouInHighSchool #Netgalley

Really enjoyed this! Absolute fantastic story arch. With a really developed back story as well as healthy relationships both friendship, familial, and romantic. Took me a few pages to decide if the artwork was for me but in the end I was definitely persuaded over. Definitely recommend to my queer friends! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeels Publishing for this ARC!

This graphic novel tells the story of Tessa, who lives in Vancouver and is a struggling artist. She ends up going back to her hometown Toronto for her parents 35th anniversary and finds out her high school nemesis, Olive, is renting out her parent's basement. Throughout the story, we find out about what happened between Tessa and Olive in high school and get an enemies-to-lovers storyline in the present.

I really enjoyed this story! It felt very realistic as a queer woman who came out in high school. I loved the friendships that Tessa had throughout the story and the idea that art can still be a powerful thing in your life even if it's not your job. I like that the queer characters in this story all had different coming out stories as no coming out is the exact same.

The writing was easy and fun to read, and it felt very heartwarming to me.

I also really enjoyed the art style. I liked the mostly black-and-white colouring and how people were depicted. The formatting made it easy to read and to see where the next section of the graphic novel was.

I would definitely recommend this book as a cute and sweet saphhic romance. .

I adored this graphic novel.
I loved watching Tessa and Olive get to know each other again and reckon with their past and eventually become friends and more. It was so well done throughout the entire book and all the characters were super loveable.
I did like the art style as well, but not the color scheme, which was black and white, but with a green tint. That just wasn’t my thing.
All in all, I loved this though and would highly recommend if you need a cute, sapphic read.

My new fave graphic novel!! First off the art style is beautiful and interesting! I absolutely love the representation in this book for the LGBTQIA+ Community! I feel in love with the characters and was constantly thinking about the plot when I wasn’t devouring this book. I am nonbinary and bi/pan so it’s so nice to see characters in a book that are similar to me! Highly recommend this if you want a complicated queer romance book with a satisfying happy ending! Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

We love a cute, sapphic, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story! The artwork in this book is adorable and I loved the variety of queer representation among the characters 💖

Thank you for the ARC NetGalley!!

I Hated You in High School was a really good and relatable graphic novel. The representation was highly appreciated. The way the author includes diversity, inclusion (all body shapes and sizes), AND I loved that she had the main character take her glasses off for intimate sessions. As a glasses wearer that representation matters. I highly recommend this read for everyone by especially for the #sapphic lovers that want something new be unique. I plan on purchasing this when it comes out to add to my collection #newbie #graphicnovelseries

A wonderfully light hearted, fluffy read! Easily done in one sitting and left me feeling better than when I started it, which is increasingly rare these days.

I love adult graphic novels so much. This one is low stakes and low angst ex-friends to lovers. Sapphic with nonbinary best secondary character. Midsize bi love interest.

Tessa loses her job and decided to head home for a few weeks only to find out her high school bully is staying at her parents converted garage/basement apartment. Forced to be around her, Tessa realizes she maybe doesn't remember all the details of high school and after finding some diaries, decides to take a chance

What a great, easy read! I found myself relating to Tessa's mid/late 20s existential crisis and her stress of where one “should” traditionally be especially when peers have already succeeded in these supposed life goals. The conversation between Tessa and Olive felt incredibly poignant and I found it a great example of how difficult conversations can be had in a mature and open way, though I felt Tessa forgave Olive too easily. Overall this was a fantastic read and could be great for those that loved Mimosa by Archie Bonglovanni.