I'm not the biggest romance fan but this was a cute storyline! It seemed a bit unrealistic that someone would get paid enough to survive that long without a job but, whatever! It was a super cheesy, fun romance

Cute drawing style, bland story. I wanted more out of Tessa. They were just super blah. Their family was more interesting than them.

Olive had a good development and we all do stupid stuff in high school so I get it.

Frankie was the best part.

As sweet as it is, I Hated You in High School does not go far enough in depth for me. Tessa held a multi-year long hatred towards Olive for the pain and torment she caused, which is resolved almost instantly after one apology. The bullying seemed to hold no deep impact; not talked about deeply in how it effected her over the years or how it changed her in how she handled relationships.

Despite this, it has a great range of characters that hold interesting perspectives (that I would like to see expanded in possible further graphic novels) and its fast pace allows for it to be easily read in one sitting.

Thank you so much to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy!

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this wonderful graphic novel in exchange for an honest review!

This was so CUTE. Actually enemies to lovers. More like friends to enemies to lovers. And explored in a really fun way. I like the art style too. All around a good time.

This was a nice, light read that I got through in a single sitting! Honestly, I don’t think the cover does it justice; it feels a little… Wattpad-y? and slightly juvenile, while the story itself is geared towards older teens and young adults.

At first, I wished the illustrations were in colour, but I came to appreciate the green tint; it was a welcome change from standard greyscale graphic novels (though maybe I’m a bit biased since green’s my favourite colour). I also adored Tessa – whose fashion sense and general fears surrounding the job market and relationships are eerily similar to mine – and Frankie and their casual, open queerness. they both presented how they wanted and no one batted an eye about it (aside from the flashbacks to Tessa’s high school years), which was lovely to see. And oh, how I loved Tessa’s parents and the subplot surrounding their anniversary celebration!

I didn’t quite buy the whole enemies-to-lovers thing. to me, enemies imply both did something wrong to the other in an equivalent exchange, but Tessa was bullied by Olive in high school, giving them a really uneven dynamic that only required an apology from Olive and a lot of forgiveness from Tessa (who was very, very forgiving, far more than I would have been). The romance itself was sweet, if a bit rushed once all the story set-up was out of the way, and I liked seeing a snapshot of everyone’s futures in the epilogue.

Overall this was a lovely, quick little read and though the art style took a short while to get used to, it ended up growing on me quite a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an EARC in exchange for an honest review!

“I hated you in High School” is a sapphic graphic novel about enemies to lovers with a dash of miscommunication.

The drawing style was nice and the story was in black and white and greyish colours. I would have enjoyed it even more if it had a few colourful highlights.

Normally I’m not a fan of miscommunication but I didn’t hate it in this story. I think it’s probably because it was a Graphic Novel.

The story was easy to follow and the pages weren’t overflowing with drawings. It was overall fun to read.

I didn’t really feel a chemistry between Tessa and Olivia but I liked the rest of the story and could connect with Tessa in some moments.

Thank you to NetGalley for this EARC!

"I Hated You in High School" is a quirky little love story about two girls who meet again after years apart. Their meet cute doesn't happen in a grocery store or at work--it happens because one of them is renting a room in the other's parents' basement.
Years after a traumatic event, Tessa returns home to help plan her parents' 35th anniversary party and learns that the girl who caused the traumatic event in high school is now living in her parents' basement apartment.
Both funny and tender, the two girls learn to navigate who they were back then and who they've become in the following years. The themes of queerness being something you need to figure out for yourself are incredibly important for young people who may be feeling the conflicting feelings of love for someone they previously knew as a friend. This explores that big feeling in an introspective and quiet way where neither party is necessarily wrong, but apologies are overdue for the sadness caused by growing pains.
I would recommend this adorable sapphic graphic novel to anyone looking for a sweet and fun friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story.

What happens when you lose your job, move back home, and find out that your high school bully is living in your parent’s basement?
Tessa loses her job at the coffee shop but gets a severance pay that allows her to return home for her parents anniversary party. She finds out that her parents are renting their basement out to tenants and the current tenant is her high school bully, OLIVE.
Things were not always bad between Tessa and Olive. Originally Olive was just Tessa’s older sister’s friend, but then they vibed over stage crew in high school and became closer. Something changed during this time which led to relentless teasing and bullying by Olive. Can Tessa and Olive make amends? Could they even become friends? This was a cute queer enemies to lover’s graphic novel and I’d love to read more by this author!

#ThxNetGalley

<i>Thanks for the ARC</i>

I thought this was a very cute story about obviously growing and changing, but also just cute sapphic crushes against the backdrop of a gentrifying Vancouver. The art style was really cute and fun. I enjoyed it a lot.

I usually don’t like second chance romance, especially with bullying, but this one was done so well! l actually like Olive deserved forgiveness and I loved her dynamic with Tessa. I also found Tessa to be a very relatable character. The queerness was apparent on every page and I loved all the nuances like the rolled shirt sleeves and dyeing their hair in the bathroom. I think I loved every character, even the ones who didn’t get much page time, and the character development was beautiful. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

This was a perfectly okay graphic novel.

The art style was cute enough, although I do wish it had been in color. (To be fair, I feel that way about basically every adult graphic novel. I don't understand why we are so collectively allergic to including color in anything geared toward grownups.)

The main character, Tessa, was likable and had some great dynamics with her roommate, sister, and parents. Butch lesbian representation is always a win, too. It was Olive, the love interest, for whom I didn't particularly care, probably because she had been pretty mean to Tessa in high school. Even before she explained her behavior, it was pretty clear why she'd acted the way she did: she developed a crush on Tessa, became afraid of her own queerness, and took it out on Tessa before later coming to accept her bisexual identity. It's a tale as old as time, really. Maybe I'm just not as good of a person as Tessa because I don't think that would've swayed my feelings much. Your inability to confront and grapple with your queerness doesn't give you a pass to be horrible to me because I'm comfortable with mine. But, you know, to each their own. I'm sure Tessa isn't the only one who'd be willing to not only forgive someone for having done that but also rekindle previously held romantic feelings towards them. That scenario might not be true to my life, but I'm sure it's true to someone's, and that's cool.

I think that if I'd felt more chemistry between Tessa and Olive in their adulthood then I would've been better able to understand their newfound dynamic, but it seemed to me that they had more chemistry as teenagers (prior to Olive's change of heart and attitude). Their history was far better fleshed out than their present-day, and I wish that hadn't been the case.

I didn't hate, or even dislike, this graphic novel, but it's not one I foresee myself recommending or ever even thinking about again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested to see this book was a graphic novel/manga. I really enjoyed the drawings and the storytelling. The book itself was a nice quick short read. The story was very relatable.

This graphic novel is a GREAT enemies-to-lovers story. I looooved Tessa and Olive’s relationship, and I loved Tessa’s friends and family. Tessa realizing that she was pining for Olive in high school as a baby gay was so funny, and it was so obvious that Olive was too. I’m glad they ended up together in the end! My only “complaint” is that I don’t understand why the sisters were throwing such a huge party for their parents’ 35th anniversary?? Is that something that children of married couples do? Lmao. 4.5 stars!

Watching this story unfold was such a nice journey. Tessa and Olive both had major growing to do after high school. When their true backstory was finally revealed it was enlightening. The exploration of growth and memory made me want more from this author.

3.5/5

I was given an e-ARC on this title in an exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I love the art style, it was slightly reminiscent of Daria and edgier indie comics which I love, I just kind of wish it had been in colour. I absolutely adored Tessa and Frankie, as someone who is both non-binary and a lesbian having such positive representation for both really made me happy to see. The only downfall for me was that I am not the biggest fan of Olive’s character and there for was struggling to route for their relationship in the way that I would when shipping most couples in media but overall I did really enjoy this one and the portrayal of mid twenties like was really relatable to me.

This graphic novel is a lesbian romance in which the MC is reunited with her high school crush-turned-tormentor. The plot is fairly predictable (the tormentor was interested in the MC, but severely closeted and has now come to terms with her sexuality) but it's nice and sweet, almost cozy. Libraries, this would be worth collecting for LGTBTQIA2S+ collections as well as collections focused on contemporary Canadian graphic novels.

Cute graphic novel queer romance. After her losing her job as a barista Tessa decides to take a break and return home. Officially she is there to help with the party to celebrate her parents anniversary. She is shocked to learn that Olive Virtue is living in her parents basement apartment. Her parents adore her but Olive made Tessa’s high school years miserable.

I enjoyed the art work that tells the story as much as the words and dialogue. This isn’t anything new, but I enjoyed getting the flashback scenes to the high school time period. I also like that Tessa’s sister is included in the storyline and how they have differing memories of the same time period. (I swear my sibling and I never agree about how things were when we were growing up.) The MCs are mid 20s and out of college but this could be for anyone high school and up. (3.5 Stars)

4.5/5

Tessa is a 20-something struggling with the fact that her dream job of a creative career never quite seems to take off. Arriving at her family home, she discovers that her parents have rented out the basement apartment to her highschool nemesis, Olive Virtue.

This is a beautiful sapphic love story, second chance romance at its best. Reading this graphic novel felt like watching a classic rom-com in the best way. The ability to communicate that the characters demonstrate is so refreshing.

I enjoyed this one a lot. I love the rom-com enemies-to-lover trope and this did it so well with a queer twist. The only reason I went down to a 4 star was because I felt the romance part was kind of short/rushed. It was a great read though and I read it in one go!

I honestly loved this so much, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop! The storyline was so freaking cute, I loved the idea of seeing how the way they perceived each other and themselves was so different, and yet so close to being the same.

I laughed, I cried, I wish I had an amazing friend like Frankie in my life!

This will definitely be a novel I suggest for all my LGBTQ friends and/or any graphic novel fans in my life!