As an adult reader who enjoys YA and graphic novels, I enjoyed "Flip" and would be glad to recommend it for school libraries and for individual students. I like the positive representation of Africans living in America and definitely root for Chi Chi. Regarding adoption for classes, I decided it's not the right choice because it is rather "on the nose" in terms of thematics, and I have experienced that my students at a Brooklyn high school are not interested in narratives that are about identity and ethnicity. I think they SHOULD BE, but they are not. We have whole bookshelves in our classrooms and by our library offering books of this kind for free, and we don't have takers.

Ukazu is a significant talent. You picked the right graphic novelist to work with.

I'm a fan of Ngozi's previous comics and this newest one does not disappoint.
The art remains excellent and Chi-chi's story of self-discovery is fun to read.

"Flip" explores identity and how we see ourselves through the body-swap trope. Chi-Chi has a crush on Flip, a rich, popular, handsome white boy, and plans the perfect "promposal", which goes horribly wrong and Chi-Chi ends up humiliated after being turned down in front of the whole class. The next day, Flip and Chi-Chi wake up in each other's body. This is where it gets a little hard to follow, because Flip and Chi-Chi swap several more times and each time is harder to determine if we are seeing Flip or Chi-Chi. The blue eyes are not really enough to help the reader through multiple swaps, although I do love the call out to Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye".
I did overall enjoy this story, especially the idea of learning to love yourself, which I think is a message many teens need to hear. If it were a little less confusing, I would rate it 5 stars.

This was such a fun body swap story. I loved how it started "zany" but quickly became a lens as to how people process self doubt and self hate. It kept a smile on my face the entire time. Loved all the Houston references.

i love the concept of being in someone's shoes for the day because you just never know what they are going through. the author hit the nail and this was an emotional journey all the way up until the end.

I loved Check Please, but haven't picked up anything else by Ngozi Ukazu. What a mistake I've been making! This made me smile, laugh out loud, and tear up. I wish I could push this into the hands of my teen self, but I'll settle on pushing to my teen patrons.

I really enjoyed this one, it dealt with some interesting themes and had great character building. I could have done without the hints at near nakedness of teenagers, but I understand what the artist was trying to convey.

This is a highly memorable and re-readable graphic novel. Shy nerdy scholarship student Chi-Chi keeps crushing on rich white boys at her private school. The most recent one is Flip, a swimmer. After public rejection and humiliation, Chi-Chi and Flip switch bodies. They switch back and forth as they learn more about each other’s real lives and loves (KPop!).
I was really happy reading this book, while deeply empathizing with both of the main character’s fears and needs. The art is amazing and easy to follow. I loved watching them both finally seeing their best selves and accepting who they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for this DRC.
#Flip #NetGalley

"Flip" is a young adult graphic novel by Ngozi Ukazu. Chi-Chi is a black scholarship student who has a crush on Flip Henderson, a handsome, rich, white boy at her academy who probably doesn't know that she exists. She sends him a prom-posal that he accidentally opens up in class and after he turns her down, she runs off and something strange happens that makes them switch bodies. Now Flip and Chi-Chi start to learn how different things are for them, and they must work together to see if they can fix the flip. Funny and poignant, this is a suggested purchase for YA graphic novel collections.

As a longtime fan of Ngozi Ukazu's work, I'd been looking forward to Flip, which she has described as more autobiographical than some of her other graphic novels. Obviously, the body swap conceit driving the narrative is pure fantasy, but main character Chi-Chi's struggles with self-esteem, fitting in, and being a Black student in an elite private school with few students of color are rooted in real life, according to Ukazu's author's note. Great artists are able to make personal experiences relatable, and while I differ from Chi-Chi in many ways, I understood her anxiety and struggle to see her own self-worth. Late in the book it's revealed that Flip, Chi-Chi's crush (and narrative foil) has his own challenges: namely, depression. Once again, Ukazu has created relatable, endearing characters and a story that has plenty of laughs to balance out the more serious themes.

This was a good YA graphic novel, I enjoyed the characters, especially the best friends. It did feel a little long though. I still liked the story and loved the art, but I didn't always see where we were going. I feel like I felt more reading Ngozi Ukazu's previous works. But this was still a good book with a very interesting concept. I really loved the main character's friendships, they felt so real and true. I also loved seeing her grow throughout the book. This was really what the book was about. I actually felt like the romance wasn't necessary. But this was still really really good and I'll probably reread it before it comes out!

Flip is a perfect modern Freaky Friday, with deeply relatable characters and journeys. While the body swapping concept is obviously fantastical, the story largely is rooted in learning to better understand others, and taking the time to put yourself in someone else’s’ shoes. It’s core messaging about trying to fit in and find your own self worth is something that many young people will strongly connect with as they read this.

An incredibly brilliant and honest graphic novel about looking inwards and finding the best parts of yourself and others around you.

What an interested concept, switching bodies with your crush. It is Freaky Friday to the next level. You think you know someone until you switch bodies with them. It was a good graphic novel and I can't wait until it actually comes out. I hope that there will be more to this story.

Using her signature art style and humor, Ukazu has created an entertaining and introspective story about learning to love yourself. On the surface, Chi-Chi and Flip have absolutely nothing in common, but as they get to know each other it becomes clear that neither one is who the other thinks they are. Both have internal issues and struggles they are dealing with and each has to learn how to navigate the other's life without totally derailing it each time they flip.

This is one I will definitely be recommending to my students!

Ngozi Ukazu has done it again!
When Chi-Chi Ekeh's accidentally very public promposal to the popular Flip Henderson goes very, very wrong, she thought her life as she knew it was over, and that's before she wakes up the next day in Flip's body. What follows is a delightfully illustrated, hilarious, and tender story about self-acceptance.
This is easily Ukazu's most personal and daring work to date, and I eagerly await whatever she does next.