A cute and sweet graphic novel. I thought every character was impressively fleshed out for how quick of a read it was. I didn't mind that the main conflict was resolved easily and enjoyed the overall story.

Kathleen Gros’ *I Hated You in High School* is a heartfelt and relatable graphic novel that explores the complexities of personal growth, friendship, and reconciliation. With her signature style of warm, expressive illustrations and honest storytelling, Gros takes readers on a journey through the challenges of adolescence and the lasting impact of high school experiences.

The story follows main characters who reconnect years after high school, confronting old wounds, misunderstandings, and the awkwardness of facing someone you once couldn’t stand. Gros expertly balances humor with emotional depth, making the story both engaging and thought-provoking. The characters feel authentic, with their insecurities, regrets, and hopes shining through in their conversations and interactions.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its exploration of themes such as self-acceptance, forgiveness, and the evolving nature of relationships. Gros presents these themes with a light touch but never shies away from the deeper emotional struggles that come with them. The artwork complements the narrative beautifully, with expressive faces and carefully chosen color palettes that enhance the mood of each scene.

Overall, *I Hated You in High School* is a touching and insightful read that will resonate with anyone who has ever looked back on their teenage years with mixed emotions. Whether you're seeking a story about personal growth or simply enjoy slice-of-life graphic novels, this book is well worth picking up.

4.5/5

This was a cute and short enemies to lovers graphic novel. After losing her job and heading back home to Toronto our main character Tessa discovers her parent's new tenant is none other than her high school nemesis. After many miscommunications, mishaps, and recovered memories can she still call her a nemesis? I enjoyed Tessa's character and found their lack of chill relatable. I enjoyed her interactions with her parents, sister, and roommate, their relationship with all of them is wholesome. I wish Olive and Tessa's relationship had more time to develop. An advanced copy of this graphic novel was shared with me in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for sharing.

AAA omg I loved this book!! I've been struggling with reading in the past few months and haven't been able to write reviews in ages but this book is helping me get back into it.

Lesbian protagonist, they/them brown(?) femme bestie and flatmate, bisexual crush/nemesis

I usually don't like teenage drama too much but it was kept in the past in diary form with some little breaks into the present, and the now adults deal with the situation in a very mature way and TALK about their feelings and work on healing their pain even if they each other caused it (between the sisters, between the main character and her high school nemesis).

The art is really cool, mostly monochrome like black and white but with some green incursions and the characters are really cute.

I think I might need to buy a paper copy when it comes out!

I got a pdf advanced reader copy through NetGalley. The pages looked a bit pixellated like a bad photocopy but I expect the final version will be high quality

Sapphic enemies to lovers? Sign me up!! I was really quite glad to be able to read this and genuinely enjoyed my experience. Read this all in one sitting! The art style and colour pallet chosen for this graphic novel was not what I was expecting but worked really well.

I will say I was a bit thrown by what caused them to be enemies. It really struck me to my core, and I felt the progression from enemies to not-enemies in the book happened a bit... quickly. Obviously, everyone deals and processes things differently, and I respect that. But the acknowledgement and reconciliation did not endear me to Olive as much as it did to Tessa. Obviously, these are my personal feelings on what transpired and how I would have dealt with it. So, while I was thrown, I still really enjoyed watching the two main characters fall in love with each other after moving past their tension.

Overall, I would highly recommend this for anyone looking to read a cute sapphic graphic novel!

This was a really entertaining queer graphic novel! I liked that we saw some experiences that are pretty common among queer afab people through the development of the relationship between Tessa and Olive, both as teens and as adults. The resolution was quite linear and direct, maybe more than I normally like, but I liked the humor and the overall sense that I knew where we were going. Also I appreciated that there was no miscommunication in the present timeline.

This graphic novel is so CUTE! Like butterflies in your stomach and feet kicking cute. I had such a fun time reading and it was so easy to relate to both Olive and Tessa. The art style is amazing and I love the color scheme! The only thing I feel is a little off is that the book is marketed as enemies-to-lovers but there wasn’t much enemy-ing going on.

Thank you NetGalley, Andrews McPeel Publishing, and Kathleen Gros for the ARC!

I liked this so much more then I thought I would! I didn’t really know what to expect but it’s so wholesomely queer. It’s also full of emotions. The awkward pining in high school, not really remembering what happened but remembering the feeling. Also love the communicating, so many things get ruined because people don’t tell each other how they feel so it felt like a breath of fresh air to see olive and Tessa talk about everything. I would really recommend this!
Thank you netgally for letting me read this early.

I love this adorable graphic novel. The illustration is very cute and brings the pages to life. The story is a cute enemies to lovers between Tessa and Olive. I enjoyed the way that Tedda started to remeb her past. The story will have you hooked from beginning and will capture your heart through the story and the illustrations.

This was everything I was hoping for and more. As a queer, nonbinary Canadian in my late 20s, this hit way closer to home than I was expecting (I actually had no idea this was about a Canadian couple at all) in all the best ways. The storyline is SO relatable to so many queer people, and to see Tessa & Olive's love story play out (twice) in such a realistic and true-to-life way was so refreshing. I would read a thousand graphic novels about their relationship and their lives, easily.

An advanced copy of this graphic novel was shared with me in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for sharing.

Thanks for NetGalley to letting me read this book and then review it.

This graphic novel was an easy read for me. I loved the exploration of Tessa’s relationship with Olive and how that changed over time.

One thing I would’ve liked though is there to be color, like in the cover, instead of the monochrome/greenish colours. I understand that this may be a stylistic choice though. Or perhaps when Tessa and Olive were younger then make it dull, but when it is present day make the colours pop.

This book was so sweet! I loved Frankie's character, they were amazing to Tessa. This book portrayed Olive's internalized homophobia so well. She wasn't the best to Tessa in highschool, but the way it was explained showed empathy towards Olive, with out Tessa fully forgiving her yet. Tessa realizing she did in fact have a crush on Oliver in high school, was such a real and related moment! Overall this book was super sweet and such a cozy read. The art style was drawn so well and the color scheme matched along so well!

This was an ARC read from Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Tessa is a struggling 20 something artist trying to juggle party planning for her parents anniversary and having to come to terms with high school trauma while her ex friend/bully Olive lives in her parents basement apartment.
The rollercoaster that it was for Tessa and Olive to reconnect after so many years and to see from both points of view what was happening was eye opening at how situations can be complicated by misunderstandings. I really identified with Olive and her struggle to understand her budding feelings for another girl while in high school.
I really enjoyed this story and the art style was very refreshing. It was like reading a journal but in comic form. Definitely recommend!

3.75 ⭑

What a cute & fun story!!! I enjoyed the author’s art style and will certainly pick up any future works published. I love an enemies to lovers trope & the second chance romance trope is featured here too. An enjoyable and quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of I Used to Hate You in High School.

"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!

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.

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 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!

"I hated you in highschool" follows Tessa and Olive's relationship now and in high school. The artwork was really cool, especially the diary scenes. The story felt very real and down to earth. Loved Tessa's friends and family! I really liked how the characters grow from their time in school to now, and that they are nit afraid to apologize for their errors.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Such a cute book! I started reading and couldn't put it down until I was finished. It was about revisiting your hometown and uncovering high school memories through a new lens since you've developed and learned more about yourself. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could! Very good but just missing a little something (maybe it was just the use of the "misunderstood' high school bully trope?). The characters had such depth and chemistry and the illustration was beautiful and full of emotion. The characters and the premise were very relatable and compelling. I would recommend this to almost anyone especially queers that grew up in a small town. Very re-readable. Honestly finished it and immediately wanted to restart the book!

This is a great graphic novel for the queers. I love the representation when it comes to queer relationships and relationships. It also brings to light some of the issues that many queer people face growing up with their identity as well. Tessa, the main character, is so relatable, especially when it comes to friendships and relationships. Olive and Tessa's friendship/relationship was the perfect amount of development that made me feel happy for them. The conversations in this graphic novel was very easy to read and felt very authentic in the way that any person would have with their friends or family. I also like how this graphic novel, while focusing on the romantic aspect of Tessa's life also focuses on other issues that readers will be able to relate to, especially in Vancouver. This graphic novel makes the reader relate and understand the developments happening in today's cities but also how difficult it is to make a living through art or any profession. Overall, I thoroughly liked this book and made me love how authentic and light this graphic novel was. Personally, a must read.