Book Review: Friends With Boys by Erin Faith Hicks

Title: Friends With Boys

Series: Book 1

Author: Erin Faith Hicks

Published: 2012

Edition Read: NetGalley e-book

Pages: 211 e-book edition.

Grade Level Recommended: High School

Overall: This was a really sweet story. I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the way cliques in high school were handled, and I really enjoyed the slightly paranormal aspects of this story. It was a feel-good story, and hit it's mark.

Summary(From Amazon) : A coming-of-age tale with a spooky twist!

Maggie McKay hardly knows what to do with herself. After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and rough-housing with her older brothers, it’s time for Maggie to face the outside world, all on her own. But that means facing high school first. And it also means solving the mystery of the melancholy ghost who has silently followed Maggie throughout her entire life. Maybe it even means making a new friend—one who isn’t one of her brothers.

Funny, surprising, and tender, Friends with Boys is a pitch perfect YA graphic novel full of spooky supernatural fun.

My Thoughts: When it comes to graphic novels I judge by the illustrations. I can be the pickiest person when it comes to graphic novels. It's also why I just can't get into the classic superhero comics. I could never get into the illustration style and method of story telling. The day I learned about web comics and indie comic artists it was like a whole new world was opened to me. It's been a really long time since I picked up an artist I didn't hear about beforehand. Faith Erin Hicks's story successfully brought back a classic tale of a new girl finding herself in the high school food chain, and interweaved a slight paranormal tale into it. I loved it.

It's Maggie's first day of public school, and she is following all three of her older brothers into high school. Maggie loved homeschool, and the change is very hard on her. Seeing her older brothers only makes her feel worse, and even more alone. All of her brothers have already created separate lives, and Maggie is now expected to do the same on her own. Maggie eventually meets Lucy and Alistar and becomes their friends.

I won't say much more because I really want people to go out and read the book for themselves. The art is great. It's clean and easy to follow. The panels are well fleshed-out with beautiful backgrounds and well balanced black and white illustrations. On top of all that you get a great story, and relatable characters. I hope there is a second volume. Even so, Faith Erin Hick has two other graphic novels out: Zombies Calling and The War at Ellsmere. Check out Friends With Boys online to get a good preview of the book. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Recommended For: High school students who love slice-of-life with a slight paranormal aspect. Lovely story.

Kiss It by Erin Downing

Kiss It by Erin Downing

(Book Page) (Author Page)

Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz’s life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps—but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you’ve got true lust? Sebastian has no idea what he’s in for—but maybe neither does Chaz...

Chastity, known better as Chaz, is looking for lust. Not love, not even like. She wants to have sex, but knows that the prospects in her small town of Milton, Minnesota isn't much. She makes due having already tasted carnal pleasure--if you can really call it that since it only lasted for less then a minute--by looking for her next fix. Trouble is that she has no idea where it will come from since all the teenage boys in her town are not what she would see as long term, no strings attached, fuck buddies.

Then a new guy walks into her life. Sebastian is in Milton to visit his father on a court mandated Christmas break. Immediately Chaz sees the potential in him. He's cute, not from Milton, and in a mere vacation he will be gone from her life quickly. Chaz pursues Sebastian, and most of the time she's confused with what he really wants from her. (Twisty Note: This doesn't really get easier with age, ladies.) Between Chaz wanting Sebastian, her best friend feeling major guilt over her own sexual relationship with her long-term boyfriend, and one other very sad, very life changing event this book really touches on a whole lot more then just sex.

Lets face it, if Candace Bushnell wrote a book on Samantha Jones as a teenager this would of probably hit pretty close to home. (And I might actually read it. In all honestly Sex and the City the book is nowhere near as fabulous as Sex and the City the series and movies. Also, I'm just so not a fan of hers, and any book I've read by her.) Chaz is so single-minded and focused on sex that Samantha Jones is what popped into my mind almost instantly. Despite what people might think that teenagers can handle this book was hilarious, honest, and I loved that the main character was ironically named Chastity. This book I would offer to lovers of comedy, and slice-of-life books. I could totally see me loving this book as a teenager, and many of my friends from then fitting so well into Chaz's sense of self.

On top of that abortion, teen pregnancy, safe sex, cancer, and so many more topics that are touched on in this book I loved it, and it's definitely being added to the highly recommended list.