Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Review: 'Friends with Boys' by Faith Erin Hicks

Maggie has spent all of her academic life being homeschooled by her mother, but is now starting public high school and is more than a little worried.  Her three older brothers will be there to keep an eye on her, but she'll face the trials of freshman year alone.  Well, alone that is except for the ghost that has started haunting her!

Hicks has created a compelling, emotional graphic novel sure to touch a chord with many readers.  Maggie is headstrong and independant with a quirky sense of humor.  Her relationship with her father and brothers feels real and each of the characters in the story is given a depth of character not often found in the graphic novel world.  The art is clean and shading well-done.  My only criticsism is that the paranormal aspect seems a bit unnessessary.  While this seems to be a stand-alone graphic novel, I would love to see more of Maggie's high school adventures and plan to keep an eye out for Hicks's forthcoming work.

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 12+ Mild swearing, bullying, fighting

Recommended for Readers of: