Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Starred review from March 4, 2019
Laura Dean is a terrible girlfriend. Self-absorbed and careless, she breaks up with Frederica, 16, for the fourth time, via text message after being caught cheating at a school dance. But Freddy loves Laura Dean, and they’re soon back together—sort of—though Freddy’s relationship myopia renders her isolated and dismissive of her friends, all of whom are struggling with their own issues. A medium tells Freddy to call the relationship quits, but she has no idea how to stop perpetuating her part of the cycle. Bold, clean lines and pink highlights characterize rich art by Valero-O’Connell (the Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy series) as panels breathily dense with the personal details of the characters’ lives morph to suit each meaningful scene. A largely queer and physically and ethnically diverse cast inhabits this vision of teenage Berkeley, and the high school–specific mixture of self-possession and cluelessness with which Tamaki (This One Summer) imbues them lends depth and individuation. This exploration of toxic relationships and social dynamics at the cusp of adulthood is, like its cast, sharp and dazzling. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 14–up. Author’s agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.

Starred review from April 1, 2019
A 17-year-old struggles to navigate friendship and finding herself while navigating a toxic relationship. Biracial (East Asian and white) high schooler Freddy is in love with white Laura Dean. She can't help it--Laura oozes cool. But while Freddy's friends are always supportive of her, they can't understand why she stays with Laura. Laura cheats on Freddy, gaslights and emotionally manipulates her, and fetishizes her. After Laura breaks up with her for a third time, Freddy writes to an advice columnist and, at the recommendation of her best friend Doodle, (reluctantly) sees a psychic who advises her that in order to break out of the cycle of her "non-monogamous swing-your-partner wormhole," Freddy needs to do the breaking up herself. As she struggles to fall out of love and figure out how to "break up with someone who's broken up with me," Freddy slowly begins to be drawn back into Laura's orbit, challenging her relationships with her friends as she searches for happiness. Tamaki (Supergirl, 2018, etc.) explores the nuances of both romantic and platonic relationships with raw tenderness and honesty. Valero-O'Connell's (Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks, 2018, etc.) art is realistic and expressive, bringing the characters to life through dynamic grayscale illustrations featuring highlights of millennial pink. Freddy and her friends live in Berkeley, California, and have a diversity of body shapes, gender expressions, sexualities, and skin tones. A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar. (Graphic novel. 14-adult)

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May 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Frederica Riley's tall, confident, and effortlessly cool girlfriend Laura Dean is the most popular girl in school. Laura breaks Freddy's heart over and over again, but Freddy still takes her back each time. Doodle, Freddy's BFF, introduces her to Seek-Her, a mysterious medium who echoes what Freddy's friends have been saying: stay away from Laura. But Freddy continues to sacrifice friendships for the sake of a destructive relationship, and consulting advice columnist Anna Vice may be the teen's last chance to listen to reason. Valero-O'Connell's artwork is the best part of this graphic novel. Soft, sweeping lines emphasize Freddy's emotional torment, the unconventional paneling lending itself to the tone of the story. It's not easy for someone in a toxic relationship to be objective, but Freddy manages not only to help herself but also to be there for Doodle, who arguably has the biggest problems of the entire novel. In fact, teenage Doodle's relationship with an adult is glossed over and should have been addressed. However, Tamaki and Valero-O'Connell do bring to life an artful narrative of relationships-old, new, harmful, and healing-and what happens when you learn to navigate them. VERDICT It's frustrating to watch Freddy flounder, making bad decision after bad decision, but there's something endearingly vulnerable about her beautifully drawn experiences that will resonate with teenagers. Consider for medium and large collections.-Michael Marie Jacobs, Darlington School, GA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Freddy finds herself in an on-again, off-again relationship with the impossibly cool Laura Dean, who, surely not by accident, has an air of James Dean about her, from her floppy hair to her slouchy posture to her piercing gaze. Freddy feels invincible in Laura's orbit, and even after things truly go wrong, like when Laura sneaks off to make out with other girls, Freddy's inexorably lured back in. Freddy's friends range from dismayed to resigned, but none so much as Doodle, who's dealing with problems of their own and desperately needs a friend. Freddy's emails to an advice columnist offer insight into her thoughts and feelings, which are further telegraphed in the stunning artwork, which masterfully captures the mood with gestures and facial expressions, from Freddy curled into herself behind a curtain of her thick black hair to Doodle focused intently on their Dungeons and Dragons plans. Shifting perspectives and soft pink washes give the artful black-ink artwork a cinematic feel. Tamaki (This One Summer, 2015) truly gets to the heart of the struggle to balance the intoxicating allure of being loved by someone thrilling and a desire for a healthy, autonomous sense of identity, all in pitch-perfect teen dialogue. Touching gently but powerfully on topics of bullying, homophobia, and toxic relationships, this superb graphic novel has its finger on the pulse of teenage concerns.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)