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en-Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me - Mariko Tamaki review

05/11/2020

Author Mariko Tamaki and illustrator Rosemary Valero-O'Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love in Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, a graphic novel that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy's best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it's really Laura Dean that's the problem. Maybe it's Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

I had high expectations about this book. It looked really good, and I also heard a lot about it. So I was really excited to start this one.

But I was only halfway, and I started to regret the purchase. I was halfway in the book and I kept thinking 'I hope it gets better than this'. To be honest; it never did. I did not like it, and after a few days of thinking about it, I still don't like it. The story is so far fetched and unrealistic. The beginning of the book was kind of 'okay' but that diminished quickly.

I hated Laura Dean's character. She's not kind to her girlfriend and everything must go her way. She uses Freddie as a toy whenever she is bored and that's something, I really hated about her character. The fact that she treats her girlfriend like that doesn't suit her. It's too much drama without a clear story. The characters themselves are rather vague without a background story.

I'm also still asking why the stuffed animals could speak in the story. It's irrelevant, confusing and kind of disturbing. Also, they looked kind of creepy to me.


Book Specifics:

  • Author: Mariko Tamaki
  • Genre: Graphic Novel
  • Themes: LGBTQ+
  • Publisher: First Second
  • Published: May 7, 2019
  • Number of Pages: 304
  • ISBN- Code: 978-1626722590
  • Price: $14.99
  • Rating: *
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