Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell

I was pulled in by nice colours and cool art again, but it hasn’t failed me so far. I then read the blurb and I just knew I had to pick it up.

            Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell follows Frederica “Freddy” Riley during the trials and tribulations of her on-again, off-again relationship with Laura Dean, and how this partnership affects the rest of Freddy’s relationships.

            God, the use of colour in this book is everything. I know I’m going to be using this as study for my own art. It’s subtle, but it’s stunning. The way the pink just flows into some of the panels is just… oh… I love it so much.

            I appreciate these teenagers actually, to me at least, sounding like teenagers. It’s something that is either done really well or just sounds like a kind of “how do you do fellow kids?”. From what I could see, though, there was real authenticity here, and I always love to see that.

            I love the way that growth and moving on is handled. It isn’t a smooth path, and there isn’t always a clear end. Freddy causes herself some real problems when she tries to balance being in a relationship with Laura and being a good friend to Doodle. Freddy doesn’t always make good choices, and she isn’t necessarily always a good person, but there comes a point where she realises her mistakes and begins to atone. She puts effort in. I really appreciate the way Tamaki and Valero-O’Connell show this.

            I had a great time reading this, and I feel that I’m super likely to pick this up once more. While I got this from Burnley Library, I think that getting myself a copy of my own is in order. This might even make it into my top ten at the end of the year. I feel like I’ve said that a fair amount though. It’s going to be a really tough choice this year.