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Arden High #1
Twelfth Grade Night
"Magical and full of queer joy—this book is such a dream!"
—Alice Oseman, New York Times best-selling author of Heartstopper
The course of true love never did run smooth . . . and neither does high school in this new graphic novel series for fans of Heartstopper and The Prince and the Dressmaker.
Vi came to Arden High for a fresh start and a chance to wear beanies and button-ups instead of uniform skirts. And though doing it without her twin feels like being split in half, Vi finds her stride when she stumbles (literally!) into broody and beautiful poet-slash-influencer, Orsino. Soon Vi gets roped into helping plan the school’s Twelfth Grade Night dance, and she can’t stop dreaming about slow dancing with Orsino under the fairy lights in the gym.
The problem? All Vi’s new friends assume she’s not even into guys. And before Vi can ask Orsino to the dance, he recruits Vi to help woo his crush, Olivia. Who has a crush of her own . . . on Vi.
Star-crossed love abounds in this hilarious and romantic story of self-discovery, mistaken identities, and the magic that happens when we open our hearts to something new.
—Alice Oseman, New York Times best-selling author of Heartstopper
The course of true love never did run smooth . . . and neither does high school in this new graphic novel series for fans of Heartstopper and The Prince and the Dressmaker.
Vi came to Arden High for a fresh start and a chance to wear beanies and button-ups instead of uniform skirts. And though doing it without her twin feels like being split in half, Vi finds her stride when she stumbles (literally!) into broody and beautiful poet-slash-influencer, Orsino. Soon Vi gets roped into helping plan the school’s Twelfth Grade Night dance, and she can’t stop dreaming about slow dancing with Orsino under the fairy lights in the gym.
The problem? All Vi’s new friends assume she’s not even into guys. And before Vi can ask Orsino to the dance, he recruits Vi to help woo his crush, Olivia. Who has a crush of her own . . . on Vi.
Star-crossed love abounds in this hilarious and romantic story of self-discovery, mistaken identities, and the magic that happens when we open our hearts to something new.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2022
About the author
Molly Horton Booth
4 books159 followersMolly Horton Booth teaches English at Bunker Hill Community College, and also writes books about Shakespeare and feelings. She's the author of Young Adult novels SAVING HAMLET and NOTHING HAPPENED both published by Disney Hyperion. She graduated from Marlboro College and went on to get her English MA, studying Shakespeare some more (twist!), at University of Massachusetts Boston. Molly is a freelance writer and editor and has been published on TheMarySue.com, McSweeneys.net, HelloGiggles.com, etc. She directs a lovely, hilarious, and fierce group of homeschooling teen Shakespearean actors. Molly lives in Massachusetts, where she spends a lot of time with family and friends, and the rest attending to her queenly cat, loaf-of-bread-shaped dog, and small kitty spookyboy. Molly is a Sagittarius sun/Pisces moon/Capricorn rising. You can visit her (please do!) on her website, mollyhortonbooth.com.
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June 4, 2022Magical and full of queer joy, plus all the mischief of Shakespearean comedies - this book is such a dream!
November 2, 2022
Meh. This was cute but I was super underwhelmed by the Twelfth Night aspect. There was no Feste, Antonio was mentioned, like, once by Sebastian, and the plotline of Olivia having lost her brother is completely gone: . There is no Cesario, which is...fine I guess since it would be hard to work that plotline into a modern setting but it's such an integral part of Twelfth Night that it just feels weird to have it not be there. Everything felt way too rushed, too. All in all this was not a hit for me and I'm sad about it :(
Side note:
Also not to overanalyze this graphic novel but we see Puck wearing a shirt that lists the names of Shakespearean heroines, but Puck, Oberon, Titania, Polonius, and Dogberry all appear/are mentioned in this book so like...are the plays nonfiction here? Is everyone just named after a famous Shakespeare character? Idk
Side note:
Also not to overanalyze this graphic novel but we see Puck wearing a shirt that lists the names of Shakespearean heroines, but Puck, Oberon, Titania, Polonius, and Dogberry all appear/are mentioned in this book so like...are the plays nonfiction here? Is everyone just named after a famous Shakespeare character? Idk
June 29, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up. I was anticipating liking this one a little more than I did because I'm a fan of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; however, this fell a little short in some places. Definitely a cute read for those who enjoy graphic novels with a mix between fantasy and contemporary themes.
Twelfth Grade Night follows a very similar premise to it's namesake. Readers will follow Vi as she attends a public high school without her twin brother. While there she meets Orsino and develops a crush him and he has a crush on Oliva who has a crush on Vi. Vi attempts to not only figure out the complications associated with everyone's feelings, but also what it means to finally do something without her twin by her side.
What Didn't Work: I think that this story suffered from a lack of worldbuilding. Clearly there are some interesting elements associated with the fae characters readers meet in the beginning, but I don't feel like the writers took the opportunity to explore anything past giving them as identity as fae. I'm hoping that if there are additions to the series, they make the decision to explore this element a little more. Also, I wouldn't recommend going into this expecting an exact retelling of Twelfth Night. There were some specific elements that are missing from this retelling. I also wanted the writers to explore the relationship between Vi and Sebastian more. Clearly, Vi is having more difficulty being separated from her twin; however, I feel like the analysis of their relationship was more surface level than what it should have been.
What Worked: The artwork was STUNNING. From the penciling to the coloring--everything worked in this graphic novel. I was blown away by how well it captured not only the setting of the story, but also the complicated feelings shared amongst the characters. I also appreciated that this story focused on queer joy. There are lots of stories that do this, but honestly the more we get as readers the happier I am. The relationship between Vi and Orsino was ADORABLE. They had the type of relationship that makes readers root for them the entire time!
Overall, this was a solid read and I'm looking forward to picking up the next installment in the series which comes out January of next year.
Twelfth Grade Night follows a very similar premise to it's namesake. Readers will follow Vi as she attends a public high school without her twin brother. While there she meets Orsino and develops a crush him and he has a crush on Oliva who has a crush on Vi. Vi attempts to not only figure out the complications associated with everyone's feelings, but also what it means to finally do something without her twin by her side.
What Didn't Work: I think that this story suffered from a lack of worldbuilding. Clearly there are some interesting elements associated with the fae characters readers meet in the beginning, but I don't feel like the writers took the opportunity to explore anything past giving them as identity as fae. I'm hoping that if there are additions to the series, they make the decision to explore this element a little more. Also, I wouldn't recommend going into this expecting an exact retelling of Twelfth Night. There were some specific elements that are missing from this retelling. I also wanted the writers to explore the relationship between Vi and Sebastian more. Clearly, Vi is having more difficulty being separated from her twin; however, I feel like the analysis of their relationship was more surface level than what it should have been.
What Worked: The artwork was STUNNING. From the penciling to the coloring--everything worked in this graphic novel. I was blown away by how well it captured not only the setting of the story, but also the complicated feelings shared amongst the characters. I also appreciated that this story focused on queer joy. There are lots of stories that do this, but honestly the more we get as readers the happier I am. The relationship between Vi and Orsino was ADORABLE. They had the type of relationship that makes readers root for them the entire time!
Overall, this was a solid read and I'm looking forward to picking up the next installment in the series which comes out January of next year.
November 23, 2022
2022 Fall Bingo (#FallInLoveBingo🍂): Back to School
The art is beautiful, but I was super confused by the faeries openly practicing magic in front of the mortal students. I don’t think it added anything to the story, and I would’ve preferred more pages devoted to Orsino’s realization that he actually liked Vi.
The art is beautiful, but I was super confused by the faeries openly practicing magic in front of the mortal students. I don’t think it added anything to the story, and I would’ve preferred more pages devoted to Orsino’s realization that he actually liked Vi.
May 21, 2023
*2.75
Aw man... so close.
Well, sort of.
As you can tell from my initial review of this book before it came out, I was VERY excited for this. Queer high school Twelfth Night retelling?? Yes please!
But there were some elements that got dropped or unsatisfyingly concluded. I did like certain plot points, but this was ultimately a disappointment in a couple of ways.
This'll be a pretty spoiler-y review, for the record.
There are four main elements that I think you should focus on for a TN retelling - Orsino/Viola, Olivia/Viola, Antonio/Sebastian, and the motley crew (aka, what my Shakespeare program called Maria, Toby, and Andrew).
First off, before we get to them - I was surprised, upon starting this book, to learn that it was in a magical realism setting. There are literally fairieswalking flying in the school halls. However, this didn't play too greatly into the TN plot, and I think it's just a setup for the rest of this series. Titania and Ron (very nicely named) and Puck are just there in the background.
So - the four elements, in order of how well they were handled.
1. The motley crew
In the original text, the motley crew, while entertaining, arguably go a bit too far in their revenge on Malvolio. Sure, he's a buzzkill, but literally driving him insane is.. a little much.
I loved the take on these three in this graphic novel, and the way the aftermath of their revenge on Melvin is handled. They feel genuine guilt over their actions and apologize, and it feels like them and Melvin balanced things out. And Olivia telling Melvin at the end that she'd like to dance with him as a friend at the next dance and things end well among everyone - so sweet, so perfect.
(Although - Feste! Where was Feste??)
2. Orsino/Viola
I am a diehard Orsino/Viola shipper. I find their canon dynamic adorable (the 1996 TN movie has my entire heart). So, as much as I like Olivia, I was thrilled that this book was pushing the Orsino/Viola plotline. Them bonding over writing and music and slowly falling for each other separately was really cute. And Orsino mistakingly assuming that Vi is a lesbian because of her style (and apologizing for it) is a nice modern take on the Cesario plotline.
3. Olivia/Viola
I liked how Olivia was written in this book - she's popular, kind, and pretty, so of course everyone in the school is falling over her. I found her crush on Vi very sweet and genuine - although I felt pretty bad for her lol. While I do love the original Orsino/Viola pairing, I've always had a soft spot for Olivia and her unrequited love for Viola. It's the same case in here.
I was disappointed that Olivia and Vi never developed a real friendship in this book; the potential was there. Also, they cut out Olivia's dead brother, giving Olivia a dead father instead, the same as Vi. This sort of works, since Sebastian isn't perceived dead in here, but again - I felt like we were cheated out of any good connection between Vi and Olivia. This book is very fast-paced - but we'll get to that later.
As for Olivia/Sebastian...
This book didn't have Olivia/Sebastian as endgame, just a last-minute miscommunication plot device. Which fits, but this whole book kind of loses the mixed identity subplot the way that it's written. Olivia/Sebastian isn't a good pairing in the original text because Olivia never knew or loved Sebastian before she married him - it was Viola/Cesario that she loved. However, in She's the Man, Olivia/Sebastian works because Olivia is already interested in Sebastian via his songs. There's a connection between the two of them that's separate from Viola.
I was a bit sad that Olivia didn't end up with anyone in here - she was really sweet, and I could tell she liked Vi a lot. But you don't need everyone to get paired up at the end of the book, and I liked where Olivia wound up. Maybe she'll get a girlfriend in the sequel?
4. Antonio/Sebastian
Just... WHY??
You had Antonio RIGHT THERE. He showed up!! He was in the graphic novel!! And yet... we don't get ANYTHING from Antonio/Sebastian?? Are you kidding me?
In the original text of TN, it's pretty obvious that Antonio is in love with Sebastian. Despite having enemies in Illyria, he follows Sebastian there, where he sees Viola in a duel and mistakes her for Sebastian. Then you get that fantastic scene where Antonio defends Viola and becomes greatly hurt by thinking Sebastian is pretending he doesn't know Antonio, despite all the time they've spent together. In the end, though, Sebastian marries Olivia and Antonio is left alone.
I was SO excited to get some good Antonio/Sebastian content in here. But it's just... not there! At all!
The duel scene I mentioned above? Never happens! This book just didn't go all the way with the mistaken identity aspect of Viola and Sebastian's characters, which is such a letdown. There's actually NOTHING on the whole Sebastian plotline - nothing with Antonio or anything. I would've killed to get a version of the duel scene in here! And then Antonio and Sebastian could've gotten together at the dance at the end! Come on!
The most egregious insult is when it's hinted, at the end, that Sebastian is going to get with PUCK. Puck!! From A Midsummer Night's Dream!! Why?? Antonio was RIGHT THERE!
Ugh. Why would they do this?
But, ultimately, there was more I disliked about this book that I wasn't expecting, stuff entirely separate from those four elements. I found Vi a lot less likable than I'd hoped. She's sulky and distant from other people most of the time. This wraps into my second complaint - this book is SO fast-paced. If it had some more pages and let the characters process things instead of just having things happen all the time, this could've been great. But, alas...
2.75/5 stars. Out of all of the elements I came in expecting from this book, I wasn't expecting the motley crew to be the ones handled best. But the Orsino/Viola was cute. I just wish this could've hit all of the marks. Oh well, I'm still wildly excited for book two - not sure how a queer King Lear retelling is going to work (definitely isn't the first play that comes to mind when you think "queer Shakespeare"), but I'm here for it!
6/5/22:
COVER. SYNOPSIS. RELEASE DATE IN FOUR MONTHS.
And it's going to be a GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES aasdjkfhsdkag I'm going to go feral for this - please please please don't let me down!!
9/6/21:
*slams table*
No, you don't get it, YOU DON'T GET IT.
I have been PRAYING the book gods for this book for YEARS. Twelfth Night is one of my all-time favorite Shakespeare plays, and it is absolutely BEGGING for a queer retelling! I mean, come on! Seriously, you have no idea how badly I have been wanting this!! And it's by the same author who did Nothing Happened, which I LOVED. I totally trust her with this, and I cannot wait!! 2022 sounds cruel but... I'll be here. Don't let me down.
Aw man... so close.
Well, sort of.
As you can tell from my initial review of this book before it came out, I was VERY excited for this. Queer high school Twelfth Night retelling?? Yes please!
But there were some elements that got dropped or unsatisfyingly concluded. I did like certain plot points, but this was ultimately a disappointment in a couple of ways.
This'll be a pretty spoiler-y review, for the record.
There are four main elements that I think you should focus on for a TN retelling - Orsino/Viola, Olivia/Viola, Antonio/Sebastian, and the motley crew (aka, what my Shakespeare program called Maria, Toby, and Andrew).
First off, before we get to them - I was surprised, upon starting this book, to learn that it was in a magical realism setting. There are literally fairies
So - the four elements, in order of how well they were handled.
1. The motley crew
In the original text, the motley crew, while entertaining, arguably go a bit too far in their revenge on Malvolio. Sure, he's a buzzkill, but literally driving him insane is.. a little much.
I loved the take on these three in this graphic novel, and the way the aftermath of their revenge on Melvin is handled. They feel genuine guilt over their actions and apologize, and it feels like them and Melvin balanced things out. And Olivia telling Melvin at the end that she'd like to dance with him as a friend at the next dance and things end well among everyone - so sweet, so perfect.
(Although - Feste! Where was Feste??)
2. Orsino/Viola
I am a diehard Orsino/Viola shipper. I find their canon dynamic adorable (the 1996 TN movie has my entire heart). So, as much as I like Olivia, I was thrilled that this book was pushing the Orsino/Viola plotline. Them bonding over writing and music and slowly falling for each other separately was really cute. And Orsino mistakingly assuming that Vi is a lesbian because of her style (and apologizing for it) is a nice modern take on the Cesario plotline.
3. Olivia/Viola
I liked how Olivia was written in this book - she's popular, kind, and pretty, so of course everyone in the school is falling over her. I found her crush on Vi very sweet and genuine - although I felt pretty bad for her lol. While I do love the original Orsino/Viola pairing, I've always had a soft spot for Olivia and her unrequited love for Viola. It's the same case in here.
I was disappointed that Olivia and Vi never developed a real friendship in this book; the potential was there. Also, they cut out Olivia's dead brother, giving Olivia a dead father instead, the same as Vi. This sort of works, since Sebastian isn't perceived dead in here, but again - I felt like we were cheated out of any good connection between Vi and Olivia. This book is very fast-paced - but we'll get to that later.
As for Olivia/Sebastian...
This book didn't have Olivia/Sebastian as endgame, just a last-minute miscommunication plot device. Which fits, but this whole book kind of loses the mixed identity subplot the way that it's written. Olivia/Sebastian isn't a good pairing in the original text because Olivia never knew or loved Sebastian before she married him - it was Viola/Cesario that she loved. However, in She's the Man, Olivia/Sebastian works because Olivia is already interested in Sebastian via his songs. There's a connection between the two of them that's separate from Viola.
I was a bit sad that Olivia didn't end up with anyone in here - she was really sweet, and I could tell she liked Vi a lot. But you don't need everyone to get paired up at the end of the book, and I liked where Olivia wound up. Maybe she'll get a girlfriend in the sequel?
4. Antonio/Sebastian
Just... WHY??
You had Antonio RIGHT THERE. He showed up!! He was in the graphic novel!! And yet... we don't get ANYTHING from Antonio/Sebastian?? Are you kidding me?
In the original text of TN, it's pretty obvious that Antonio is in love with Sebastian. Despite having enemies in Illyria, he follows Sebastian there, where he sees Viola in a duel and mistakes her for Sebastian. Then you get that fantastic scene where Antonio defends Viola and becomes greatly hurt by thinking Sebastian is pretending he doesn't know Antonio, despite all the time they've spent together. In the end, though, Sebastian marries Olivia and Antonio is left alone.
I was SO excited to get some good Antonio/Sebastian content in here. But it's just... not there! At all!
The duel scene I mentioned above? Never happens! This book just didn't go all the way with the mistaken identity aspect of Viola and Sebastian's characters, which is such a letdown. There's actually NOTHING on the whole Sebastian plotline - nothing with Antonio or anything. I would've killed to get a version of the duel scene in here! And then Antonio and Sebastian could've gotten together at the dance at the end! Come on!
The most egregious insult is when it's hinted, at the end, that Sebastian is going to get with PUCK. Puck!! From A Midsummer Night's Dream!! Why?? Antonio was RIGHT THERE!
Ugh. Why would they do this?
But, ultimately, there was more I disliked about this book that I wasn't expecting, stuff entirely separate from those four elements. I found Vi a lot less likable than I'd hoped. She's sulky and distant from other people most of the time. This wraps into my second complaint - this book is SO fast-paced. If it had some more pages and let the characters process things instead of just having things happen all the time, this could've been great. But, alas...
2.75/5 stars. Out of all of the elements I came in expecting from this book, I wasn't expecting the motley crew to be the ones handled best. But the Orsino/Viola was cute. I just wish this could've hit all of the marks. Oh well, I'm still wildly excited for book two - not sure how a queer King Lear retelling is going to work (definitely isn't the first play that comes to mind when you think "queer Shakespeare"), but I'm here for it!
6/5/22:
COVER. SYNOPSIS. RELEASE DATE IN FOUR MONTHS.
And it's going to be a GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES aasdjkfhsdkag I'm going to go feral for this - please please please don't let me down!!
9/6/21:
*slams table*
No, you don't get it, YOU DON'T GET IT.
I have been PRAYING the book gods for this book for YEARS. Twelfth Night is one of my all-time favorite Shakespeare plays, and it is absolutely BEGGING for a queer retelling! I mean, come on! Seriously, you have no idea how badly I have been wanting this!! And it's by the same author who did Nothing Happened, which I LOVED. I totally trust her with this, and I cannot wait!! 2022 sounds cruel but... I'll be here. Don't let me down.
January 23, 2023
C’était mignon et ça fait du bien de voir des personnages queer sans qu’il y ait de dramas. J’ai aussi beaucoup aimé les dessins, donc c’est une chouette lecture pour ce roman graphique jeunesse ! Par contre je n’ai pas compris pourquoi le fantastique est introduit ? Vu qu’il n’apporte rien à l’histoire ? C’est dommage 😂
November 12, 2022
2.75 ✨
Meh…..quick read but really glad I borrowed this one. Definitely not memorable ✌🏼
Meh…..quick read but really glad I borrowed this one. Definitely not memorable ✌🏼
March 21, 2023
Meh. Kinda boring and the whole fairy thing was quite unnecessary. Also very predictable. Of course romance (graphic) novels get predictable when you read a lot of them but I felt like this one didn’t even try to stand out. Aside from the random magic which, once again, was unnecessary lol. Two stars because of the beautiful art tho!
July 31, 2022
Maybe its the queer goth with a poetry instagram but I found this so fun and endearing. This comic isn't pulling teeth with high school romances, it's sweet and heartfelt making its character quick to get attached too. Retellings of Twelfth Night will never get old, but this one felt distinct and unique! This art is so lively and beautiful, choosing the best of Snotgirl and classic shoujo tropes to lean on. This comic made me want to go get an after school coffee with these characters and talk about their lives! (Well if I was still in high school, I could only hope to go to high school with the fae folk).
June 27, 2022
I loved this. It's a perfect modern day high school take of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Clever and heart-felt with lovely art, I wholeheartedly recommend. As soon as the Polonius/curtain joke was made, I was sold. The use of social media in this was so well done, interwoven in the plot in a realistic way, and a necessary inclusion for modern day high school stories. The addition of the fairy royalty was delightful and I assume will come into greater play in following books, which I will definitely be keeping an eye out for.
July 28, 2023
3.5
the artwork was awesome, and i love when books kinda incorporate classics and things like that <3
the artwork was awesome, and i love when books kinda incorporate classics and things like that <3
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
March 29, 2023
As a former semi-student of Shakespeare, I loved this!
So cute, so queer, so fun! Loved all the choices.
So cute, so queer, so fun! Loved all the choices.
July 8, 2024
An adorable mashup of Twelfth Night and A Midsummer's Dream, set in a very unique high school full of the fairies from AMD and bursting with vibrancy. Honestly, if I'd ever been a fan of the original Twelfth Night, I think this would have been five stars all the way! And even as-is, I tore through it in less than an hour and enjoyed it all the way.
October 24, 2022
A modern teenage retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was a fun story with lovely art.
September 20, 2022
CAUTION: SPOILERS
This was overall a good book. A really cute story of high school romance, dances, crushes, and exploring your identity. It was also incredibly funny at times. However, I feel that the whole magical fairy aesthetic was slightly unnecessary. It gave off a cute vibe but didn't do very much for the plot. Also, the whole part with Vi and Sebs' shared insta or something was altogether confusing. Did Seb have Vi's phone, or handle? Also, why was Seb a jerk at the dance? it was a good book but with one too many plot holes.
This was overall a good book. A really cute story of high school romance, dances, crushes, and exploring your identity. It was also incredibly funny at times. However, I feel that the whole magical fairy aesthetic was slightly unnecessary. It gave off a cute vibe but didn't do very much for the plot. Also, the whole part with Vi and Sebs' shared insta or something was altogether confusing. Did Seb have Vi's phone, or handle? Also, why was Seb a jerk at the dance? it was a good book but with one too many plot holes.
January 9, 2023
So, this book opened with a line from another Shakespeare play, and I, being pedantic and needing everyone to know how much I know about Shakespeare, turned to my friend and said "Ugh, that's the wrong play". They pointed out that it was a modern graphic novel adaption and that I claim to love weird adaptions of Shakespeare, so I was being silly. And they were right.
This book is so charming! I love the characterization and the little references all through it. I loved the use of Instagram Stories for the letter to Mal, I loved Vi's NB vibes, and the hint of Sebastian/Antonio? Watered my crops. Maria, my favorite character from the play, is so well done in this.
This book is so charming! I love the characterization and the little references all through it. I loved the use of Instagram Stories for the letter to Mal, I loved Vi's NB vibes, and the hint of Sebastian/Antonio? Watered my crops. Maria, my favorite character from the play, is so well done in this.
October 1, 2023
not a groundbreaking take on twelfth night by any means, but god, this is adorable. gripes out of the way first, because i think way too often about twelfth night:
firstly: the biggest letdown here for me is that there isn't enough vi gender. and i don't say that just because viola is a very genderous character; i say it because this particular vi's gender is sort of hovering at the edge of everything, as if it wants to be explored--it's touched on with her desire to stop wearing skirts, with her worry guys won't like her if she dresses the way she wants, etc--but these are comments thrown out offhandedly, and when you're dealing with twelfth night, of all plays, that feels like a gaping oversight. add in the fact that in the last ~10 pages, vi says , and i'm wondering why there wasn't a great big vi questioning arc! it doesn't have to get resolved! but give me a little more if you're going to tout your twelfth night graphic novel as a Queer Story! (granted, there are other lgbt characters, but there could have been more Themes, you know. more focus.)
secondarily: some of the conflict between the twins, while realistic conceptually (how do you exist as both a twin and an individual? what if your sibling is pulling away?), felt contrived. the more i think about it, the more i think this is the fault of that middle scene where .
finally. you know i have to talk about melvin, because of course i do. and it's not going to surprise you what i am going to say: i think he could have had more complexity. of course i think this, because i'm the world's leading voice in modern-high-school-malvolio studies, but i think twelfth night works best when malvolio, however obnoxious, however easy it is to stuff him into the caricature-of-a-nerd box, has a real and vulnerable personhood in him. i also recognize that this book is only so long. but i'm the malvolio guy so i have to say it
and yet i am still rating this four stars! because it's exactly what it claims to be: a short and sweet high school twelfth night. the strongest point here is definitely the art; jamie green's style is beautiful and all of the illustrations are so lively and lovely. the lighting shifts are great (love the bi lighting in the last scene); the character designs are great; i don't know much about paneling and there wasn't a lot of out-of-the-box paneling here, but it was cohesive and Extremely Good To Look At! also yay for body type diversity! and not even just in a "thank god artists draw fat people sometimes" way, although that too; i also just like how variable the characters look, from main characters to unnamed background students.
other misc thoughts:
- fantastic fucking designs all around. toby, andrew, and maria especially. toby's little cheesestache is so on point, as is orsino's eboy nail polish (the only move, perhaps), and everything about this maria is amazing, from her bi flag pin to her undercut to her she/they laptop sticker. maria i love youuuuuu
- congrats to this for making orsino fun! usually i don't care about that guy. or find him mildly irritating at best. but this orsino is endearing for the sheer drama of his hopeless romanticism, and you can tell that he really does mean well and has gotten perhaps a bit over his head with the crush fantasies.
- did not know this was going to have real fairies and magic in it. not sure what this added, but i also like whimsy, so i'm not complaining. also this titania was extremely hot
- on that note: i enjoyed the little breadcrumbed references to other shakespeare plays, but i think we could have gone deeper with that. more obscure. more esoteric. give me a histories character cameo
- can’t decide whether the twins instagram mixup is an extremely contrived way to do that plot point or delightfully camp. honestly, i am leaning toward the latter.
- not sure why there's no antonio when we see a guy sebastian interacts with a lot? but unfortunately i'm a traitor to the gay community by not caring that much about sebastian/antonio, so oh well.
-
tl;dr: good if not mindblowing. i am very attached to twelfth night. it's one of shakespeare's darker comedies; done well, it can make me scream-laugh and also genuinely sob, and my favorite adaptation is one that aims at that treacherous balance between comedy and tragedy, that isn't afraid to go dark. i'm not a huge enjoyer of stuff that is mostly low-stakes fluff, and so twelfth grade night isn't exactly in my wheelhouse. but it is precisely what it promises to be: well-drawn, extremely cute, and very very heartfelt.
also did you know there's an as yet unreleased king lear cheerleading book in this same universe. can i get that in my hands PLEASE
firstly: the biggest letdown here for me is that there isn't enough vi gender. and i don't say that just because viola is a very genderous character; i say it because this particular vi's gender is sort of hovering at the edge of everything, as if it wants to be explored--it's touched on with her desire to stop wearing skirts, with her worry guys won't like her if she dresses the way she wants, etc--but these are comments thrown out offhandedly, and when you're dealing with twelfth night, of all plays, that feels like a gaping oversight. add in the fact that in the last ~10 pages, vi says , and i'm wondering why there wasn't a great big vi questioning arc! it doesn't have to get resolved! but give me a little more if you're going to tout your twelfth night graphic novel as a Queer Story! (granted, there are other lgbt characters, but there could have been more Themes, you know. more focus.)
secondarily: some of the conflict between the twins, while realistic conceptually (how do you exist as both a twin and an individual? what if your sibling is pulling away?), felt contrived. the more i think about it, the more i think this is the fault of that middle scene where .
finally. you know i have to talk about melvin, because of course i do. and it's not going to surprise you what i am going to say: i think he could have had more complexity. of course i think this, because i'm the world's leading voice in modern-high-school-malvolio studies, but i think twelfth night works best when malvolio, however obnoxious, however easy it is to stuff him into the caricature-of-a-nerd box, has a real and vulnerable personhood in him. i also recognize that this book is only so long. but i'm the malvolio guy so i have to say it
and yet i am still rating this four stars! because it's exactly what it claims to be: a short and sweet high school twelfth night. the strongest point here is definitely the art; jamie green's style is beautiful and all of the illustrations are so lively and lovely. the lighting shifts are great (love the bi lighting in the last scene); the character designs are great; i don't know much about paneling and there wasn't a lot of out-of-the-box paneling here, but it was cohesive and Extremely Good To Look At! also yay for body type diversity! and not even just in a "thank god artists draw fat people sometimes" way, although that too; i also just like how variable the characters look, from main characters to unnamed background students.
other misc thoughts:
- fantastic fucking designs all around. toby, andrew, and maria especially. toby's little cheesestache is so on point, as is orsino's eboy nail polish (the only move, perhaps), and everything about this maria is amazing, from her bi flag pin to her undercut to her she/they laptop sticker. maria i love youuuuuu
- congrats to this for making orsino fun! usually i don't care about that guy. or find him mildly irritating at best. but this orsino is endearing for the sheer drama of his hopeless romanticism, and you can tell that he really does mean well and has gotten perhaps a bit over his head with the crush fantasies.
- did not know this was going to have real fairies and magic in it. not sure what this added, but i also like whimsy, so i'm not complaining. also this titania was extremely hot
- on that note: i enjoyed the little breadcrumbed references to other shakespeare plays, but i think we could have gone deeper with that. more obscure. more esoteric. give me a histories character cameo
- can’t decide whether the twins instagram mixup is an extremely contrived way to do that plot point or delightfully camp. honestly, i am leaning toward the latter.
- not sure why there's no antonio when we see a guy sebastian interacts with a lot? but unfortunately i'm a traitor to the gay community by not caring that much about sebastian/antonio, so oh well.
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tl;dr: good if not mindblowing. i am very attached to twelfth night. it's one of shakespeare's darker comedies; done well, it can make me scream-laugh and also genuinely sob, and my favorite adaptation is one that aims at that treacherous balance between comedy and tragedy, that isn't afraid to go dark. i'm not a huge enjoyer of stuff that is mostly low-stakes fluff, and so twelfth grade night isn't exactly in my wheelhouse. but it is precisely what it promises to be: well-drawn, extremely cute, and very very heartfelt.
also did you know there's an as yet unreleased king lear cheerleading book in this same universe. can i get that in my hands PLEASE
October 12, 2022
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!
It was a decent book, neither good nor bad. I think it was a bit rushed, Vi’s and Orsino’s relationship felt incredibly forced (I know that in twelfth night Viola and Orsino end up being a couple). The characters lack depth, but their designs are really fricking cute, props to Jamie Green for the incredible illustrations. It’s a quick read but if you expect it to be just like twelfth night then I suggest that you watch she’s the man or read the play instead.
It was a decent book, neither good nor bad. I think it was a bit rushed, Vi’s and Orsino’s relationship felt incredibly forced (I know that in twelfth night Viola and Orsino end up being a couple). The characters lack depth, but their designs are really fricking cute, props to Jamie Green for the incredible illustrations. It’s a quick read but if you expect it to be just like twelfth night then I suggest that you watch she’s the man or read the play instead.
November 12, 2022
This was a really cute graphic novel!
A retelling of Twelfth Night (obvs), but set in a high school. I really liked how the story was told, in that Viola (Vi) wasn't intentionally hiding her identity or pretending to be a different gender, she just liked to dress in more masc-coded clothes. And like, that was totally me in high school!
Really well done, I hope that there are more in this series because I will read the heck out of them.
A retelling of Twelfth Night (obvs), but set in a high school. I really liked how the story was told, in that Viola (Vi) wasn't intentionally hiding her identity or pretending to be a different gender, she just liked to dress in more masc-coded clothes. And like, that was totally me in high school!
Really well done, I hope that there are more in this series because I will read the heck out of them.
May 4, 2023
As someone who’ll instantly fall asleep to anything Shakespeare, I found this little retelling very enjoyable! So enjoyable, in fact, that I gave it 5 ⭐️! The art was as beautiful as the characters, there were a lot of sweet moments, and many laughs had. It’s so happily queer and I loved the fairies. If I had one, this would definitely go into my Top Graphic Novel list. So cute and one I’ll reread anytime I need a smile!
February 2, 2023
Je m’attendais à beaucoup mieux parce que j’adore La nuit des rois de Shakespeare (et l’œuvre Shakespearienne en général) et je trouvais ça trop génial d’avoir une réécriture queer au format graphique ! Je n’ai pas été déçue par les illustrations, colorées, fleuries, magiques, par contre l’histoire ne m’a pas convaincue ! On a aucune explication sur la dimension fantastique et j’ai trouvé que le triangle amoureux n’était pas assez développé. Puis, clairement, même si c’est un roman graphique, le texte laissait à désirer… C’est dommage parce qu’il y avait de belles choses, mais je crois que j’en attendais trop !
March 25, 2023
2.5⭐ J'avais quand même beaucoup d'attentes en voyant les dessins et le nom d'Alice Oseman sur la couverture, moi qui a adoré les HeartStopper. Finalement, pas mal déçue. Les graphiques sont beaux, pour quelqu'un qui cherche une BD queer sans prise de tête c'est cute. Pas sûr d'avoir compris le lien avec Sheakspeare. Les dialogues sont confus par moment, tout est trop en surface, les relations se forment super rapidement.. Y'a une graine de fantastique qui m'a prise au dépourvue et pas nécessairement de la bonne manière. Le petit triangle amoureux, très peu pour moi. Je ne suis probablement pas le public cible. J'aurais peut-être plus apprécié ma lecture en ayant 13-14 ans metton. Bref, loin d'être la bande dessinée de l'année 🤷🏼♀️
February 6, 2024
Low stakes, low angst, great illustrations. And you know, sometimes that’s enough.
June 7, 2022
I received an ARC of this graphic novel from the publisher at TLA in April.
Twelfth Grade Night written by Molly Horton Booth & Stephanie Kate Strohm and illustrated by Jamie Green is the first volume in an new graphic novel series. There are references to Shakespeare's references Twelfth Night. I am not a Shakespeare fan, so I cannot speak to how close the story is.
Viola (Vi) and Sebastian are twins. They were supposed to attend public high school together, but Sebastian decided to go to private boarding school instead. Now Vi is alone at Arden High School, which has ghosts for teachers and fairies running the social committee.
Vi is happy that she no longer has to wear the uniform skirts that she was so uncomfortable in, choosing pants, button-downs and topping it off with a beanie. She meets and begins to crush on a poet, but he has a crush on a different girl, who seems to have a crush on someone else.
This is a fun story of what it is like to try to navigate friendships and crushes in high school with wonderful illustrations. I will definitely be buying it for my library.
LGBTQ representation. No sex, No foul language.
Twelfth Grade Night written by Molly Horton Booth & Stephanie Kate Strohm and illustrated by Jamie Green is the first volume in an new graphic novel series. There are references to Shakespeare's references Twelfth Night. I am not a Shakespeare fan, so I cannot speak to how close the story is.
Viola (Vi) and Sebastian are twins. They were supposed to attend public high school together, but Sebastian decided to go to private boarding school instead. Now Vi is alone at Arden High School, which has ghosts for teachers and fairies running the social committee.
Vi is happy that she no longer has to wear the uniform skirts that she was so uncomfortable in, choosing pants, button-downs and topping it off with a beanie. She meets and begins to crush on a poet, but he has a crush on a different girl, who seems to have a crush on someone else.
This is a fun story of what it is like to try to navigate friendships and crushes in high school with wonderful illustrations. I will definitely be buying it for my library.
LGBTQ representation. No sex, No foul language.
June 30, 2022
Full review: https://bookpeopleteens.wordpress.com...
The story is sugar-sweet and breezy, never sticking too closely to the original plot and incorporating plenty of modern twists. Vi’s frustration and angst at being left behind adds a welcome anchor to a story that spends most of its time in fairyland, and the resolution of all her arcs, both earnest and ridiculous, is supremely satisfying. Whether you’re a full-time bardolator or just a general fan of bisexual drama, Twelfth Grade Night is sure to be a hit.
The story is sugar-sweet and breezy, never sticking too closely to the original plot and incorporating plenty of modern twists. Vi’s frustration and angst at being left behind adds a welcome anchor to a story that spends most of its time in fairyland, and the resolution of all her arcs, both earnest and ridiculous, is supremely satisfying. Whether you’re a full-time bardolator or just a general fan of bisexual drama, Twelfth Grade Night is sure to be a hit.
September 28, 2023
This was cute but also not what I expected.
Also, why is there magic? There's like magic and fairies but it's so nonchalantly there that it didn't need to be there at all. There is not a purpose whatsoever for it.
I did appreciate the midsize representation on the cover and wish that had translated throughout the whole book. Sometimes the art style of our main character shows them slimmer than other panels and I would have appreciated a little bit more continuity with their illustrative style.
That being said, I really did enjoy this graphic novel and it is super cute and super queer. I would definitely recommend it as a young adult read.
Also, why is there magic? There's like magic and fairies but it's so nonchalantly there that it didn't need to be there at all. There is not a purpose whatsoever for it.
I did appreciate the midsize representation on the cover and wish that had translated throughout the whole book. Sometimes the art style of our main character shows them slimmer than other panels and I would have appreciated a little bit more continuity with their illustrative style.
That being said, I really did enjoy this graphic novel and it is super cute and super queer. I would definitely recommend it as a young adult read.
January 3, 2023
OMGOMG OMG OMGOMG GOMFOFNFBDGAGUADJDGWURJBKSJSKSG I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! it’s like an even more queer heartstopper plus magicness. the art style I was absolutely in love with, possibly one of my new favourites for a graphic novel. I WANT TO MAKE A GRAPHIC NOVEL GUYS SOBS
May 7, 2023
The art is really what carried this for me, the story was a bit rushed and the similarities to actual high school drama made me chafe. Decent representation and cute characters. I really want to like this more but it just doesn’t particularly tug on my heart strings in any way
July 27, 2022
Cute but nothing memorable.
December 5, 2022
Yeah, this was fine
It was fun, I liked the concepts of the characters, but the plot was uneven and too short
It was fun, I liked the concepts of the characters, but the plot was uneven and too short
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