Giant Days: Not on the Test Edition, Fall Semester by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin

Summary from Goodreads:

Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird.

Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, the girls, along with their male hall-mates, Ed and McGraw, find that college is more than academia and bad microwavable meals. In the face of holiday balls, hometown rivals, “personal experimentation,” and regretful hookups, they may be lucky just to make it past their freshman year.

Giant Days: Not On The Test Edition, written by John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrated by Disney artist Lissa Treiman and newcomer Max Sarin collects the first two volumes of the Eisner Award and Harvey Award-nominated series as well as issue one of the original webcomic in a deluxe hardcover.

Review:

So, I have to own up to something: I’m not good at accepting book recommendations. I’m a pro at giving them. Literally, it’s my job. I give them all the time. I take pride in recommending the right books for people. But, I’m so bad at getting to the books others recommend for me. I think part of it is that I love coming to books on my own. I love reading reviews. I love blogs, review journals, and articles. I hate being contacted by companies that want to do that part of my job for me…Seriously, it’s one of my favorite parts about being a librarian: finding good books and buying them.

However, I recognize this about myself. I feel bad that Nick, my husband, has a skyscraper-sized pile of books I’ve recommended to him, and I have practically two he’s recommended for me. So, I recently told him he could find me 3 graphic novels he thought I might enjoy. This was the book that was his top choice. So, I read it first. I haven’t gotten to the other choices yet….I will soon!

And, my verdict is that I really enjoyed it. This was a fun coming of age/college themed graphic novel. There were things I loved about it. I loved the friendship story. At it’s core, it’s about the three girls having each other’s backs no matter what. And I love this so much. I loved that it was more about their friendship than it was about the boys or the classes or anything else. I also loved that a lot of it felt real. I thought it was a good portrayal of the first year of college. There’s partying, test cramming, crushes, dancing, friends, awkwardness, finding yourself, and so much more and I feel like the writers understood this. It was the right amount social, right amount private, right amount experimental.

I also loved the art! I almost feel like the art is the more adult art of Raina Telgemeier. That’s it. This is the book to give to all the fans of Smile when they go to college! It has a similar aesthetic, but with more adult themes.

I didn’t love everything. Some parts of the story dragged for me. It could be that I was reading it in a format though where I had many, many volumes all attached together. So the flow felt a little off at points. The timeline was strange. Like it wasn’t fluid. You’d be in the middle of the school year, and then all of a sudden at the begiining….and then on vacation, and then back in the middle? I got a little confused.

Also there was one sort of fantasy fight scene in the cafeteria that didn’t make any sense to me. It just didn’t fit with the rest of the story, which isn’t fantasy at all. Like the whole giant book is contemporary fiction, and then out of nowhere, we have one fight scene where the girls are ninjas? Also, confusing.

Overall though, I loved it. I loved the girl power. I love the friendship story. I definitely plan on reading more. I know Nick owns more volumes, so I’ll definitely see where this story goes. And I’m curious to see what else he recommended for me. I give this one an 8/10.