Splendid graphic novels covering Schrag's freshman & sophomore years in high school. Mindblowingly well-done. The drawings are wonderful, the dialogue rings achingly true, and the cast of characters is great fun indeed. ( )

This was pretty much my life in high school, give or take a few musical obsessions. Scary. ( )

Schrag's short stories about her Southern California high school happenings. It captures something very immediate that I remember from high school, but is quite readable. Over the course of the two books, you can see her storytelling and style develop further, but by the end I still thought her art was too sketchy / cartoony for me. Maybe that's her choice to make sure that she does retain that immedicacy? ( )

This comic is Definition Awesome.

I had originally heard about Ariel Schrag because she's one of the women artists mentioned in the Le Tigre song "Hot Topic". I later stumbled upon a website that explained the references in the song and that's when I learned about Schrag's series of comics about her high school experiences.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I couldn't stop reading this collection. Awkward documents her Freshman year of high school and Definition does the same for her Sophomore year. Schrag is honest and funny when dealing with issues such as friend betrayal, and experimentation (both the sexual and the substance kind). She never apologizes for anything and just draws and explains everything in this straightforward way that I really loved. I can see why Schrag's comics have been given accolades. How could you not relate to Ariel's character with her obsessions (boys, girls, and music), catch phrases, betrayals by friends and awkward sexual experiences? I know I did.

I also really liked how her experiences were framed within the context of the mid-nineties music scene because it made me relate even more. I remember when No Doubt became popular and when Bush was my favorite band. This comic reminded me of my own friends in their Marilyn Manson and Kurt Cobain t-shirts smoking cigarettes and flirting with boys behind the 7-11. It made me feel nostalgic and that was nice. ( )