A beautifully drawn and written story about the story of a friendship, one that began when Megan and Cass were young girls, connected by their passion for art, through their HS years, when the have each moved on to different ways of expressing themselves through their art. Megan is always playing the safe role, worried that her father won’t allow her to go to the art school of her dreams while Cass has moved on to NYC, where she has found herself and is able to express herself through her art in a way she never knew could be. When they come together after graduation, Cass tries to mold Megan into another version of her, while Megan still plays the caution card. When the pressure gets too much, their friendship is fractured by the ultimate betrayal, the destruction of a co-created work of art. Will they be able to come back together after this betrayal? As the author states at the end of the book, a friendship IS a work of art—-one worth saving. ( )

graphic novel about the friendship between two artists/childhood friends, and making hard choices, with Disney-esque illustrations (one token curvy Black character).

Story was ok; illustrations are lovely enough, but basic. ( )

Megan and Cass grew up spending a week or two each summer together - until Cass' parents got divorced. The girls haven't seen each other in a few years, but the summer before their senior year of high school, Megan gets to stay with Cass and her mom for a few weeks in New York. Cass introduces Megan to her artist friends, and the two collaborate on a piece for an upcoming gallery show, just like they used to. But when Megan's parents' plans change and they announce they will be coming to the show, Megan is terrified of them seeing her work; she thinks her father, who was already on the fence, would forbid her from going to art school. When Cass refuses to pull the painting from the show, Megan takes dramatic - maybe unforgivable - action. Years later, Megan is in art school when she learns that Cass is having her first solo show - and she is determined to keep her promise to be there, no matter what it takes.

The color palette is muted, the characters large-eyed.

See also: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

Quotes

One thing seemed guaranteed: Life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

"It's not that we can't tell the truth. It's that we're scared to tell the truth. It's so much easier to lie." (Cass to Megan)

"I'm not you, Cass, okay? I'm me. I'm allowed to have different opinions on things." (Megan to Cass) ( )

Please see my review under C. Wong on Amazon.com. Thank you. ( )

A whole lotta drama, but I thought the characters were very believable. Megan is reserved and very conscious of her parents while Cass flies by the seat of her pants, she makes her own decisions. At one point, Cass moves to New York and makes friends with a lot of eccentric artists, but that’s probably realistic for NY. Some of the most creative people congregate around there.

The artwork was cute and expressive. During a scene of a party, is one of the highlights. I also liked the lowly saturated rainbow-coloring.
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