Kate Gavino

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher for promotional purposes.

What a heartwarming graphic novel!

This tells the story of 3 Asian American friends who all get jobs working in publishing. It also details their friendship with their elderly neighbor who happens to be an author.

I absolutely loved the friendship dynamic between the 3 friends. It felt realistic and I liked how supportive they were of each another. Their friendship with their neighbor was also well done. I liked how she became a mentor to the girls and how the girls also helped her out.

As an Asian American (I’m Filipino), I loved seeing all the Asian representation. I loved that 2 out of the 3 friends (Shirin and Silvia) were Filipino. I always enjoy seeing Filipino culture in books. It makes my heart so happy.

This is a graphic novel that feels more like a newspaper comic than a typical graphic novel. It’s entirely in black and white and is heavier on text than what you would typically see in a graphic novel. I thought the format worked well. I didn’t mind it being more text heavy because sometimes more explanation was needed to convey what was happening.

Overall, I loved this glimpse into the world of publishing! I recommend this if you love books about books and books centering around female friendship.… (meer)

Three Asian American women in their twenties begin similar editorial assistant positions in the publishing industry at the same time, and we follow their progress for a year or two. It was a slow start and a dull middle, but I become invested in the characters by the end thanks to their ongoing interaction with a nonagenarian neighbor who is an award winning author whose books have fallen out of print.

It's like The Bold Type (anyone else see that show?) without the sex, fun or glamorous fashion.

It's very text heavy (but not enough to actually call itself a "novel" as it does on the cover -- it is a graphic novel) and the art barely ekes into the decent range. It took me several days of reluctant returns to get through it, but it was worthwhile despite all the drawbacks.… (meer)