Stargazing

The minute I finished reading The Prince and the Dressmaker, which turned out to be the best graphic novel I’ve ever read, I know I had to read the next thing Jen Wang had coming. I read her previous graphic novels–In Real Life and Koko Be Good–but getting an ARC of Stargazing from Netgalley was a real treat and I flew through it! Can’t wait to see these beautiful pages in real life, in my hands.

Christine is a smart girl, studious, a good daughter, and when her family offers their guest house to a local family in need, she’s a bit reluctant to get to know the daughter, Moon. Moon’s got a reputation for fighting, but soon she and Christine bond over K-pop and dancing and being young girls, painting their toe nails, doing homework together, etc.There’s a bit of a cultural divide, with Moon being raised by an Asian mother and Christine by Asian parents who push her to be her best and have lots of rules and expectations for her. But Christine likes Moon, even if soon Moon is more popular than her and she often feels left out, especially when she’s working hard to meet her parent’s expectations of herself. But there’s something about Moon that draws you in. But when soemthing happens to Moon and she ends up in the hospital, Christine learns a new lesson about friendship. Inspired loosely by a true event in the author’s life, this book is sweet and vulnerable and real and supremely well-drawn and colored.

I seriously can’t get enough of Jen Wang’s work. It’s so beautiful, it tugs at your heart strings, and you don’t want to put it down. There’s friendship and a little bit of drama (realistic drama) and sweet moments and have I mentioned how beautiful Wang’s drawings are? Seriously, I would wallpaper my house with her drawings. Can’t wait to see what’s next from her

Stargazing is on sale everywhere September 10th