For some reason this was hard for me to get into the story. I think it was more the pace of it though. It made me uneasy that Dylan and Leighton was sent to a therapy program aka "summer camp." I think that set the tone for the story for me. I would like to reread this again in the future. Just to make sure I understood all the references that I may have missed.

I love the illustrations! They were great.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sadly it was difficult for me to follow through with this book and the reason is kind of sad as well.
I hard a very hard time reading the text and that made the enjoyment of the book decrease considerably.
I like the illustrations but the text was too tiny to follow, or maybe it was the quality of the ARC, or my tablet, hard to tell.
Thank you for sending me a copy regardless! I am happy others have enjoyed it more and it has found its audience!

I liked “Paper planes”.
I liked the atmosphere of the story, the main characters and the play of colors that continued throughout the book.

What captivated me the most was reading about queer identities, as the book developed this issue so well!

I confess that it was a little difficult to follow the timeline, it required a lot of concentration.
Still, it was a pleasant read and I recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cativante, divertido, contém pautas relevantes. arte inovadora e enredo intrincado. Difícil parar de ler.

Paper Planes is a coming of age, queer graphic novel featuring a number of queer characters (including a non-binary protagonist). The art style is absolutely gorgeous. The author has an amazing grasp on the way teens communicate and work through finding themselves and going through conflict.

Queer coming of age graphic novels are truly the key to my heart, and this one was seriously a treat.
Firstly, the art style was lovely. A big part of my enjoyment of graphic novels, naturally, is my enjoyment of the art, and how strongly it makes me want to stop and stare at each panel just a little longer. Paper Planes achieved that.
Now for the substance of the story. I was truly moved by this book. The nuanced exploration of gender, sexuality, emotions, and relationships was wonderfully executed. I will be recommending this title to customers interested in Heartstopper, The Prince and the Dressmaker, Mooncakes, and other queer YA graphic novels.

I found this book to be a delightful read with its captivating cover and an engaging storyline. It was a fast-paced, enjoyable book that I couldn't put down.

I love love lived the art style. The story was greattt and it is an overall great read. Would recommend <3

Couldn’t stop reading. I loved the evolving relationships and emotional dynamics as well as the representation of different sexualities.

In Paper Planes we follow our two main characters as they attend a summer camp for troubled youth. Dylan and Leighton were best friends who have drifted apart after a traumatic event. This is the same event that led them to be at camp in the first place. Can these two survive camp and come back together?

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The story was fantastic, and I didn't mind the back and forth in the timeline. Having the flashbacks really helped build a sense of suspense as to what happened to make the girls go to this summer camp for troubled youth. Overall, a fun read and one that I would gladly read again!

This graphic novel follows Leighton and Dylan, two highschoolers who are sent to a summer camp because of an incident that happened (and that we learn about later in the book).
Overall I think it is a good story and the art is very good (and for me that is a big part of liking a graphic novel). Here the drawing style and the colours relayed the mood of the story very well. Overall though I did expect a more uplifting book, and there were some small things that I found not that well executed.

----- slightly spoilery from here on ------

Things I didn't like that much:
- In general I do like the idea of the flashbacks that over time explain what led to the current situatuion. But the jumps were very quick, and especially when jumping back to the "now" timeline it was not always clear. So I was a bit confused at times and it all felt a bit rushed.
- The ending came very sudden for me and felt like something was still missing. There were some threads of the story that were open, and for me it seemed not like a positive ending after a storyline where the characters had a hard time, but I am afraid their lives will keep being difficult. of course that is probably realistic, I just expected a more uplifting story. Also even though Dylan seems to have grown and be more content with themselves, i feel very sorry for Leighton because she does the opposite, still letting her parents dictate her life (do what they expect of her even if she doesn't like it, her sexuality not being accepted by them, stop contact with Dylan because her parents tell her to)
- I would have liked more explanation at the beginning about where they are, what is the purpose of this camp, how long they have to be there and what they have to do. There was a short info in the blurb, but I still was a bit confused in the beginning what they were doing there, and it only became clearer after a while into the story.
- There were many plot points hinted at (estrangement from family, homophobia, poverty, bullying, overbearing parents, queer identities), but as it is a graphic novel with a shorter story, they didn't all get the time they deserve. This might just be a personal preference, I prefer fewer topics with more depth, maybe you will like it like this better.

Things I did like:
- Realistic portrayal of messy teenagers, trying to navigate life and friendships and parents; and how they learn that their actions have consequences and how to handle that
- The art style was fantastic and fit well with the story
- The likable characters
- The queer representation. I liked that there was a nonbinary character that was (at least by most characters) acceptd. And that there was an ace character, who is confident in her sexulality and clearly tells the other characters when they cross a line and do things she doesn't want

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel featuring a diverse cast of characters with varying LGBTQIA+ identities (we love to see the ace & non-binary representation)! Unfortunately, the storytelling was super disjointed and the book was left open-ended making it an unsatisfying experience. Overall I appreciate that this exists but wouldn't go out of my way to purchase my own copy.

Sometimes it's hard to express what you're really feeling to your nearest and dearest, so why not write it all down on a paper plane, and send it to them, hoping they'll read it. Friends Leighton and Dylan have been sent to a summer camp for problem youths after an incident at school. Leighton is missing out on tennis camp and Dylan is missing out on freedom, while they take ownership of what happened, and try to show they are reformed characters who won't cause any further trouble.
Flipping between the past and the present, to explain Leighton and Dylan'd relationship, back story and why they are in the summer camp in the first place, this is a fun easy read.

3.5+ stars

I liked but didn’t love this one. The premise was cute, the artwork was great, and the story was fun, but I also felt like the story (and especially the ending) was missing something; I still had questions left. Maybe that was intentional, but I was looking for a bit more. Regardless, it was still a fun queer YA graphic novel that represented a range of identities well.

First thing that comes to mind is aaahhh, I love this book so much. the illustration, the story plot, the characters are just soooo amazon. i dont have the right word to describe how amazing the book is. please read it yourself if you wanna know more about the book.

A great graphic novel suitable for any readers of any age with beautiful descriptive writing and beautifully illustrated pictures

A gorgeous art style, fantastic representation, a lovely story showing two teenagers navigating their sexuality.

This did read a little younger than I was anticipating, but I did enjoy the story. The art style matched the overall 'vibe' of the story.

Thank you so much for the arc!

thanks netgallery fir the e-arc of this comic.

I'd like to start by saying i had really high expectations for this graphic novel and unfortunately reading it left me kind of disappointed. the art style was really cute and the use of colors really stood out to me but the story itself didn't convince me. it left me very confused from times to times and it wasn't very fluid.

i requested the arc because of the ace rep i was expecting to get but unfortunately i didn't like it. i found leighton to be somehow unlikable as a character (i don't know if it was intentional or not) therefore i couldn't really appreciate the rep. i felt like she needed more space to make me understand her more, since i found her whole relationship with her sexuality confusing. I would have liked it to be shown more.

on the other hand i found the enby rep well done. i don't have a lot to say about it, as a cis woman but somehow i understood dylan's point of view more than leighton's. they really stood out to me and their story was very interesting.

overall i liked it but unfortunately it didn't really speak to me in the way i hoped it would

I'm having mixed feelings for this one, there's a lot to love here, but also a very few things I just really couldn't get past?

***** SPOILERS******


First off I'd like to mention how much I absolutely adored the art, the colors the character design- GORGEOUS! Other things I loved about this graphic novel: Both Enby and Ace rep! I ADORED Cricket, like hands down my favorite character in this story (Gender Euphoria!). Dylan is a close second, Their story was beautiful and raw and real and my heart broke and sang while I followed along their journey. I also adored the communication via paper airplanes, so cute!

However, Leighton is a different matter all together. While I understand she had plenty of things going on in her life and was battling with her own identity and finding herself- I just HATED her character so much. I don't think any of the battles she's fighting justify the way she treats and uses Dylan. "I miss all the attention" yuck.

While I don't think the relationship between Dylan and Leighton is in any way healthy- it is realistic and I appreciate its role in this story. Not all the relationships in a person's life are good or healthy, and I'm glad that Dylan and Leighton "grow apart." The relationship development between Dylan and Cricket, who is such a lovable sweetheart is just top tier. Everyone needs a Cricket!

I love comics as they are easier to read and there is already a picture for you to imagine. This one had very good art and illustrations. Concept is good too.
One thing that bugged me is non-linear timeline. Jumping from present to past...and then present...then past again...It felt so frequent that I got so confused at times. Other than that, I enjoyed this short read.