Well known musicians Tegan and Sara began their journey like most: struggling tweens just trying to figure out who they were and what they wanted to do. We as readers follow along their middle school journey, fraught with parental and sibling dynamics, innocent crushes, and fledgling interests. This novel, unlike many in the middle grade genre, also offers the unique perspective of discovering and working through their queerness.

For me, this book was just okay. I am a fan of Tegan and Sara's music, and while I found the art and coloring to be beautifully done, the story just didn't draw my interest and keep me coming back. I am not the target reader for this book, but I am someone who generally enjoys middle grade novels and graphic novels especially. I just wish that there was a little more spark in the story telling.

This is a really excellent exploration of middle school and the isolation that comes with that. It's got great nuance in its exploration of sibling relationships and also with friendships. Highly recommend this graphic, and I'm excited for the next one. Really makes me want to go back and listen to more of their music.

Tegan and Sara Quin are identical twins. They have just moved to a larger house with their mom and Bruce, and a new school. As they start Junior High/Middle School, they have to overcome their anxiety and learn to be apart from each other as their school as scheduled them in different classes for most of the day! It's difficult enough to navigate puberty and friendships, but even harder when people can't tell you apart from your twin.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Overall this was a cute graphic novel. Readers will relate to the difficulties that tweens face in middle school.

This was super cute but I don’t really have much to say about it. I loved Sara and Roshini’s little romance. I’m disappointed in Noa, but that’s life sometimes. A cute little book.

Tegan and Sara Quin join with graphic artist Tillie Walden to create a fictionalized account of the musical duo’s teen years. The art is wonderful and readers will find it easy to keep the identical twins separated during their reading due to Walden’s use of blue for Tegan and red for Sara. The girls are portrayed as close as you would expect twins to be but having some conflict as the two begin to explore individual interests. There are crushes, bullies, friend drama and all the usual middle grade and teen angst, making it very relatable, but it did seem odd that the real Tegan and Sara were pop stars in the late 90s, but this book is set in the present. Not sure that choice worked all that well. Fans of Chmakova’s Berrybrook Middle School are likely to enjoy this one. Representation: Tegan and Sara are Caucasian but supporting characters have a variety of skin tones; the sisters’ homosexuality is not graphic in its presence in the book but the fact is apparent. Would likely be enjoyed by lovers of graphic novels in grades 5 and up.

I really struggled with this book. I thought that the story was interesting, but I lost track of characters and struggled to remember who all was who. I thought the panels were too dense and there was simply too much text. The story felt too long to me.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

I'm not sure how many kids in this age group listen to Tegan and Sara, but it is cool to read a book about wannabe musicians written by actual musicians. Would love to see this become a series.

Whether or not you are a fan of Tegan & Sara as queer icons and musicians, you will fall in love with them in their middle school graphic novel debut Tegan & Sara: Junior High. This first installation in their graphic novel series is inspired by the identical twins time as middle schoolers in Calgary, Canada. Their awkward and stumbling journey through puberty, first crushes, discovering their queerness, embracing their individual identities, and finding their way back together through music is all on display and aided by the brilliant drawings of Tillie Walden. This series will have high appeal for 5th grade+ readers.

dnf at 75%
Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay graphic novel. There was nothing that made me really invested in it and I always did not feel like reading it, I have other things I would rather read more. I liked that the story was about twin sisters and their life in school and navigating friendships. However the book was very long, and I was just not a fan personally.

This was such a cute read. I think parts of my inner child definitely healed while reading this. I grew up on Tegan and Sara so this one was special for me.

I've never actually heard of these two before picking up this book. This is a very accurate picture of junior high, at least from my memory. The constant friend changes, friend groups that can't hang together, trying new things and pushing your comfort zone, all very good plot points. The artwork was okay and I liked how each twin had a separate color and it blended purple when together.
It just wasn't that great of a story for me though, it's going to be great for tweens and teens going through this, but as an adult I just got annoyed with their attitudes. Which, I guess means this did it's job. Not interested in any other part of their story.

after adoring tegan and sara's collaborative memoir high school, i was thrilled to see them release a new book about another era in their lives.

collaborating with tillie walden was a wonderful choice. walden's graphic novels have been on my list for years, but this was my first! her art is wonderfully expressive, capturing laughter, angst, camaraderie, and the abject horror of the first day at a new school (among other things).

there is a lot of angst. there's the pain of enduring changes that are beyond your control, and the weight of drifting apart from your sibling despite spending so many hours of your days together. all of these challenges are presented very believably; i'm sure preteen readers will be able to relate.

after having read high school, it's interesting to see the overlap. both books cover some of the same pivotal moments, such as the twins finding their stepdad's old guitar, the reverence in their secrecy as they teach themselves to play, and the excitement of performing for groups of close friends for the first time. it's cool that these memories are so significant for tegan and sara that they include them in multiple iterations of their memoirs.

also, love the fact that this is a creative project from three super talented lesbians!

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BUT... i'm not sure whether this cute lil fictionalized graphic memoir should really be categorized as autobiographical. apparently sara describes the book as an "aspirational" version of the quins' junior high experience, which makes sense. it feels very young middle grade, very clean, less traumatic than reality.

and i suppose the relatively sanitized content makes sense, and may make the story more digestible for young readers. but i think setting the story in the current day was a misstep. a 1990s setting would be so much more intuitive and real, and would also add a nostalgia factor for older readers.

unfortunately i don't think this graphic novel will transcend its target demographic. recommended for preteens and for fans of tegan and sara!

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(bonus: love the authors' note at the end, and the cute photos of t&s as tweens. it provides helpful context, is adorable and necessary!)

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Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This book is a great intro for any young Tegan and Sara fans. For fans familiar with their previous book High School, this is that story altered slightly, told in a modern time, and puts them in junior high. While I didn't necessairly care for the change to modern times it will make it more relatable for young readers. Tillie Walden's art is truly the star of this graphic novel and is it worth picking up for their art alone.

I really enjoyed this middle school grade graphic novel. I think it does a good job of exploring the transition from elementary school to middle school. It's a time of great change in young people. Middle grade students are really beginning to explore their personality and their place in life. This book does a good job of showing these changes to two twins and how they begin to move apart into individuals with their own persona and interests. I like how even though they begin to change they manage to stay close through their interest in music. They also begin to explore sexual attraction to other students. The graphic novel handles well the insecurities one of the sisters has for her burgeoning feelings for another girl. The book also addresses bullying. The artwork mostly sticks to blue with white backgrounds rather than full color or black and white. Parts of the book though, have the sisters each in their own color and I liked that as it separated them as individuals. Overall, this book would be enjoyable to any middle schooler. You don’t have to be fans of Tegan and Sara to like this book. I did and I’d never heard of them before I read this. Fans will definitely like it as it gives a good look at their formative years and how they got into music. I can’t wait to read the second volume in the series to see their continued growth.

If you are a fan of Tegan and Sara, this will probably be a fun read for you! However, if you aren't THAT familiar with their overall career this will read like an extremely average graphic novel that lacks plot and is mainly carried along by the illustrator's beautiful artwork.

My biggest complaint is that this is marketed as a 'graphic memoir' yet set in modern times when it factually should've taken place in the early 90's. My assumption is that the creators wanted to make the book more relatable to current middle graders/young adults but sadly each time something like vaping, Netflix, or Taylor Swift was mentioned it took me out of the story knowing their actual age.

I hope that any younger readers who might pick this up find it to be comforting and any long-time fans enjoy learning about the author's upbringing (with some creative liberties). If you don't fit into either of those categories though I'd say its safe to skip this one.

A great story about sisterhood, music, and coming of age with a sweet queer storyline. Telgemier fans, followers of the Sunny series and Hope Larson's Eagle Rock Series will be super excited for this new series.

I probably had their actual memoir a little too in my head while reading this, which means I was trying to match things from this book to that one, which makes no sense because they specifically cover different times in their lives. Buuuuut anyway, I did like this, just not quite as much as HIGH SCHOOL, but since they don’t have the same intended audience, that’s not a real issue.