A complex story with well-developed characters, both textually and visually, as well as a ton of detail about how family relationships work with a religious background. That’s not the only reason for difficult choices, though. Sometimes, it’s abuse under the claim of love, or lies people tell out of good intentions or fear of change. Here, the beloved parent reacts badly, and the one who’s always annoying ends up supportive. That reflects how our impressions can change as we grow up.

By making this fiction, Mads’ struggle can be explored in more depth, with nuanced representation of the complexity of feelings and relationships and expectations. With its layers and emotional verisimilitude, Kiss Number 8 is a lengthy and rewarding read, a true modern masterpiece.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved the artwork! Working in black and white can be tough, but I couldn’t imagine adding color to work this engaging. The story was wonderful, realistic. Often times, in coming out stories there’s this ridiculous happy ending where everyone just accepts everything and all is well. I appreciate the honesty and transparency, things weren’t alright, sometimes it takes time to unwrap the chains we’ve wrapped around our minds when it comes to a life different from our own. I like that this book showed the reality, the process of the wrapping. Venable did an amazing job!

Picture it: New Jersey, 2004. President George W. Bush was running for re-election and AOL Instant Messaging was all the rage. Amanda was sixteen years old and attended a Catholic high school. She kissed seven boys and was frankly unimpressed. Kiss #8 was her worst one yet, but was also a game changer because it led her to question her sexuality. Meanwhile, Amanda had a fraught relationship with her father. She was determined to figure out his secret and how it related to her grandparents.

Many of the characters were homophobic and/or transphobic, which was not redeemed enough at the end. I understand that this book took place in 2004, the year the first YA book with a transgender character was published (Julie Anne Peters' Luna) and before gay marriage was legalized. However, I wished the book would have taken place in the present. The 2004 setting was stated right at the beginning and was depicted throughout the book in the technology the characters used. According to a Q&A between the author and illustrator, Colleen A.F. Venable chose to set the book in 2004 because it was the year she started writing the book.

The last reason Venable gave for writing the book was to respond to her sister coming out in the very Catholic family. Even though Venable was no longer religious, she wanted to write a coming-out story where religion wasn't the enemy. It was true that the queer character stated they were surprised that church was one of the few places where they felt okay. However, the homophobic and transphobic comments were from well-meaning Christians. There were mentions to praying for the LGBT+ characters to be healed and that they were diseased and burn in hell after their death. I felt like religion was viewed as the enemy in the narrative.

I also struggled with the design of the panels. I requested an e-ARC through Netgalley, but had difficulty reading the e-book and had to wait until after the publication date to read a hard copy. I thought there was too much text per panel and too many panels per page. A lot of reviewers complimented the art style, but it was difficult for me to see the details in the illustrations. I also wished that the graphic novel was in color. Overall, I am giving this book 2 stars.

This graphic novel was a marvel, and I'm so happy it's on the National Book Award long list for Young Readers. The art is simple but sends a message, along with the carefully crafted words. I can't wait what will come next from this author!

I.... have a LOT of mixed feelings about this book.

I really loved a bunch of it--the way that you couldn't figure out what she saw in this shitty friend, only to realize as she does that she has a crush (I feel like EVERY woman who likes women, especially bi women, have experienced this!). I found the art to be mostly delightful and SO expressive!

I have mixed feelings on the handling of the trans story line in particular. I think that the deadnaming and misgendering is super realistically done. But it's also REALLY painful to read, and while the book is set in 2004, that's when a lot of the teens reading this were BORN and the text doesn't provide much context for where 2004 sits in the arc of queer history.

This definitely feels like a book for cis people, and while books for cis people obviously should exist, INCLUDING books about trans people for cis people, something about this felt... not quite right to me. The closest thing I could think of is like stories about gentiles in Nazi Germany who *gasp* FIND OUT THERE'S A JEW HIDING IN THEIR BASEMENT and then go on a journey of self-discovery to realize maybe they aren't comfortable in Hitler Youth after all. I am not in love with a story that uses trans pain to facilitate a cis person's journey, even if it's a queer journey.

Beautiful artwork and a moving storytelling. Focusing on family secrets and the collision of faith and sexuality, this book hit all the right notes to create an impactful, moving, and memorable story.

This book reminded me a bit of a queer, contemporary take on The Scarlet Letter. Although I didn't go to Catholic school like Mads, I did attend high school in a conservative community who mostly belonged to the same religious background. Not many students came out as openly LGBT, and those who did often faced social consequences.

Kiss Number 8 accurately portrays what it's like to be outed as gay when you're young and still figuring yourself out in a place where it's not safe to do so. As soon as word gets out that she kissed another girl, gossip spreads through her high school and kicks her out of a social group she'd belonged to for her whole life. It can be devastating as a religious queer person to feel alienated from a community that defines how you understand the world and yourself, and that fear and uncertainty is portrayed excellently here.

I've sung my praises towards queer graphic novels many times on my blog, and this book is an excellent example of the genre. If you're interested in a story with family secrets, religious crises, and high school drama, Kiss Number 8 is worth checking out.

This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be, but not in a bad way. I thought I was in for a fun romance, and instead ended up experiencing family secrets and trauma and religious guilt all tied up into a coming of age story. For me, it was wild to see that 2004 is now equivalent to a period piece with the older technology like AIM and flip phones. I think it was a great story but that the jacket copy didn’t fully match the tone of the overall book.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kiss Number 8. The art was wonderful and the writing was engaging. I didn't like the main character, Amanda, very much, but watching her grow was interesting. The mystery contributed to Amanda's story, and it felt realistic. I hope that Kiss Number 8 wins awards - it deserves them.

Cute coming-of-age story that I found relatable as a coming-out story. Great to see more LGBTQ+ representation in graphic novels.

First of all, this is NOT a romance. The cover copy is kind of ambiguous on this so just to make it clear up front: the point of the book is not Amanda finding a girlfriend and falling in love, and it's a pretty tough read in places. The heroine is from a strongly religious family and has spent her entire life without really questioning the very Catholic framework of her life (her friends attend church with her, she goes to Catholic school, etc.) until she overhears something that makes her suspect that her father (the parent she is closest to) is cheating on her mother (with whom she doesn't have a lot in common). From this point a lot of the structures she's taken for granted begin to unravel as she eventually learns that the secret her parents are keeping from her is not an affair but rather the fact that her father's mother, who is never spoken of in the family, was a trans man. The art and dialogue are put together in a really interesting way that makes it clear that Amanda's father has forced himself to embrace a false narrative in which his mother abandoned him rather than remember what actually happened, but Amanda eventually makes contact with her grandmother's widow and learns that he loved his son and was forced to leave by his husband, who physically assaulted him and threatened their son when he learned he was trans. All of this is unfolding at the same time that Amanda is figuring out that she has a crush on one of her (female) best friends and is trying to deal with that. Everything doesn't go smoothly -- Amanda is ostracized at school when her former friends out her, to the point that she has to transfer, and her father rejects Amanda's attempts to get him to meet with his mother's widow -- but Amanda eventually rebuilds her relationship with her parents, gets new friends, and (in flash-forward) makes a happy adult life for herself. If it sounds like there's a lot going on in this story, that's because there is! I haven't even mentioned several subplots. But it feels like an authentic story about coming out in a small town in the early 2000s (the AIM conversations! it was like my entire adolescence was flashing before my eyes) and even though things got very rough in places, it ends in a very uplifting place.

I liked this book quite a bit. It seemed long in parts and could have been edited down but overall it's a pretty good book. The main character faces many issues that teens might face and the emotional bits hit all the right notes. This book is great for fans of Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki.

It was just such a warm, touching and personal story about a young's journey of discovering more about herself and her family. The art was really impactful, especially when a person's truth misconstrued with the reality of the situation. Although this graphic novel deals with homophobia, transphobia, it also deals with bullying and the true meaning of friendship. You really find out who your real friends are when something serious and impactful happens to you.

This was a tough book to read. The treatment of lesbian and trans characters rings true to the setting (circa 2004 in a small town Catholic community) but lacks most of the insight that the last 15 years have brought YA LGBTQIA lit. In other words, this book could be a fantastic mirror to someone's experience, in a you-are-not-alone sort of way. What it doesn't provide, though, is enough of a commentary on that experience, any indication that "this treatment/these slurs are hurtful and hateful, and there are more supportive people out there" or "this is a better way you can talk to someone who is gay or someone who is coming out." The book make the censure of some characters' objectionable actions clear, but I don't think it does enough to provide positive examples, compared to the amount of time and space it spends on harmful viewpoints.

That said, the characters are absolutely believable, the art is incredible-- expressive and fantastic without being distracting. I think I would recommend this book to people my age (that is, people who were teens in the time it is set) but I don't know that I'd hand it to teens today.

Kiss Number 8 left me with a lot of mixed feelings. While there were aspects I liked (art style and the inclusion of an epilogue of sorts), it has its flaws (insensitive at times regarding a transgender character and the main character's journey to self discovery feeling choppy).

A powerful tale of family history juxtaposed with the present day struggles of a young women struggling to figure out her identity. It handles lots of issues sensitively and realistically, which should encourage anyone who reads it to think more broadly about gender identity and how to stand up for themselves or another family member or friend having difficulties.

There were many times throughout this book that I didn't want to continue reading because of the heartbreaking way individuals who identify as LGBTQ are described in this book. However, the author and illustrator did a beautiful job showing the emotional development of Amanda throughout the process of this story. I truly believe that this book will save so many wonderful people, young and old, who will be able identify with some of the situations Amanda goes through. In the end acceptance and love are what make this story a story that should be shared with readers throughout all high schools.

Trigger Warning: Homophobia, Transphobia, the f-word

Mads' parents are strained, and what's worse, she thinks her dad is cheating on her mother with another woman. And her dad won't tell her anything about it. But Mads keeps her thoughts away hanging out with her best friend Cat, and kissing boys. Even if the kissing is...gross. Where's the appeal?

Then everything starts to unravel.

And everything starts to make sense.

Forgive me while I mop up the massive tears rolling down my face, k? This was an emotional roller coaster I was not expecting. I was thinking, mmm, okay, maybe 2-3 star reads and then the second act hit and cue the mother-fucking waterworks.

But I want to start with one thing first—Cat is a colossal asshole and 100% complete hypocrite.

After that, well, there's not much I can say without spoilers, but there's a lot of figuring out who you are, and realizing that you're not alone. And that sexuality is a weird and wonderful thing, and that being trans doesn't mean that you're diseased. And that maybe what you remembered as a child isn't what actually happened, but how you rationalized events in your mind in order to survive.

This is a definite must-read, but um, get yourself in a good headspace and beware of those trigger warnings because...whew. There's some heavy shit in this. It was such a great reminder that the early 2000s were a such a shit time for gay students.

Although spoiler: Kiss #14 is totally my favorite.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank for this advance copy.

This was a hard book to get through. The plot was scattered and slow. Most of the characters in the story are one-dimensional and unlikeable. There was a lot of unaddressed bigotry. The ending was rushed and ambiguous. The author leaves important issues unresolved. I wish the author hadn't made ignorance and hate the focus of the book.

I'm a sucker for a period piece taking place during the years I was a teenager. There was a lot happening in this book but luckily, it's a small cast of characters and the storylines all come together easily.