This was such a good graphic novel! It was funny, cute and full of entertaining drama.
The Backups follows three girls who become backup singers for a mega pop star as they’re leading up to their first show of the tour.
The story itself was both humorous and heartfelt. There were moments when I was laughing and others where I was more thoughtful and reflective. The main points of the novel focused around friendship which I really enjoyed. I also loved the little bit of romance that was sprinkled through to too! This graphic novel is great for music lovers as it was all about the world of music and performing. I miss being able to go to concerts so much!
I really liked all of the characters. The began as individuals with different interests but they eventually found common ground and grew together at the end. The art was incredible, it had such a cool vibe that I think fit in really well with the fun nature of the story.
An adorable dog even made an appearance for a little and that’d always a selling point for me!
This was an adorable read and I had such a good time reading it!
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WHY DID I READ THE BACKUPS BY ALEX DE CAMPI?
The Backups by Alex de Campi was a random book picked from my Macmillan reviewer box. Initially I wasn’t sure when I was going to read it, but as it turns out this was the first I read and what a good choice. Part of the reasoning behind getting to it sooner rather than later was that I had wrapped my Christmas reading (yes, this review will be live the end of March but I am writing it before Christmas) and needed something to ease back into normal reading. It turns out this graphic novel was just the perfect fit.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Backups is about three girls named Jenni, Lauren, and Maggie who go to a performing arts school in Brooklyn. Each girl is looking for a summer job and after some rejections, all three end up auditioning to be a back up singer for pop star Nika Nitro. The three get picked to be back up singers and to go on a whirlwind summer tour. They also discover that they get along quite well even though each is so different. It is going to be a wild summer. Also? Nika has this amazing work ethic and drive and so can be a little tough. She also has this rule about no romances. Which is about to be kind of tough for one of the girls. No spoilers here though.

HOW DID I LIKE THE BACKUPS?
I really had a great time reading The Backups. I went into this book really unspoiled and without much of an idea of what it is about besides back up singers. Apparently that’s the good thing about reading a review copy super early and I totally forgot about how nice having no expectations is. This book has one main character who is fat and embraces it – complete with a reference to Lizzo. There’s also a character who loves drumming but is really super tough on the outside. And then another character who loves classical music and is simply a tourist for the summer in the world of pop music. This book is earnest and just so uplifting. It also is a single sitting read.

HOW’S THE ART?
The illustrator for The Backups is Lara Kane. Kane does a great job portraying the three main characters and well, all the characters, in different action scenes. The art is accessible and not at all pretentious. I felt like this was the perfect graphic novel for the younger YA, graduating out of middle grade set. There’s lots of color and fun fashion and MUSIC. It’s definitely a graphic novel worth picking up for the music loving reader.

This book was so much fun! I really enjoyed reading this one. The diverse cast of characters alone is a great reason to give this a go but if you need more there is also a giant adorable dog and some amazing female friendships!
The art style was so good as well. The art managed to make the characters look real but also very cute. It fit the vibe so well.
This is just a fun ride all around. If you are interested in music or girls banding together then this is the graphic novel for you. I absolutely can not wait for more!

First and foremost, thank you again to Fierce Reads and Netgalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinions

Jenni, Lauren and Maggie get to be Backup singers for the legendary singer, Nika Nitro! But, between forbidden love, rehearsals, Nika's expectations and attitude and their own insecurities, they soon learn that standing behind the spotlight is just about as bad as standing in it. And that's before they start beef with a rival group who threaten to reveal a secret that could end Nika's career.

So, I flew through this book and didn't have time to take notes. But, I loved the character development, much needed girl empowerment, the LGBT rep, the drama that most certainly happens behind the scenes, and basically the whole book!

However, it would have been nice if we got to see the girls lives after the tour ended but I liked how it ended on a happy note (get it? Note? It's a book about music?)

TW + CW: Homophobia and bullying

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, FierceReads, and the wonderful people behind the YA, Children's, and Middle-Grade Bloggers for gifting me this e-arc for review.

THE BACKUPS by ALEX DE CAMPI is a middle-grade, possibly young adult, a graphic novel following three girls who are chosen out of hundreds for a job to be backup singers for a famous pop star for the summer. The girls seem to have few similarities between them and are hesitant to be working together at first, especially since they aren't 100% confident in their skills for this job or their choice of continuing with the show. As time goes on, the trio become friends thrust into a whirlwind of adventures in just a few days giving them, and readers, a taste of what their summer could be like. On their adventures, the girls start to wonder if they should create their own band where they can create and perform the music they want, how they want. But with music tastes that don't necessarily match, this could be a difficult feat.

Wow, this was fantastic. I picked this up immediately after downloading because I was intrigued by the cover and the art. I ended up finishing it one sitting and searching online for any information about this being a series because I. NEED. MORE. This was everything I didn't know I needed. The was a fan element, the celebrity element, going on crazy adventures and doing things I wish I could when I was a kid. The concept reminded me of the singing show and celebrities I watched as a kid (Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, Selena Gomez, Shake It Up, and Big Time Rush). It reminded me of those days watching the tv and wondering "I wonder what it would be like to be them or work with them." There were POC characters, LGBT+ characters, jokes, and random one-liners that had me cracking up, and swoon-worthy romance. There was a lot packed into these pages but that didn't affect anything. I absolutely loved the characters and the little storylines each had. I was rooting for them all by the end and felt pretty satisfied where they ended up by the last page.

I don't have any negative comments and criticisms about this due to being a primarily YA reader. However, there was one thing that did bug me: Nika's mood changes. I felt her mood would do 180 in some parts of the book that was causing some confusion.

If I were to recommend this to others, I would choose middle-grade age range and young adults. This was easy and light enough for both age groups to understand but, still had elements to it that they would enjoy and appreciate.

I have never heard or seen this graphic novel so I wasn't sure what to expect. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this. This was exactly what I needed during my finals week. This lifted my spirits with the numerous jokes, the moments that reminded me of my childhood, and the little random side missions the girls went on.
5 stars