The art style and coloring is amazing. I did feel conflicted over the story, as I felt MC was pressured into a circle of friends that she did not truthfully enjoy or mix with. But then again what real choice did she have at the moment. I did appreciate how they chose their victims at the beginning but true to a coming-of-age style story, you have to learn your boundaries and when not to cross them.

I give this story a 3/5 stars

A fun story about werewolves in which the pack is made up entirely of high school girls, which on its own makes it refreshing enough (since for the most part werewolves tend to be depicted as male). Add in LGBT+ themes, discussion of body image issues, consent and what really makes a friendship and we have a real winner here!

A pack of teen werewolves take on the patriarchy in this gory graphic novel. I was really intrigued by the concept here but I felt like the messaging fell a little flat. Werewolf girls get revenge for sexist rapist abusers by...killing and eating them? I dunno. Liked the art style but definitely gory. Ending felt haphazard. Lots of eating people! Not my cup of tea.

I thought this graphic novel was enjoyable and I think for the right audience, it will be awesome. I think it missed a few things for me, but overall I thought it was still a great graphic. The images and coloring was great and I enjoyed that a lot.

I really liked this graphic novel! It gave me Heathers and Mean Girls vibes with a supernatural twist! It was messy in a good way in that no character felt black and white, and the issues presented were realistic (minus being werewolves of course.) I would recommend this book to readers of a wide variety as it was a fun read.

A lovely graphic novel that has a great plot and artwork! I will definitely be sharing this with my students as they are in love with great stories!

Squad was good. If readers enjoy Mean Girls, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and The Craft, then Squad is right up your alley.

Becca is the new girl in school and that can be hard, but to her surprise the most popular girls adopt her into their social circle. All is not lipstick and skirts with these girls though, they have secrets and power. Becca joins their crowd finally feels like she belongs, but what is the cost and who is going to pay for it?

Squad is a great feminist graphic novel about finding yourself, belonging, and smashing the patriarchy...with teeth and claws. The color and artwork is so fantastic and reminiscent of the 80's neon vibe. The wit that Becca has is perfect and I enjoyed the slightly bonkers journey Squad took me on. This graphic is not to be missed.

Going to a new school is always hard, but sometimes it can be killer... Becca has just transferred into a new elite school in San Francisco and catches the eye of the most popular girls in school. Part Pretty Little Liars and part Teen Werewolf, Tokuda-Hall gives into the brutal world of high school girls and things come out bloody. Lisa Sterle's Archie-esque art style and color palette keep the horror to a lighter touch despite the creative team tackling sexual assault and harassment. The only thing that fell a bit flat to me was the ending, I"m hoping maybe there will be a sequel though. Teen and up.

This was a nice, horror-adjacent graphic novel perfect for the spooky season. The wonderful art by Lisa Sterle really brought everything to life. This might become a yearly re-read!

This book gave me 1980’s vibes and I’m here for it. This was a good, quick, entertaining read. Graphic novels aren’t really my go-to read, but I’m enjoying them more and more thanks to stories like this one. I can see me adding it to the collection at my high school library.

ARC COPY REVIEW:

This is such a cool concept and I love the cover art. Takes finding a clique and trying to fit in to a whole new level.

Becca starts at a new school and quickly attracts the attention of the popular girls. They invite her to eat lunch with them, go shopping, go to parties, and...join their pack. As in, wolf pack. Becca decides to join them and is turned into a werewolf. Every month on the full moon, the girls go to a party outside of town and lure a shitty boy out into the woods and...eat him. Everything is great until Thatcher, the boyfriend of one of the girls, ends up dead.

I absolutely loved this! I found it bitingly funny (pun fully intended), and the werewolf lore was interesting. The way the girls talk to each other is frank and true to how teens talk, lending to explicit language (profanity and sex). The group of girls is diverse in ethnicity, skin color, and sexuality. Artwork by Lisa Sterle is gorgeous.

I loved every moment of this book! Yes, the premise is ridiculous. Yes, you need a lot of suspension of disbelief for the events to make much sense. But it is so charming, and the ending left me with a weird combination of the creeps and the warm-fuzzies.

Becca is the new girl in school and for some reason the popular girls take her under their wing. She’s dealing with a lot, feeling like an outsider in many ways and unsure why these girls want to be her friend. She finds out that her new pack of friends is indeed a pack - of werewolves. The queer feminist in me loved this pack of wolves and their “rules,” and I adored the mix of supernatural and high-school-teen-movie vibes.

The art was perfect, the type of graphic novel art I prefer where it’s not heavily stylized but conveys the story really well and is just objectively great art. It’s a quick and delightful read, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

I really enjoyed this Mean Girls meets Teen Wolf graphic novel. I particularly loved the art, it gave me very 80s/90s vibes! I didn't always agree with what the characters were doing but... they're mean girl werewolves, of course I'm not necessarily going to agree or get it. I wish more time was dedicated to the love story though, it felt almost too quick and out of nowhere.

Overall, this was a surprisingly quick & light read considering the events within it!

As someone who isn't well-read in graphic novels, I was missing the development & complexity I normally get from longer fantasy series and the like, but I thought this held up well as a graphic novel. Since the story moved rather quickly, I didn't connect to the characters too deeply to where I connected with them or their dilemmas personally. However, I think the story opened some really interesting doors to the topics of female friendships, r*pe culture, & LGBT rep, and I honestly could have read more about these characters & their stories if it were a longer novel or even a graphic novel series. Even further, this novel read SO much like a movie, and I'd be DOWN to see this play out on the big screen :D

If you're looking for a quick read for the spooky season celebrating female empowerment, friendships, & LGBT rep with a splash of supernatural, this is a fun, quick read! TRIGGER WARNING: r*pe culture.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book ! It spoke to my teenage supernatural loving heart. It felt super nostalgic. I don't normally read graphic novels but between this and Lore Olympus heck I might start.

I adored the art it was absolutely beautiful.

It was a fun palette cleanser. The characters were a good time. Just overall a good story. Loved the queer rep.

Only issue is a feel like there was something missing to the story to make it well rounded.

This was amazing and perfect for spooky season.
When Becca transfers schools, she'll do anything to fit in. She manages to join the popular group and it's not long until they're always together. At a party one night, Becca realizes her new friends aren't what they appear. They're werewolves and they want Becca to join them.
The art work is incredible and the colors are vibrant. The characters are very interesting and I immediately got sucked into their world.

Full of teenage angst and the dread that comes with growing older, Squad both screams all out understanding and whispers threads of what it means to grow up a teenage girl. With brilliant art to accompany, this spooky feminist tale is sure to be successful.

Squad is a coming of age graphic novel for young adults. A high schooler moves to a new school and falls in with the most popular girl crew in school... with a catch. I'm a sucker for supernatural mean girl stories like this one, and was heavily reminded of the 2019 film BIT. The LGBTQ love story is a great side plot, and I enjoyed the story itself. However, a couple issues are brought up in a way that aren't adequately addressed enough for me and don't hit home as themes- that of disordered eating and homophobia. While the art is stunning overall, there is a glaring continuity error that caused me some confusion (the outfit change before the main character's first bonfire party, which is made to be a big deal because she doesn't feel like herself in it but feels pressured to wear it by the group, is completely reversed in the next panel and continuing scene). Overall I think this is a solid reading choice.

Rainbows and Sunshine
October 4, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel! With sapphics, werewolves, friendship and love, Squad is a fast paced and fun novel.

The artwork was beautiful and I loved the complex characters. The style is very 80's high school with the popular cliques and I had a great time reading it.

I wished it was bit longer because I wanted more of the ending but I'd definitely recommend if you enjoy werewolves and sapphics! I wonder if there'll be a second volume, 'cause I'd be so excited for it!

*ARC provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review