Slip by Marika McCoola is a graphic novel from Eisner-Award nominated writer Marika McCoola and debut artist Aatmaja Pandya. It is currently scheduled for release on June 7 2022.


Right before Jade is about to leave for a summer art intensive, her best friend, Phoebe, attempts suicide. How is Jade supposed to focus on herself right now? But at the Art Farm, Jade has artistic opportunities she’s been waiting for her whole life. And as she gets to know her classmates, she begins to fall for whimsical, upbeat, comfortable-in-her-own-skin Mary. Jade pours herself into making ceramic monsters that vent her stress and insecurities, but when she puts her creatures in the kiln, something unreal happens: they come to life. And they’re taking a stand: if Jade won’t confront her problems, her problems are going to confront her, including the scariest of them all, if Jade grows, prospers, and even falls in love this summer, is she leaving Phoebe behind?

Slip is a beautifully written and drawn story. Jade is struggling on multiple fronts. She is worried about her friend, and if she could have, should have, been able to see what was coming and stop it. Many of us have had these kind of crisis, weather it is about a friend or family member struggling with mental heath, or an accident, or really any traumatic event. Even when we could have had no impact on an event or outcome, the what ifs often eat at us. Jade has to shoulder these thoughts while worrying about leaving her friend behind, guilt over forgetting for even a moment, and doubts about her own art and talent. All of these layers of worry, doubt, and fear would be a lot for anyone to handle, but in your formative years when you are just starting new friendships and maybe more it is even harder. I thing the story and fabulous artwork do a great job of capturing the turmoil and helping readers feel and understand it in a safe way. I think this read is something many readers will relate to on different levels, and can help some come to terms with and face their own issues that might relate to or mirror some of what Jade is sifting through. It is engaging, sweet and funny at times, while also being very deep and sometimes heartrending. I think it might be a hard read for some that are still struggling with related issues, but I think it could be a helpful read when they are ready for it.

Slip is an emotional story that can speak to readers on a multitude of levels. I recommend it for middle school through adult readers.

Special thanks to Algonquin Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 2 stars

Sadly, while I think that the concept sounded interesting, I found the execution of the story lacking. I felt zero connection, emotional or otherwise, to our main character, Jade, which made it difficult to empathise with her situation. There's also a fair bit of magical realism but I didn't really understand the significance of the elements or what they represented. Was it a symbol of Jade's inability to let go of the anger she felt towards Phoebe? Was it meant to show how hanging on to that anger was only hurting herself? It was never really made clear. I did like the art style although I was a little disappointed that it wasn't in colour especially since art plays such a big role in the story and the setting is an art camp. There were a few panels that were in red, which were used to highlight certain 'magical' moments that occurred whenever Jade burned a drawing, and that showed key flashbacks of Jade's friendship with Phoebe.

This does have a queer romance but I also didn't particularly feel the weight of that connection. It seemed to happen very quickly if only because the way time passes was unclear to me, but it only felt like they had met two panels ago and then they were suddenly kissing. It felt disjointed and I didn't feel any investment in their romance. I also didn't particularly like the way the LI reacted at one point because it was surprisingly aggressive and shockingly uncalled for (involved throwing a stone in the direction of our protagonist as they walk away).

Overall, I'm disappointed that I didn't end up enjoying this because it did sound really good. Unfortunately, I found the emotional connection too lacking and I didn't feel invested in our protagonist in any way.

I’m going to be honest and say this book isn’t right for me. The story starts almost immediately without any character background. I also found the words to be a bit crowded with the black and white art. All and all it was a bit overwhelming and dreadful to me. I only finished about 60% of the book before I decided to stop reading. I’m sad because i was super excited about the story concept and I’m a previous art student myself.

3 stars

Art, pain, and discussions of friendship bonds and finding your individual voice collide in this new graphic novel for young readers.

Concept: ★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★
Characters: ★★★

A quick disclaimer and a content warning: This young graphic novel deals heavily with discussions of suicide. Please be warned before proceeding with this review or others on this book.

Slip follows the summer journey of Jade, a young artist about to go off on a summer art program at the Art Farm. Right before Jade leaves for the camp, she receives the news that her best friend, Phoebe, has attempted suicide.

Phoebe is immediately sent off for treatment and help, and Jade is still sent to art camp.

Now separated from Phoebe and dealing with the complex feelings of being on intimate sidelines of such an event, Slip delves into the tangled ball of yarn of friendships, suicide, internal healing, and growth.

And, to make matters even more interesting, Jade's art pieces start to come to life at the camp—forcing Jade to confront a lot of her internal feelings around Phoebe, life, and what comes next.

I thought this graphic novel had a wonderful concept. The idea of a suicide impacting the social network around the affected individual—like a stone dropped into a pond, rippling outward—was a great topic, and having it conveyed to a younger audience even more so as this is something that affects groups of all ages, not just adults.

However, I must say that I felt a lot of mixed feelings while experiencing this story. Jade's self-absorption over the impacts of Phoebe's decision on Jade's own life read as selfish to me as opposed to caring, and while this was clearly NOT the author's intention, it then started to feel to me that the story was sidelining the real truth of Phoebe's story and subsequent trauma and somehow prioritizing the selfish angles of Jade as the "hurt best friend." It was always going to be a tightrope to balance this topic, and even if it was done flawlessly it might have continued to feel uncomfortable, but still... it struck the wrong chords with me.

In addition to the handling of the sensitive topics at hand, I also thought it was an odd artistic choice to have a very visual arts-themed graphic novel told entirely in grayscale colors, with an occasional pop of pink accents. This would have had such a different tone if done in full color, and might have more accurately represented the vibrant arts camp setting. I am assuming the artist's intention was to have it gray to represent the very heavy topics at hand, but to me personally it felt off.

Thank you to Algonquin Books for Young Readers for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Right before leaving for her summer art camp, Jade’s friend Phoebe attempts suicide. Despite not wanting to go, her mom insists it will be good for her to get away. Jade isn’t so sure. How can she focus on herself when her friend is going through such a rough time?

However, once she gets to the Art Farm, Jade realizes she has the opportunity to really focus on her art. As she gets to know her classmates, she also starts to fall for Mary, a fellow artistic. Working on her art for the summer, Jade channels her anger, frustration, and stress into her ceramic monsters. However, it’s her art that might force her to confront her real fear.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for an advanced copy of this to review! If you follow me on Instagram, you know that graphic novels are my jam. I was excited to receive a copy of this, especially since it’s about art! Made me want to get out supplies and paint.

Right from the beginning, I was drawn in by the art style. It’s mostly in black and white, but there are pops of a reddish/pink color when emotions get high. It’s effective for the story that’s being told, and really helps to focus on the characters and the emotions in the story. It also helped in emphasize the sort of magical realism elements of the story.

While it doesn’t necessarily feel like a heavy book, McCoola deals with some heavy emotional things. Throughout the story, Jade is struggling with the fact that her best friend attempts suicide and she doesn’t know how to help. She’s conflicted about doing well at the art farm because it feels like she’s leaving Phoebe behind. All of these emotions felt realistic and I appreciated the way the art and the writing dealt with the topic of suicide.

The only thing that didn’t really work for me was the magical realism aspects. At times, it was a little unclear what exactly was happening. And if anyone else at the art farm noticed what was happening? I think just a little more clarification regarding that would have made this book even more stellar for me.

But, there’s queer rep and great discussions about art, so of course I’m going to love it. If you’re looking for a new graphic novel to pick up this summer, I’d recommend this one!

🎨Opinion: A girl named Jade, who is about to go to a summer art camp, receives the news that her best friend Phoebe tried to commit suicide. She wants to throw away her plans to be with her friend, but Phoebe needs space.
How is Jade supposed to focus on herself?

Jade arrives at the camp without knowing who she really is, she will try to find the meaning of her art. Gradually he meets his classmates, he begins to fall in love with Mary, a capricious and optimistic girl. The romance felt a bit rushed, but it helped a lot for Jade not to think about her best friend. At the farm Jade channels her intense emotions (anger, stress, confusion, insecurity) creating ceramic monsters that somehow come to life, forcing her to sicken her own mental health and overcome her fears.

This novel teaches us to bring out our feelings since leaving them hidden inside us only causes them to explode one day.
Her illustrations are too cute in black and white, when Jade had strong feelings they were represented in red. It is a well written story, short and easy to read.

Blog Tour || Slip by Marika McCoola & Aatmaja Pandya (Illustrator)

Slip by Marika McCoola
Graphic Novel, YA, LGBTQ
Algonquin Young Readers | June 7th, 2022
4/5 Stars


Jade is leaving for an art farm camp type thing to get an art portfolio ready, but right before she leaves her friend Phoebe attempts suicide. Jade is full of emotions for her friend and wants to be with her but her mom convinces her that Phoebe is getting help in the hospital and that if anything happens she will let Jade know.

Full of emotions, Jade has a hard time finding any inspiration to work with at the farm. Jade also meets Mary which starts a little crush which makes Jade feel even more guilty for moving on while her friend is alone in the hospital.

I enjoyed reading Slip and the art style used was really cool and easy to follow along with. I feel like Jade’s character was really relatable in the fact that I think we’ve all probably been in her position before — feeling guilty or questioning whether it was okay to grow or move on while a friend or someone close was hurting or something similar.

I do wish we had more information about Phoebe and what made her decision, but I can also appreciate that the book was more about Jade.

I recommend this book if you’re looking for an art inspired graphic novel with an easy to follow story about dealing with emotions and art as an outlet for emotions/feelings.

Thank you, Algonquin Young Readers for allowing me to a part of this blog tour in return for an honest review.

As the novel progresses, the readers — and Jade — are taught that everyone is worth being helped even when we don’t realize we need the help. And help comes in many forms — for Jade the help starts with a change of scenery from the trauma of nearly losing her best friend. And often, the best way to be their for someone you love, is taking care of yourself first.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet story with a bit of magical realism thrown in, although I'll admit I had some trouble adjusting to elements that didn't match my initial expectations.

The style (especially of the cover and the character designs) made me expect a graphic novel that leaned more toward middle grade as a target age group, albeit with a more serious subject matter. In reality, this is a firmly YA title, with a notable (though realistic) amount of swearing and, obviously, discussion of suicide and self-harm. The story mainly centers around the main character trying to adjust to her best friend's suicide attempt(s), not understanding why they happened and trying to cope with guilt and confusion about how they could have been prevented, as well as how she can support her friend now. Ultimately, though, that thread of the story didn't feel like it got as much exploration or closure as I would have liked. That may have been intentional—these things rarely have clean, simple conclusions in real life, after all—but it still was a bit of a sticking point for me. The art school and romantic subplots were sweet, but everything felt just a little too under-explored and under-developed because of how many moving parts were packed into the story.

In the end, I still thought this was a well-done, meaningful book! It didn't meet my expectations across the board, but I would recommend it to any fan of teen graphic novels dealing thoughtfully with more serious themes of mental health and beyond.

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for sharing this book with me. This is a very artistic graphic novel that centered on a friend's suicide attempt. I liked all of the metaphors and growth in this book and felt it had a great message about suicide and those it effects. Also, would be helpful for those experiencing similar circumstances.

Jade and Phoebe have been friends forever. In fact, it was Phoebe who found this great summer art intensive for Jade to attend. Before Jade is set to leave, though, Phoebe attempts suicide, leaving Jade with all kinds of questions and guilt that make it difficult for her to think about art much less concentrate on her project for Art Farm.

Author Marika McCoola and illustrator Aatmaja Pandya have put together an emotionally effective (and affective) graphic novel about the repercussions of a suicide attempt on the victim’s best friend. The reader feels all of the intensity of Jade’s guilt, bewilderment, and turmoil as she deals with trying to create art while wondering how she let her friend down. Didn’t she listen to her? What did she miss? Should she have asked more?

Meanwhile, Jade’s attempts at art take on a life of their own. Literally.

There are many takeaways from this wonderful and inspiring graphic novel. One for me is to relinquish your fears as an artist because they will always pin you down, make whatever you want to create half-hearted. Also, for anyone who’s known someone who has attempted or succeeded at committing suicide, the questions and guilt raised here are right on the mark.

An amazingly poignant and hopeful graphic novel.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We start this graphic novel with Jade receiving a phone call that her best friend Phoebe is in the hospital for intentionally hurting herself and attempting suicide. Jade is wrecked, since she and Phoebe had summer plans – Jade with her art and Phoebe with her music.

Jade continues onto her intensive summer art program with the prodding of her mother and discovers the program is even more intense than she expected, preparing the students for college admissions. Jade’s medium is clay but she doesn’t have a real focus with her pieces, and that’s what she (and her teachers) hope she’ll make progress on throughout the program.

This is a fast paced graphic novel and I loved seeing the art work Jade and the other students created! Art isn’t just about the piece created, but the meaning behind it. As an art major myself in college, I really appreciated the artist aspect of this story. I loved seeing the pieces Jade created! This story also has a magical realism aspect to it which I didn’t expect but found to be very fun and added another element to the story.

Jade was never in a romantic relationship with Phoebe, but knows she likes girls. She becomes friends with a classmate named Mary and they slowly become more than friends. Jade is distracted though with her life back home and how Phoebe is doing, and has to learn the best way to help her struggling friend from afar while still living her own life.

I really enjoyed the fun whimsical style of the artwork by debut artist Aatmaja Pandya. The majority of the story is tone on tone but there are certain pages/panels that are in red and that splash of color made those moments stand out.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I’m glad its now out in the world for all to enjoy!

Review: This was a absolutely great YA Graphic Novel! I think the writing and illustrations went really well together. The writing was really good, and the art was wonderful at capturing the emotions of the story. Overall, I would definitely recommend this GN to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

** A copy of Slip was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

Slip is a powerful story (of art, friendship, and mental health) with beautiful illustrations. I highly recommend this gem by Marika McCoola and Aatmaja Pandya.

Bonus: Marika is actually a bookseller at my favourite local indie, Porter Square Books!

Thank you to Algonquin for inviting me to be on the blog tour for Slip!

Jade is getting set to spend a summer at the Art Farm when her mother tells her that her best friend has attempted suicide. An art intensive is stressful and overwhelming as it is, but adding in trying to sort through all of the feelings surrounding Phoebe's attempts puts extra pressure on Jade.

The other students help Jade find her voice through her art and combine the two into a brilliant cohesive series. Through her art, Jade learns how to cope with her internal struggles surrounding Phoebe, a new frenemy, and a potential love interest...and furthermore how to accept being happy while her best friend is barely hanging on.

As an art school alum, I always love reading stories about the art school experience. On Jade's first day at the intensive she gets critiqued and thinks to herself that she doesn't belong there because she's already failing and it resonated so strongly with me. I can't count the number of times I sat on the steps of my school's buildings crying and feeling like I didn't belong there.

I enjoyed this book because the topics are adult and heavy but the truth is that kids have to deal with these things too so it's important that there is material available to help younger people make sense of nonsensical and how to keep moving when your world stands still. I found Jade to be so likable. Her self-doubt was endearing and made me want to hug her, which is rare for me - I usually get so frustrated with my characters for doubting themselves so I think it shows a great balance of character-writing on the author's part. Just enough to make you cheer them on, not enough for you to be annoyed by it.

I love the diversity in the romance and how it is understated. Jade's sexual identity is a part of her but not the focus of her story. It made her self-acceptance in terms of her art and feelings surrounding Phoebe's attempted suicide that much louder by quieting down the romance. And - the fact that she questions everything EXCEPT her feelings towards Mary (including feeling guilty for being happy with Mary while Phoebe is ill) resonated well with me, in that Jade really does know who she is and what she wants even when she feels like she is struggling.

My biggest complaint is the format that I received. I understand that Algonquin cannot provide a physical copy for each person to read and review, and I enjoy all formats of reading, but print is definitely superior when it comes to graphic novels. They can definitely be enjoyed in digital format, however the Netgalley app is notoriously unfriendly for users and I did not have the option to download this to my kindle, so my only format was reading on the Netgalley app. The pages were SO small, I was not able to rotate my screen to make it bigger, and when I double-click, the page that I'm on does enlarge, but only for that page...every time I turn the page I have to double-click again, and after 3 pages or so, the app does not want me to do to that without exiting the book and re-entering. This really takes away from the reading experience. Luckily, the book was enjoyable enough that I was eager to keep reading and powered through, otherwise, I may have just given up.

Thank you Algonquin Books and Netgalley for sending me a copy to read and review. This was an enjoyable and hard read. In this graphic novel there are difficult topics like suicide and metal illness. I'm glad that this book is geared towards younger readers, it is important to learn and have conversations about these topics. The art style was nice, except for the handwritten letters and stuff was hard to read sometimes. The characters are interesting, and I liked the storyline. 4 out of 5 stars. Also the perfect read for Pride!

This is a queer graphic novel in three colors: black and white and red, which really works for this art style and this setting and characters. I really enjoyed the art in this book, and it really helps bring the characters to life here. It’s a book about the magic of summer, the emotional turmoil over friends and changing and growing up, and also about being a ceramicist. I don’t think I’ve ever read about a ceramicist before, although as a child I was obsessed with a book about a glass-blower (Alien in a Bottle by Kathy Mackel), which was my only context for some of these Ceramics Terms. I really liked this one! If you enjoyed Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up with Me, or even, say, Ophelia After All, I think you’ll like this one two. Four and a half stars; rounded up for NetGalley.

Overall, I really liked Slip with its beautiful art, queer rep, and its meaningful exploration of identity and expression through clay. However, some aspects of the graphic novel did fall flat. I’m unsure if it wasn’t in color because I read the arc, but I feel like a book about art should be in full color. And despite the obvious love she held for her best friend Phoebe, it felt more like she was being used as a plot device for Jade’s own character development. Towards the end of the novel, it does feel like Jade realizes her own issues and overcomes them, being a better person and friend overall.
TW: suicide, self-harm

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Slip

Author: Marika McCoola, Aatmaja Pandya

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4.5/5

Diversity: Sapphic person of color MC, Sapphic person of color character, people of color characters

Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, LGBT, art, pottery, ceramist, mental health, comics, magical realism

Publication Date: June 7, 2022

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

Age Relevance: 15+ (attempted suicide, self harm, mental health, language, anger, property destruction, gore)

Explanation of Above: There are mentions of attempted suicide and vague mentions of self-harm. Mental Health is discussed, as well as anger about the situation. There is some small cursing in the book. There is some property destruction shown. There is a little bit of gore shown as well.

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Pages: 208

Synopsis: Right before Jade is about to leave for a summer art intensive, her best friend, Phoebe, attempts suicide. How is Jade supposed to focus on herself right now?

But at the Art Farm, Jade has artistic opportunities she’s been waiting for her whole life. And as she gets to know her classmates, she begins to fall for whimsical, upbeat, comfortable-in-her-own-skin Mary. Jade pours herself into making ceramic monsters that vent her stress and insecurities, but when she puts her creatures in the kiln, something unreal happens: they come to life. And they’re taking a stand: if Jade won’t confront her problems, her problems are going to confront her, including the scariest of them all—if Jade grows, prospers, and even falls in love this summer, is she leaving Phoebe behind?

Review: I really liked this book! It did well to talk about mental health from the viewpoint of those affected by loved ones who are going through mental health crises. You really feel for the MC as she struggles to deal with the anger and heartache about her friend’s health and her inability to make it 100% better for her friend. The book is a summer camp book, revolving around an art retreat for the summer, so it’s perfect for the summertime reads. The book is a quick read as well with beautiful illustrations and I love how the use of color was in this book. The color red in particular was used to symbolize high stress or big emotional moments for our MC and it helped the reader feel how the MC was feeling during those times. The MC is also a ceramist, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen in an art themed book before.

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like it was a bit too fast paced, especially the romance aspect of it. I would love to see a more expanded version of this story come to play.

Verdict: It was so good!

This graphic novel is about a young sculptor who goes away to art camp right after she finds out her best friend attempted suicide. Jade struggles with her emotions and it comes out in her art- literally- as her pieces come to life to haunt her.

I thought this graphic novel did a great job explaining what the emotional experience is like for a friend of someone who’s attempted suicide and how best to support that person.

The background of art camp was really interesting and I learned a bit about sculpture. The drawing style was engaging and I liked how the graph novel is in two different colors: black and red to highlight strong emotions.