https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4951316862
Thanks, NetGalley! Super cute middle grade graphic novel about a young girl torn between pleasing her mother and being herself. This is an important book for those who struggle to balance cultural acceptance with being true to themselves, and it was eye opening for me who has little experience with ultra curly hair, the struggle to learn the manage it, the bullying that may occur, and the societal pressures involved for those who embrace their natural hair. The illustrations were well done and enticing, and the story was great as a mirror for those who have experienced this as well as a window for those who haven’t. Well done.

I loved everything about this graphic novel!!!

The story is about Marlene who has always had issues with her curly hair.
This isn't only about hair problem, but also about accepting yourself and to show your "true self".

Marlene don't want to be different from other girls, and she has so many pressure from her family - she's also bullied in school - but when her auntie Ruby helps her, Marlene finally find a way to be finally free from this feeling of "oppression".

The art style is amazing, the color palette is delicate. I really love Claribel style.

I was well represented - talking about curly hair - and sometimes, during the reading, I even remembered when in middle school I really hated my hairs and everything I wanted was straight hairs.

I really recommend Frizzy to everyone!!!

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books for an eARC of Frizzy in exchange for an honest review.

Frizzy is about Marlene who has always had issues with her hair. Her mother insists that she go to the beauty salon to get her hair straightened once a week. However, Marlene wants her curls to be natural. With the help of her aunt, she learns how to care for her curls.
This was really sweet and fun. I loved the artwork and the characters.

Amazing middle grade graphic novel, I loved it.
I really liked seeing how Marlene's thoughts about her hair changed throughout the book.

A very strong message in a really short graphic novel. Sweet and emotional, loved reading this young girl journey to accept her natural hair, as someone with curly hair I could definitely identify with some situations.
The illustrations on this graphic novel are amazing, so colorful and pleasant

This was a well-written quick and fun read, with a moral. Touching story about accepting yourself, and learning new ways to take care of oneself. Great illustrations, witty humor, and could sympathize with the protagonist even though I am not of the same identity. This book doesn't have to be just for youth, as I feel many adults would also relate to the storyline.

An unbelievably tender, forgiving, validating middle-grade graphic novel that walks us through Marlene's struggle to find her balance between culture, assimilation, family ties, and embracing her natural beauty to bolster her confidence and sense-of-self.

The color palette is expertly artful, soft yet strong, encompassing the feel of Home among the pages. The illustrations are inviting you in to witness Paola, the mother, bearing the weight of generational trauma and personal grief. You are folded in to feel Marlene's conflicting feeling of pleasing her Mom with her increasing anxiety around if she is "good enough" or if she is not as worthy as her "perfect" cousin.

I was hurting with her, for her, for her mom. Cheering her and her best friend Camila on while they discussed the struggles and worries they were facing. Tía Ruby is a rockstar who both supported Marlene's feelings, while encouraging her to embrace herself, and also did not just heap negativity on to the Mom being wrong. She provided background, context, perspective and love right into Marlene who is then able to approach her Mother more fully to begin to heal. ♥

Claribel Ortega’s Frizzy tells a beautiful story of self acceptance accompanied by Rose Bousamra’s gorgeous illustrations!

This graphic novel discusses such an important topic in Black and Brown communities. So often Black and Brown girls are confronted with anti blackness in the form of the “good” hair vs. “bad” hair debate.

The Wash Day 101 scenes with Tía Ruby were my absolute favorite! It was refreshing to see Marlene learn at an early age how to properly care for her hair, that her curls are beautiful in their natural state and that it doesn’t matter what other people say or feel about the way she looks.

Marlene’s friendship with Camilla was everything! I loved how Camilla always had Marlene’s back and truly wanted her best friend to be happy. Made me nostalgic for the friendships I had in middle school.

So many young girls are going to feel seen when they read Frizzy! I’m excited for young readers to get their hands on this one and to add it to my own collection.

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books for an eARC of Frizzy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this graphic novel so much. It has full of vibrant colors and eye-catching illustrations. Marlene was a great character gave me more good vibes. She loved her frizzy or kinky hair so much. No matter what people said about her hair, she loved it so much, never afraid being different amongs the others. That's why she had to struggle from mates bullying and adults pressure, luckily Tia Ruby had the wayout of it.
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This story wakes me up to not imitate the others in order to look perfect, being yourself is much better. On the other hand, we need to find the best way to turn the innerself difference into a special kind of thing. That was Marlene did in this story.
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At any rate, It was greatly heartwarming and uplifting kind of story. It was about innerself beauty, finding comfort zone, and just being who you are in a positive perspective, even if it's just about hair.

Thank you First Second Books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This graphic novel has touched my heart. I've had a complicated relationship with my hair for the majority of my life. In elementary school there were kids that would say similar things that the kids in Frizzy have said to the main character, Marlene. Only I didn't straighten my hair, I decided to put in a bun.
You can count on one hand the amount of times that I have worn my hair down at school. Because if I did, I would feel people staring at me.

At 20 years old, I cut of a big chunk of my hair, making me unable to put my hair into a bun. I decided to do that, because I went to a new university and therefore my new classmates would only know me with my hair down. That's when I started to try out products that work well for my hair. Nowadays, I feel more confident wearing my hair down. It's my hair and who would judge something that's a part of me?
Societal beauty standards are unrealistic and straight up ridiculous.

As I'm reviewing Frizzy I'm thinking about how my younger self would've rated this. She would've rated this five stars too, because of how empowering this story is.
Marlene's relationship with her Tía is such a beautiful one. Tía Ruby is one of the people she looks up to, because that's the person she wants to be like. Showing her curls with confidence. This graphic novel talks about how it can be hard to unlearn something that has been past down for generations. Every generation has been taught what is "good" and what is "bad" hair. It doesn't make it okay, but it is good that once the realization hits, we can actually try to unlearn it and stop passing it down to our potential children.
Stories like this one matter. They change lives. I'm so happy that Black and Brown kids with curly and kinky hair will read this and gain the confidence to ask a family member to help them with their hair. I hope that when they do, they will walk the hallways with pride, knowing that their hair is beautiful and perfect.
Every type of hair is "good hair".

Frizzy comes out on October 18th 2022. Pre-order it now at your local (indie) bookstore!

Frizzy is an engaging and uplifting story of what it means to accept your true self, and how that acceptance can positively impact the people around you. We follow Marlene as she uncovers the truth behind her mother's weekly trips to the hair salon and begins to understand how changing the way we look can help us deal with past hurts. A wonderfully positive story about influence, truth and how to embrace your inner beauty, one curl at a time.

This was cute and I think is important representation for both Afro-Latine kids and other kids with curly and kinky hair texture. It did get repeating times by circling ask to the same points and micro aggressions. It definitely could have been condensed in some areas. But overall it was cute and enjoyed the illustrations.

I was excited to receive this copy . This graphic novel was so fun , beautifully written , and the animation was too notch.
Marlene is a Latina teen getting ready for her cousins quiencera and her Mami still I sits on making her curly hair smooth and straight to have “good hair “ . She struggles because she wants to embrace her curls and natural hair like her cool Tia , but doesn’t want to upset Mami . She lost her her father and we see dealing with grief , pressure by peers and family and media to look a certain way , and strong families and traditions all represented in this book . I loved the journey and laughed and cried . It a beautiful end and a great girls wash day success . The message of embracing one’s true self and truly loving what you have is such an empowering one I definitely recommend to all teens and even adults , lessons to be learned . Thanks for this copy and I appreciated it so much .

This is a beautiful middle-grade graphic novel that tackles many different issues in a way that readers will relate to, empathize with, and appreciate. Marlene, the main character, is struggling because her mom and other family members think she needs to spend Sundays at the salon straightening her curly hair. Marlene can't stand it. She wants to be accepted for who she is. She hopes to find a way to style her hair in a way that feels true to herself. With some support from her aunt and encouragement from her friend, Marlene is able to appreciate herself and spread the hair love to her mom as well! A much-needed book for young readers!

This was such a great story, tailored exactly to a middlegrade audience, and I think it's going to be a very needed one for many kids. It's an incredibly heartfelt story about a topic that's so necessary to discuss but which I can't say I've read too much about. It was especially amazing to see the main character have a wash day with her tía and learn how to take care of her natural hair.

i LOVED this story about marlene, a middle schooler whose mom takes her to get her hair straightened every sunday at the salon but she hates it. it follows her getting criticized and made fun of for her natural hair by everyone from her family to kids at school. you get to see her learn about how to style her hair and fall in love with her curls. this was such a wonderful graphic novel with beautiful art. i appreciated the way they talked about serious issues like anti-blackness and self esteem in a thoughtful and easy to understand way for kids. i just loved this one and i can't wait for it to come out in october!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

In this stand-alone graphic novel, we follow Marlene, a tween Dominican-American girl who hates her weekly routine of going with her mother to the salon to have her hair professionally straightened. Marlene hates how others (including her own family members) call her natural hair "bad" and longs to be able to be herself. Despite her mother's disapproval, Marlene goes on a journey of self-discovery with the help of her best friend and auntie to discover why so many people consider her naturally kinky curly hair "bad," and find the courage to stand up to her mother. Ortega's writing really shines in this graphic novel, giving Marlene a combination of innocence and boldness that endears her to the reader immediately. Bousamra's use of framing and sequencing leant momentum or pause depending on the moment, and her character designs were instantly recognizable.

Overall, a simply stunning graphic novel that will appeal to middle grade and teen readers interested in realistic graphic novel fiction.

I liked the way Frizzy was build, as someone with what was labeled as "difficult" hair, I recognized myself a lot in Marlene. More than that, I recognized my aunt's, My cousins, My mom and my Grandma in this story. So it struck strong into the heart.

More than that, I love this new generation of writers and artist, getting to understand their parents and create characters and people with a nice relation, a forgiving relation between them.

I would definitely give this to read to all the youngs girls. Hair is always a good way for them to understand their individuality and who they are.

Besides, the drawing are cute and peaceful. So thats obviously a massive plus in a graphic novel.

Marlene, a Dominican girl maturing into a teen is grappling with her natural hair journey. Marlene is sick of spending Sundays at the salon with her mama taming her frizzy curls into “good hair”, straight hair. After hair mishaps at her cousin’s quince and school Marlene wonders why presenting her best means sacrificing parts of herself. With the help of her best friend Camilla and her Tia Ruby, Marlene begins deconstructing “good” hair and embracing her own. While tackling complicated subjects including internalized racism and white supremacy, the illustrations are full of warmth and color. Great for middle grade readers, resonant of Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith for younger readers, a quick read this book will be beloved by many, but especially any child who battles with their hair!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

An emotional and educational graphic novel that was centred around hard-hitting questions that every person, young and old, finds themselves asking at some point in their lives.

The exploration of tough topics such as anti-Blackism, bullying, grief and miscommunication between mother and child were exceedingly well done. The growth for the protagonist was lovely to see; she started out frustratingly quiet about her inner turmoil but finally found the courage to voice her concerns.

However, I did find the aftermath of the confrontation with her mother was on the unrealistic side. For a graphic novel that had hit on so many home-truths that lots of people would relate to, it was odd to see it taking the easy way out by just having the mother simply accept everything the protagonist said and immediately try to change herself. In reality the mother would’ve likely been in denial and continued in her ways, and it would’ve been interesting to see how the protagonist would’ve handled that and what societal commentary the reader could’ve lifted from that. But, likely due to page constraints, that did not occur and the story ended rather abruptly after the build up to the confrontation. It was a shame because the foundation for that was built well and with great art too. Still, it snagged 4 stars and that’s no small feat!