Unretouchable follows recent high school graduate Olive as she embarks on an internship with a major fashion magazine in New York City. What seemed to be a dream gig soon turns Olive’s world on a digital head as she faces the realities of body image in the media world. Soon she’s questioning her future in the art world and her relationship with social media.

This graphic novel debut by Sofia Szamosi was a quick, enjoyable read that packs a punch on finding comfort in your own skin and self-acceptance. The illustrations were engaging and Olive’s voice brings a refreshing look at the world in which we now live.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group and Sofia Szamosi for an advanced e-copy of this book.

We follow Olive, a young student with a smartphone, constant social media presence, a cool trans best friend and tons of issues with self-image, as she starts a major internship. Five full stars for messaging, relatability and art style.

This gave me contemporary Bell Jar vibes, as the protagonist attends a fancy NYC internship that leads to self-loathing and harmful decisions, complete with the whole thing instagrammed. The sheer volume of deepfakery Olive encounters, and the narrative contemplation of what is false and what is true among the formative parts of our lives were really interesting, and the art was great. At one point Olive has an existential crisis over "having a body" at all, and I related one hundred percent with the dysphoria. By the end she has nearly lost her mind with constant photo retouching, and it really makes you want to touch grass.

I found this a touching and inspiring read - we could all use more realistic content in our lives, and probably less time on our phones too.

CW: body image issues, bulimia

I would like to thank NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unretouchable details of recent high school graduate Olive’s internship with a major fashion magazine in New York City. Once she starts, she realizes the truth beyond the photo and questions her future career in art.

This read was enjoyable for me. It was a quick and easy to read book, and I was able to read it in a day. Szamosi’s illustrations in this book are just lovely and I really liked how she properly introduced each new character entering the story.

What I really like most about this book is the message it entails. It really advocates the idea of being comfortable in your own skin and loving yourself. Szamosi really does a good job of describing the body positivity movement and creating a diverse set of characters to support that message. While parts of the book may seem cheesy, this is overall a worthwhile book to read.

This was a quick read with a great message about social media, body image and being genuine in a world that constantly wants to “retouch” us. I really connected with Olive’s struggle to want to be involved in social media, but also acknowledging all of its cons. I liked that this was set in the fashion world and it got into image manipulation and unrealistic body standards. Olive was such an easy character to relate to. I feel like every girl has gone through the feelings of inadequacy and poor self image like she did, especially in the age of social media.
The illustrations were so unique and I loved the style of them, especially with Olive’s phone. I’m really glad I read this one. It’s an important read.

This Devil Wears Prada meets Confessions of a Shopaholic graphic novel is cute, cool and funny.
Thank you Lerner Publishing Group for the delightful digital advanced review copy.

CW: mentions of disordered eating (including bulimia/skipping meals)

Olive is obsessed with social media. She’ll take selfie after selfie and edit them, trying to fit the standard that she sees everywhere. To help get an idea about what the art world is like, she spends her summer before college at an internship. There she is going to learn from a digital imaging specialist at a major fashion magazine that changes her outlook on everything.

This was an incredible read that discusses how social media can affect us, body image issues, and making art. For its target audience, I could see this being a powerful book that helps them navigate these issues.

The look into the editing and fashion industry was fascinating. Despite knowing this, there was something about how the graphic novel presented it that made it all really sink in with me.

The art is perfect to get the messages of this graphic novel across. It took a while to grow on me, but as I got deeper into the story I realized that any other art style wouldn’t be as effective.

I would recommend this to those who are coming of age, starting something new, or are struggling with the pressure that social media puts on people.

Thank you to Sofia Szamosi, Lerner Publishing Group/Graphic Universe, and NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I loved this art style! I also found that the story was very uplifting and sends a very important message to young adults— especially with the use of social media and with body image. These topics can be hard to navigate at that time in your life (and, let’s be honest, even as an adult), so it is important to show yourself kindness. It is incredibly easy to want to cut yourself off from all social media, but is also incredibly hard to actually do that. It is all around us. Definitely an uplifting story, that is worth the read.

I think this is a really important story that highlights a lot of what we see on social media and in magazines. Nothing is real anymore. And allowing yourself to realize that is so beneficial to your own mental health and well being. A great read for young girls and guys everywhere.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I loved this book so much! Such a unique art style that really enhances the story, with beautiful background details to focus on as you read. This book really made me think. I am someone who has struggled with body image and this book is a good reminder of how fake our body image ideals are. By the end of the book I felt pretty good about myself and wanted to make a commitment to stop retouching my photos and be more authentic on the internet. A good book with a good message! Overall rating 4/5 stars.

This book was so relevant and important to our current struggles in society. In an age where everything and everyone is touched up, we need that reminder that to be authentic is not only important it is necessary.
I loved the grappling between wanting to work in art and wanting to stay out of contributing to the reasons for needing something like the body positive movement. I loved watching the main character grow throughout the story, we watch her go from not even acknowledging her real image to posting herself as she is.
I was left almost wanting to see what she does with her experiences and her life in the art world! I recommend this to graphic novel lovers who really want a story that is based in the real world and based off issues we are currently facing as a society.

What a welcome surprise! I am a big believer in spreading the message to youth about body acceptance and body positivity. This delightful graphic novel following a soon to be college freshman Olive who is interning for a fashion magazine retouching their photo shoots. It’s relatable and engaging. The art is attractive, cute, and bold. I enjoyed the snippets of journal entities, social media, and random labeling.
Not only is this a great way to start conversations with teens about body image and societies messages about bodies, it’s a interesting segue into the ever popular school subject about my fake news.
I will be recommending this!

Thank you to Lerner Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unretouchable by Sofia Szamosi is an amazing graphic novel for fans of the art of Persepolis or the story of The Devil Wears Prada. The story revolves around Olive, who has just started an internship in the fashion industry helping someone photoshop and digitally edit photos. But in this image-conscious industry, can Olive learn to love her own appearance? And how will she navigate the ethics of retouching?

Overall, Unretouchable is an unforgettable story of fashion and self-acceptance that is like The Devil Wears Prada for the new, digital generation. One highlight of this book is the main character, who is brave and fearless as she navigates the modeling industry. Along the way, she confronts important issues like bulimia and photoshopping. This book is great because it has such an important message for today's teenagers. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in May!

Unretouchable was a pleasure to discover on each page — I loved the style and look forward to sharing this graphic novel with others.

Even though this is a graphic novel, it's very realistic and relatable. I could definitely relate to Olive and her self-doubt with all the pressure of social media and the "image" they want people to be. Hoping Sofia Szamosi creates a 2nd novel, I'd like to see what happens in Olive's future.

This book has TW- bulimia, food skipping, etc.



Thank you NetGalley for an digital copy in exchange for an honest review.