Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #BelleoftheBall

Okay, I like the artwork and the pink hue on everything. I like the various body shapes and sizes being varied and inclusive. But I feel there's still a lot of heteronormativity at play in the background. It's weird to have Chloe be such a stereotypical cis-male jock, but they happen to be female. And Gina using Hawkins feels wrong and really turns me against her. She manipulates Hawkins into giving her services for free and it's wrong. Otherwise, the story is really sweet and cute. I wish the buildup of Chloes and Hawkins relationship was shown. And I'm glad so many characters use their words to clearly express themselves instead of lying and making everything worse. I'm glad it turned out happy for all parties. Very cute and quick read.

So many things to love about this graphic novel. It's a perfect sapphic rom-com, with an actual butch!!! It's so rare to see butch sapphic folks in mainstream LGBTQ stories, so to see Chloe here was an absolute joy. I loved how each of the three people in the love triangle had a lot of growing to do, none where absolute villains or complete saints either. It's a messy business, and that's what made this graphic novel feel like real high school..

An absolute gem that is sure to charm graphic novel readers, especially fans of Heartstopper..

Belle of the ball is a sweet story with lovable characters. It is a queer romcom about growing up, and how growing up does not mean you have to change. The art style was unique and lovely, probably my favorite part of the book. I hope that queer teens read this book and feel seen and validated.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for an eARC of Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa in exchange for an honest review.

Belle Hawkins is the mascot for her school. Shy and quirky, she takes a risk and asks out the captain of the cheerleading squad, Gina. Unfortunately, Gina is already in a relationship with Chloe, the star of the women's soccer team. When Chloe starts failing English class and is in danger of losing her eligibility to play the beautiful game, Gina takes advantage of Belle's crush and asks Belle to tutor Chloe. As Belle and Chloe begin spending more time together, they discover that they actually have a lot in common, and a complex love triangle unfolds.

Okay. This was so cute!! If you're looking for a sapphic version of Heartstopper, here it is. It was fun, cute, PINK, and a testament to the power of girls embodying their strengths, no matter the gendered norms. I loved Belle and Chloe's characters, and they both grew and changed throughout the narrative. I wish the same could be said for Gina. She was a pretty unlikeable character the whole way through, and I wish there had been a more satisfying ending to her character arc. I hope there is a sequel to this book where we get to see Gina gracefully grow into her maturity and adopt a little more flexibility.

Love, love, love. Definitely do yourself a favor and pick this graphic novel up in March 2023.

A sweet and low-stakes sapphic graphic novel! Belle of the Ball puts a fun spin on classic high school tropes and this book was a blast to read with a love triangle, prom scenes, a renaissance fair, tutoring sessions, the highs and lows of high school sports, etc. We follow Belle, nerdy tomboy wallflower who used to wear princess dresses in elementary school, Regina, popular cheerleader and academic over-acheiver, and Chloe, sports star. While our characters at first come off as stereotypes, they each are given a lot of depth as the story progresses. I think this will really work for young adult readers looking for stories with characters trying to find their place in the world, walk the line between others' expectations for them and their own desire for self-expression, and deciding what you want to do with your life. Our characters think about college, self-esteem and self-confidence, resolving issues in their love lives, relationships with their parents, and how they might be hiding certain aspects of themselves from others.

Some aspects of the story were a little confusing, and I found myself wondering what exactly they were doing in English class because the tutoring sessions involved more philosophical discussions than studying. Things also wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes, the romantic conclusion happening rapidly in like the last 10 or 20 pages. The art style is cute and I like the pink color scheme. Definitely a fun read that I would recommend - especially to lovers of coming-of-age stories and queer graphic novels!

A beautifully drawn and plotted graphic novel that managed to inter splice strong thematic elements and keep up great entertainment value.

I'm not a big fun of this kind of graphic novel. I'm sorry.
I don't like the illustrations colored in all kind of different shades of pink either.

This is one of my favorite graphic novels I've read lately. It focused solely on high school romantic relationships of the LGBTQ nature and featured a diverse cast of characters. The unknown connection between two of the main characters was such a sweet part of the story and I loved seeing the three main characters grow and change throughout the story.

This book was wonderful to read. The story is very light with plenty of humor involved. I loved the friendships that developed in this story. I thought the romance was very believable. While the setting is in high school, I still could relate to all the characters.

I loved this story! It was so sweet and I felt like the progression of the romance was paced very well!

This one ended up being super sweet! Warmhearted queer dramedy through and through. I was ecstatic that it was in the 300 page range, too! Publishers keep absolutely kneecapping great stories with restrictive page counts, and the length for Belle of the Ball allowed for super satisfying pacing and more nuance and exploration of characters and relationships. The art was fun and expressive, and the characters were a delight to root for. I especially appreciated Regina's arc - a lesser storyteller could have made her the cut-and-dry mean girl nemesis, and instead she got her own earnest and sympathetic portrayal, too. Perfect for folks in search of a low-stakes, high-warmth romantic comedy.

Very cute, sapphic love triangle-esque story with well fleshed out characters. The art style and visual representation is fantastic.

This was a great story! I really liked the premise and the way it was worked out. I am not normally a fan of the love triangle, but I liked the way the author wrote and worked this one out. The art was fine, but not my favorite.

Great lesbian triangle relationship comic. It was very cute and fun. It felt like watching a romcom. The art style and the color palette were beautiful. I'm looking forward to read more titles from the author.

What a sweet and soft surprise. I fell in love right away. With who, you may ask ? Well, it is simple, with all of them. I fell for Chloe's lay back character, for Hawkins passionate eyes, I fell for Regina's fierce drive. Strangely yeah, me not being a fan of monochrome, I was expecting to be pushed away from the story, but actually ... I didn't even pay attention to it, or at least it didn't bother me like it usually does. The storytelling, the drawing, the character's evolution is just so well done, it took my little sobby heart away.

This was a super cute graphic novel that tackles topics like identity and crushes. This book portrays a range of LGBTQIA+ characters which I loved because not every one person is the same. This is especially important for the age this book is intended for. I loved the artwork and the story line. This would be a super cute book to use in a graphic novel book club or even an LGBTQIA+ centered book club.

This graphic novel is perfect for teens. It is filled with emotion and real word experiences that are felt by teens. Teen readers will identify with the issues faced by the teens in the book and the honest nature that the author uses to show them. The illustration are also engaging and add so much to the book. The LGBTQ relationships in the book offer great representations and normalize love is love.

What a cute romance! I loved this. I appreciated the exploration of presentation, the main character relearning to like feminine things. I appreciated that there was a butch main character. I loved the characters. I loved the art style and the story. Will definitely be recommending this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC in return for my honest feedback.

A YA graphic novel romance involving a sapphic love triangle.
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Belle Hawkins has the biggest crush on popular cheerleader Regina Moreno, but she turns Belle down when she asks her out because she’s dating athlete Chloe Kitagawa. At first Chloe is protective and jealous of Belle, who only wants to blend in in her mascot uniform, but when Chloe believes Belle isn’t a threat, she agrees to let her tutor her in English. Once Belle and Chloe begin spending time together, Chloe realizes she knows Belle from elementary school growing up and a fast friendship blossoms between them. When Chloe gives Belle a ride home from a dance and they kiss, Belle has to be honest with herself about who it is she has feelings for.
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I absolutely adored this beautifully pink graphic novel and the underdog story line. The representation was great and the story so easy to fall into. I’m dying to get this in my school library on 3/21! Fans of Heartstopper will live for this one as well.

CW: alcohol

So I have been awaiting approval for this book for ages and so glad it finally came.

Good story with great characters you can relate to, the story flows nicely and you grow to love the characters.

Only issue was just viewing it through the Netgalley app made it blurry