Right off the bat, the illustrations in this graphic novel are beautiful. This book explores themes of friendship as well as topics of one's identity and thoughts about one's future. Their struggles are very relatable, especially when it came to their attempts to protect each other. Their actions felt like something teenagers would do despite said actions making it quite frustrating to read at times. The representation in the book is amazing and it's nice to see more diversity in characters with how they're drawn and portrayed. Although the ending made sense within the story, it was quite bittersweet. I do wish some things were fleshed out more especially regarding Leighton's asexuality. Other than that, this was a fun read. The art style is pleasant and the story is interesting.

Paper planes is a graphic novel that follows Dylan Render and Leighton Worthington, former best friends who are sent away to a youth correction camp because of an unfortunate incident. Both their future depends on the evaluation they get.

Firstly let’s talk about the illustrations and how cute they were. Everything about the characters and the color palette used was amazing. I loved it.

Dylan’s friendship with Leighton was so beautiful but at the same time so hurtful, and in the end, it made sense how they drifted apart and how it would only do both of them good in the longer run. One of the major highlights of this graphic novel was that it wasn’t focused on how Dylan is a non-binary character or Leighton is asexual. In the end, Dylan came out as a much more confident character than they were in the beginning. I think in its way, Paper Planes talks about how sometimes a person’s sexuality or their gender “euphoria” (as cricket called it, and rightly said I might add) is not the reason they feel secluded. And sometimes people, who can’t see anything beyond that, are the real problem.

10/10 would recommend it.

I loved the art in this book, and the themes of friendship, identity, and forging your own path. However, the plot & characters felt disjointed to me, and it was hard to really get into the story. I gave this 3 stars but would be interested to read more from these artists in the future.

Paper Planes is a YA graphic novel with great art, but the story itself was just okay. I think it just barely touched the surface of some important topics of self-discovery as a teen. I wish the plot was more in-depth! I did love how so many different people were represented in this story, though!

I was given an ARC of this from Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.8
Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.
This graphic novel tells us that After a life-changing incident, Dylan and Leighton are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth. Can Dylan and Leighton save their friendship and protect their future while trying to survive the camp?
This story was very bittersweet in terms of history and aesthetics, because on the one hand I liked the design of the characters and the way they were drawn, I also liked the style and colors of the illustrations; but there were things in the background, like when they get wet, that I didn't quite like.
Regarding the story, I felt that the representation was very successful and that I felt what many experience. The characters, whether you like them or not, I felt they were well built and with considerable development. And with the plot it's fine but just like that, although I liked the final message a lot; I would have liked about 50 more pages so the ending didn't feel so rushed.
Overall I loved the artwork and enjoyed reading this graphic novel a lot :) I would definitely recommend it, especially for those in the target audience (since this is YA - that is clearly not me lol(although I do love YA))!

I loved all the representation in this book and the writing styles was cute and easy to understand. It was very engaging. Though I feel at times some of the dialogue was very forced and borderline cringe, like if a millennial tried to copy Gen Z trends, other than that it was good.

The art style in this graphic novel is great and the topics that it covers are so important, I loved seeing them in this format. it has some really great rep, and I think the way that it ended was really important even though it wasn’t what I was really rooting for.

Paper Planes was a fascinating graphic novel. I really enjoyed the nonbinary and asexual representation. The mystery of why they ended up at the summer camp was intriguing and kept me engaged. The art style was amazing and all of the character choices from physical appearance to clothing choices helped portray the characters and their various choices throughout the book. The theme of pleasing mothers was a very powerful theme and was well done. My one complaint with the book is some of the dialogue was cringy in a non-gen Zer trying to write gen Z-way. Specifically the line where a character used sus and the bit about Taylor Swift being gay. I understand what they were going for, but it felt weird and awkward and took away from the story. I did enjoy this graphic novel and had a good time while reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me early access to this graphic novel. All opinions are my own.

Paper Planes is a graphic novel that explores how friendships can change as we grow up and explore our identity. The representation and themes in this novel are great, as is the art. Stunning in its own way
Yet it felt a bit flat for me and I struggled to understand how the timeline the story was being told in.

I guess this is a great story for those who are looking for something with representation and complex friendship dynamics, as well for those who enjoy graphic novels with great art

"Paper Planes" is a story as bittersweet and realistic as they come - the story of the progression and end of a friendship that could have become something more if only the circumstances had been different and somehow better.

Dylan and Leighton share school days and adventures, from the caring of the cat Daisy to the tennis trainings, and they could easily become more than friends if only their origins weren't so different - and Leighton's parents' expectations weren't so pressing.

With a roundtrip around their years of friendship and the weeks spent at a sort of rehab camp for problematic youth we find out what happened to bring Dylan and Leighton so close, first, and so far then. And why there is no way they can ever go back to what they were.

This was an amazing read.
Loved the illustrations. It was really sweet and loved the friendships and representation in every sense, not just lgbt+. Loved seeing different body types in it!!!

I will soon have a full review on @bookmilla, IG.

It's summer, but Leighton isn't at tennis camp as planned: instead, she and Dylan are at a summer program in the woods—for therapy, for punishment. They were friends, before, or more than friends, or maybe not friends anymore, and then there was the Incident, and now they're here. Here, and communicating mostly via paper planes.

This graphic novel grew on me—the art doesn't entirely fit my personal tastes (miles beyond anything I could draw, mind! But I'm still a bit confused about why Dylan appears to have a receding hairline), but it's well executed, and there are interesting relationship dynamics that develop throughout the book. I love that we see variety of sexuality and gender, and that it's almost never treated as a big deal. A few things are unclear to me, like Leighton's parents' treatment of Dylan (in some ways they're very accepting, but in other ways they're eager to reject Dylan), Leighton's sister's story, etc. What sold me, though, is the end—which I won't spoil, but suffice it to say that I'm always happiest when things are still a little messy at the end, and characters don't all end up with exactly what they want. The paper planes floating throughout the book are also a very nice theme...whether the intended recipient reads the notes they contain or not.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy through NetGalley.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley for reviewing purposes. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The plot fell really short for me. I did like that there was non-binary and ace representation and thought the art was really well done.

Super cute and heartwarming. Really went through a lot of issues that high schoolers- especially queer ones- face in school, with friendships and relationships. This graphic novel is so beautifully done, and I hope to have it on my physical shelf one day.

I love the representation of asexuality and non binary individuals. It’s really refreshing to have these characters in more novels.

Paper Planes
Written by Jennie Wood
Illustrated by Dozerdraws

Edition: Ebook, 216 pages, Graphic Novel

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity

We follow the story of two young people, Leighton and Dylan. Where Leighton grew up privileged but mostly ignored from her personal interests wise, Dylan grew up under chaotic circumstances and their only fix point is their cat. When this cat runs away and Leighton finds her, a friendship blooms between these unlike kids.
Some things happen and they end up in a summer camp where they have to face the reality of their relationship with themselves and with each other.

The story is told in short parts set in different times. We jump between stuff that happend in the past when they were kids, a closer past and the current moments. It was a bit disorientating sometimes, even though the illustrations showed the character's age pretty well. But some jumpa lay too close to each other to easily distinguish the moments.
Another thing that confused me was the thing with the main character. At first I thought it must be Leighton but then it switches to Dylan and back again. I don't mind having more than one main character perspective, but in this case it felt kinda unfinished and unrefined.

Representation wise we get a lot:
People of colour, ace character, nonbinary character, queer love and more.
Bullying, child neglect, alcohol addiction (side character) and more are some of the problems that are handled (more or less well).

The illustrations are strong and I really liked them but I can't say that it is the same for the story itself. Yes, teenagers are messy and terrible and they are learning but just because it's realistic doesn't mean I have to love it.
So I am giving this book 3.5 out of 5 ☆.

How can I love a graphic novel but it make me so sad at the same time?
This graphic novel is a great example of some of the growing pains teenagers face; Friendships, choices identity. I would absolutely read a sequel to this following up with Dylan and Leighton.

This was a darling graphic novel - the diverse characters on the pages were so refreshing (representation matters!) I did find it a bit hard to follow, the timeline hopped back and fourth a lot and it was hard to know where the story was at. Overall I really enjoyed it. The illustrations were beautiful and the lessons learned (there were many!) were relatable.

Very sweet story that follows the story of characters that represent a lot of people. A must read. Dylan is the cutest character and I had such a soft spot for them. The drawings are incredibly stunning and I really enjoyed the quick read. The structure was a bit complicated and it took me some time to process the jumps. I loved some bits of the story and I was screaming at my phone reading others. I do recommend this book though, the representation is brilliant and needed!

Leighton Worthington and Dylan Render, two high school students who have always been close friends, are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth after a tragic event. While they did not choose to attend the camp, they must perform well there in order to avoid being separated from each other and their other high school friends. The challenges they face at the camp cause them to reflect on the incident that brought them there, as well as their friendship and their own personal identities.

This was a mediocre read for me. I appreciated the various rep in this graphic novel. Leighton is biracial and asexual, Dylan is non-binary, and there are queer side characters. Unfortunately I never really felt connected to any of them. The reveal of the tragic event that sent Leighton and Dylan to the summer camp also fell kind of flat for me and didn't have the impact I was expecting. Overall, I wasn't particularly moved by the story and found it to be just okay.

This was an excellent graphic novel. The nonbinary and asexual representation were some of the best I’ve ever seen. I loved the way the author unfolded the story, but by bit, using flashback to the past. This is a fantastic middle grade/YA choice.