What a cool premise for a graphic novel!
This is the story of two teens who meet at a camp for troubled youth after an "incident" and is then told with flashbacks from when they first became friends to what really happened that landed them at the camp.
I loved how the flashbacks were excuted in the story, they seamlessly happened and added to the story instead of causing one to lose the sense of the narrative.
Both characters were really authentic, falwed and fleshed out and queer and I loved following them.

While I did enjoy Paper Planes, I guess I was waiting (and hoping) for a bit more of a resolution toward the end of the story.
Other than that, it was a really lovely read.

Former best friends Dylan and Leighton are stuck in summer camp for troubled youth after a life altering incident happened. If they don’t get a good evaluation at camp, they’ll get sent away to an alternative high school. While participating in activities and chores at camp, both teens reexamine what led them to their current situation.

This was a good read and a good story, but the storytelling was a little difficult to follow at times; it wasn’t always told there was a time jump and you had to distinguish between the color scheme of the pages.

I wasn’t ever the biggest fan of Leighton to be honest. I know she was going through stuff and that she was hiding things from Dylan (they both were hiding things from each other), but I don’t know - I never felt like they were the best of friends like they were supposed to have been. I was also disappointed in the ending of it as I didn’t feel like there were conclusions to parts of the storyline.

I was still a fan of the graphic novel though and will for sure be recommending it to others. I really enjoyed the art and will be suggesting it to some for that reason. The representation and the storyline that some of the characters went through are important to share and I can see others enjoying it.

*Thank you Maverick and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Rating 3.75/5 stars
My Review: Although I think the non-binary and asexual representation in the book through Leighton and Dylan, I found the overall storyline not super compelling until the very end of the book when the reader finally discovers why they are at the camp for troubled teens and that Dylan ends up covering for Leighton so that she can get to tennis camp for the rest of the summer like she does every year. I also liked how the camp counsellor gave Dylan a non-binary flag friendship bracelet. I thought that gesture was a really sweet way for her to acknowledge Dylan's gender identity. I didn't like how Dylan was whiny about the fact that Leighton doesn't like him back and didn't really accept the fact that she identifies as asexual, but I mean, they are like 13 years old, so being whiny about your crush is not liking you back is kind of a given. Overall I found the book enjoyable as the reader, but I wouldn't personally go out of my way to reread this book in the future. but I also think that the representation of queerplatonic friendships and both the asexual and non-binary characters would be enough for me to recommend this book to the right reader.

This was a very good graphic novel. I especially liked the ace and non-binary rep. The drawings were beautiful and I liked how the colours changed when there were flashbacks.
I found this to be a really good storyline as well.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I am always a fan of LGBTQ books and graphic novels and this was no exception. The characters friendships are so realistic and heart wrenching. The characters were delightfully flawed in the perfect amounts. I look forward to buying this for my school library!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an earc in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic novels are new to me, so I was quite surprised when I became invested in these characters .The plot was good, a great representation of being young and queer! My main problem with this story was the confusion with the characters ages, I’m still not sure how old these kids were. Some topics seemed high school age, while the characters often seemed written as more middle school in my opinion.

I would like to thank Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for writing an honest review!

Unfortunately, I have DNF this comic book @54%

I tried to enjoy this book thoroughly but the storyline felt all over the place. I was so confused in some parts that I decided to DNF it. This can be enjoyed by someone else so you could give it a try.

Paper Planes is easy to read with beautiful artworks and a powerful message behind it.

Complex characters from all walks of life.

Leighton and Dylan screwed up. Bigtime. So Leighton and Dylan are spending the summer at a camp for troubled teens. If they "pass" the course, they can return to their own school community in the fall. If they don't, things will look a lot different.

Paper Planes takes us back through the origins of Dylan and Leighton's relationship (I'm not sure I can call it a friendship - it's messy), and moves back and forth through time, eventually getting to the event that sends them to camp. For me, this made the narrative choppy, because the flashbacks weren't always linear. We learn a fair amount about both of them, and the central motif of the two of them sending messages by paper plane is firmly established. Dylan identifies pretty early as non-binary, and when Leighton is being honest , which is really, really hard for her, she moves towards the asexual part of the spectrum. Unfortunately, that is totally not a place her family and privilege will allow her to inhabit publicly.

Visually, the book is beautiful. Lettering (Micah Myers), visuals and colour (Dozerdraws) are well done, and students in Grade 7 and up will be attracted to this original graphic novel. I struggled with the dynamic between the characters, and the generally unhealthy relationship that Leighton's denial, combined with her very privileged family, creates for Dylan. I spent a fair amount of the book wanting to yell at Dylan to "Run away! Run very, very far away!". I think that students will probably be able to get past that problem with the book because they will be able to identify more with the characters than I can. I need to give major props to author Jennie Wood for not taking the easy way out in any way here. The characters have to figure a lot out, and she doesn't give them easy solutions or cutesy happy endings. That's a strength of the book. I will be very interested to see who students identify with, and I think that the book might be amazing for a book club that wanted to wrestle with the characters.
This was a 3 and a half star read for me - but I think the target audience will like it much better! Thanks to Maverick Comics and NetGalley for the e-arc. The book comes out May 16th!

Dylan and Leighton are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth after an 'incident' involving a classmate. It puts their relationship and futures in jeopardy. The story follows them through their summer experiences.

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this graphic novel. I did enjoy reading it. I love the diversity. Some of it felt stereotypical at times. The artwork and story flowed pretty well. We get some flashbacks randomly thrown in to try and build suspense. None of what actually happens is what I thought was going to happen. I do love the unique storytelling through paper planes. It reminds me of my passing notes days. (There's no way everyone is oblivious to the paper planes. And how are they so accurate with their targets every. single. time.?)

Most of the plotlines do not have resolutions. Which is pretty accurate to the high school (and life in general) experience. Friendships and relationships grow together and apart. Life and circumstances happen. Paths alter. All we are able to control, is ourselves in the moment. And I feel like that's the message Paper Planes is trying to send. Possibly via airplane.

I absolutely would love to add Paper Plans to our graphic novel library collection.

SN: Theres's a 1994 movie called Summertime Switch that has similiar vibes to Paper Planes. It's kind of a hard movie to find. But it was one of my absolute favorites in my juvenile years. I think it's time for a rewatch.


***Thank you to Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios, Maverick for providing me with a review copy.***

thank you netgallery for the arc

I really loved the art style but the story confused me a bit and made me really sad.
I fell in love with Dylan really quickly and I would do anything to protect them, on the contrary I didn't like Leighton and I wasn't able to actually understand her and her behaviour.

I didn't like the ace rep, the way Leighton acted was weird. I asked the arc bc I was interested in the ace rep and it was disappointing.
The nb rep was good tho !!

I've never been a big fan of books that jump back and forth between present and past. Although the illustrations help with that concept here (the past has a different color palette), it still feels like the story is a little muddy. I would have preferred "the incident" presented as a prologue, with maybe just the presenting the changing relationship between Dylan and Leighton with a few flashbacks.

But that's just my preference. *shrug*

I like the representation here--the characters are diverse in many ways. The camp is a bit intimidating at first because I thought it might be a conversion camp (maybe that's intentional?), and I'm not sure Dylan or Leighton's characters were developed enough for me to really care about.

Not a bad story overall, but it fell a little short for me.

i can’t breathe from crying but it’s in a good way. this graphic novel was everything i’ve ever wanted in a coming of age story and more.

differences in sexuality, gender, class, and race are all portrayed in a way that feels realistic and yet not ‘preachy’ either. they weren’t the focus but we were perfectly led to see how they impacted the main characters’ lives, and how they treated others. and speaking of which - i loved our three main characters. i loved that they don’t always do the ‘right’ thing, they take the option that aligns with their characterisation, circumstances of the event, and- of course, their fear.

fear is, i’d say, is a central theme in this novel. fear of being who you are, fear of vulnerability, fear of disappointing your parents and the image they have of you in their head. the main characters grow over the course of this novel, but nothing’s resolved perfectly. but i loved that. because life doesn’t work like that, and while i love happy endings, an optimistic ‘realistic’ ending was what i needed to read today. that even though things may not all be glitter and rainbows i can still find friends, acceptance, and self-love. it shows how two characters love on from a traumatic experience, with grace and understanding that people are messy even if they care for each other. but there are good things, too, and hope. hope was incorporated into the narrative beautifully. joy, too. this is one of few lgbtq novels i can say that portrays our struggles right alongside our happiness, and does so in a way that doesn’t diminish either.

the art is also FANTASTIC?? the changes in the timeline are incorporated perfectly with the changing colour tones. the panels are distinctive and not cluttered. i’m in love with this art style, it’s vibrant and lovely and not too simple but not too complicated either.

the lgbtq rep was amazing, and as someone who is ace and nonbinary, it felt on point despite my experiences being a bit different. but this novel was a lot heavier then i thought it’d be, <b>so i would recommend looking up trigger warnings.</b>

*i received a free copy of this graphic novel from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. all opinions are my own

I truly enjoyed this graphic novel.
The characters were interesting and complex, the plot kept me wanting to know more and I liked the dynamic with the flashbacks and dual points of view. The illustrations are really amazing!

Paper Planes by Jennie Wood is a graphic novel currently scheduled for release on May 16 2023. High schoolers Leighton Worthington and Dylan Render have always been inseparable, but when they’re both shipped off to a summer camp for troubled youth in the aftermath of a tragic event, their lifelong friendship is put to the test. Neither ‘chose’ to be there, but they’ll need a positive evaluation from the camp to avoid being sent away, so they can continue attending high school with their friends. The challenges of camp pushes the once-inseparable Dylan and Leighton onto personal journeys of self-discovery that force them to re-examine the incident that threatens their futures, explore the friendship they have shared for so long, and discover the type of person each of them truly wants to be.

Paper Planes is honest and engaging graphic novel that I think many young readers will be able to connect to. I like that the entire book shows that no one person is all good, all bad, or really all one way or another. Everyone is different, and can change. I thought that the dynamic nature of the characters, both the main characters and secondary ones, was very true to life. I loved that readers got to understand the reasoning and pressures that influence both Dylan and Leighton into making the choices that they do. I thought that they each when through some soul searching, and came closer to understanding themselves and what they really want and need from life. I also like that we get to see some of the motivation behind things we as readers might see as disagreeable or disappointing. Not that the intention makes them right or wrong, but it is good practice for all of us to look for the whys and feelings behind other people's choices, and our own. I found this to be a very engaging and emotional read and think it could be an important read from many tween and older readers.

Paper Planes is a highly engaging and emotionally intelligent graphic novel. I think it will speak to many readers on several levels.

I think this graphic novel would be awesome as a movie, or a limited series on Netflix or something.

Cricket is the best character obviously.

I was so invested in the story and characters, they felt rich and alive, and I loved the color palette and artwork. It gave it that somber lo-fi vibe aesthetic and it was easy on the eyes.

So many issues are confronted in the book, but the point wasn’t to get answers to problems, what I got from this work is that everyone has problems, and sometimes what you think are problems are actually strengths, what make you who you are.

Just great and even teared up at a certain moment involving a friendship bracelet and camp administrator.

Thanks NetGalley and Jennie Wood for allowing me to read!

I loved the art, and the different coloration for different portions of time made the story easy to follow. The main characters were flawed and realistic, and their relationships heart-wrenchingly earnest.

3.5 ⭐
This graphic novel has an asexual biracial mc and a questioning enby mc which is something rare and makes this book even more important. I really like the setting and artwork. The story of the two mcs had all the feels - happy, sad, hurt, hopeful. It truly captured what it is like to grow up - family, friendships, realtionships, sexuality.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

absolutely adored the art style and different colour palettes for the alternating timelines! the story was interesting and it was wrapped up nicely — i read it in one sitting and it was definitely worth it

Paper Planes by Jennie Wood is a captivating and relatable graphic novel that explores the struggles and complexities of adolescence. The story revolves around two high schoolers, Dylan and Leighton, who have been best friends for years but are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth after a tragic event. The camp is their chance to avoid being sent away from their school and friends, but it also puts their friendship to the test.

What makes this graphic novel so relatable is how it explores the universal themes of self-discovery, friendship, and the challenges of growing up. The characters of Dylan and Leighton are realistic and relatable, with their flaws and strengths laid bare for the reader to see. As they navigate the challenges of the camp, both characters are forced to confront their past and re-evaluate their future, which leads to a journey of self-discovery that is both poignant and emotional.

The graphic novel format adds a unique layer to the story, with beautiful and expressive illustrations that bring the characters and their emotions to life. The use of color is particularly effective, with warm and vibrant hues used to convey the characters' joy and friendship, and cooler tones used to portray the difficulties they face at the camp.

Overall, Paper Planes by Jennie Wood is a beautifully crafted graphic novel that is both relatable and emotionally resonant. It explores the struggles of adolescence with honesty and compassion, making it a must-read for anyone who has ever faced the challenges of growing up.