Crush is a fantastic follow up to last year’s Junior High. The artwork is gorgeous and the story is great for all ages. You don’t have to know or be fans of Tegan and Sara to enjoy this story, in fact I suspect for most leaders this will be an introduction. If you are an adult fan, grab a copy for the middle grade readers in your life.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed “Tegan and Sara: Crush” both from a graphics standpoint and the story itself. It built upon the first story really well. I loved seeing their friendships and relationships blossom and grow as they went through so much change. The book did a great job of highlighting how it feels to be in junior high while figuring out who you are as a person. The extra emphasis on their music career was interesting as well. Seeing their parents (and themselves) advocate for their choices and views was heart warming.

I would recommend this book to fans of Tegan and Sara, as well as any young readers navigating adolescence.

Tegan + Sara: Crush
Volume 2 of 'Tegan + Sara'
by: Tegan Quin and Sara Quin
pictures by Tillie Walden
Macmillan childrens
due 10-1-2024

Inspired by the lives of Grammy nominated, indie-pop twin sister duo, Tegan + Sara, this is the sequel to their bestselling contemporary middle grade graphic novel, 'Junior High'. Its about crushes-the groovey-kind-of-love crush, the I got this crushing it, and the crsuh of sometimes things not living up to your dreams. I loved how this represented the complex and exploratory nature of being a teen in middle school, and, sometimes, their angst. Its creative and spunky and fun. The support of family and friends, and lifestyle choices are tactfully and respectfully represented. The importance of adolescents facing challenges that growing up brings-sexual awareness and identity, developing a sense of self and belonging and relationship conflicts are so well done. The illustrations are masterful, using color to convey theme or mood, and match this story so well.
I really enjoyed this wonderful representation of growing up, maturing and middle school. As a long-time fan of Tegan and Sara- I had a crush on one of them-years later the sisters give us crush. Although this is aimes at a middle/high school age reader, I think anyone would enjoy and identity with this book.
Thanks to netgalley for sending this e-book ARC for review.
#TeganSaraCrush

I think I enjoyed this installment more than junior high; I liked the shift from friendship drama to more focus on navigating a music career while also being in grade 8. I felt the storyline with Noa wrapped up a little too conveniently for my taste, but I also enjoyed the lack of drama and focus on the friend group together. I feel like this one also simply had less text that junior high, which made it easier to read and I felt this book overall had more of a focus. Besides music, this book focuses a lot of the girls have crushes, and I liked the add of having a crush on an older girl (isn't that so many queer girls' experience??). The way this wrapped up, it could be the conclusion or the series could continue. I'd love to read more, and I'm hopeful this isn't the end of Tegan and Sara's graphic novels.

As a big fan of Tegan and Sara's music, I have really enjoyed reading these graphic novels. Crush is the second book in the duology and follows Tegan and Sara's journey as they begin to navigate their music career and adolescence. These are books that I wish I had had when I was younger and I absolutely recommend them to readers of any age. I love that these books are set in modern times but written with an autobiographical influence making them a new and creative way to tell stories. I definitely recommend for both fans of Tegan and Sara as well as those looking for a fun, graphic memoir.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc.

I loved this conclusion to the Tegan & Sara Junior High-Crush duology! For those who have not read the first graphic novel, Junior High, I highly recommend reading that one first, as the story in Crush builds on the events of the first book.

I appreciated the direction of Crush. It felt like the story really ran with the relationships that were established in the first book, as well as the complicated feelings associated with these relationships. From broken friendships to sisterhood to first crushes and first kisses, the book really explores the complicated inner lives of middle grade students. I also enjoyed seeing the next steps in (fictionalized) Tegan and Sara's music career. I'm looking forward to adding Crush to my classroom library next to Junior High!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

loved this continuation Graphic Novel duology showing where Tegan and Sarah are in life and how they come together to create their band. I liked how the illustrator used blue and red to distinguish between the two voices.

The 2nd volume fictionalizing Tegan and Sara’s jr high years focused more on them making a name for themselves in the music realm and figuring out who they are. Friendship stories continue from the first one but this one really emphasizes them starting to make it big. Part of me wishes it was more memoir and less fiction based on their lives.

Thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC!

This queer coming of age graphic novel is incredible. Beautiful art with realistic dialogue and great pacing. The main conflicts come from believable sister drama, crushes, and critiques of the music industry. Would love to gift this to a young person figuring out whp they are.

Being a fan of the iconic pop duo is not necessary for enjoying it, either. To be honest I didn't know much about Tegan and Sara before reading this-- I hadn't even read the comic that proceeds it. But the more I learn the more I appreciate and respect their messages and values. I am definitely going to go back and read the first one.

Review also posted on goodreads.

4.5/5

I really enjoyed this. I am not the biggest Tegan and Sarah fan but I think you don’t have to be to enjoy this story.

It showcases Tegan and Sarah’s as musicians and young start. It is a story of growth, learning and family.

Absolutely adorable! We've been fans of Tegan and Sara for years and it was such a fun experience to see how their career took off at such a young age. Crush perfectly encapsulates what it's like to be young, passionate, and scared all at once! The illustrations were so well done and engaging. It's the perfect story for all the feels! Would love to see a screen adaptation in the future (fingers crossed!).

A nice sequel, though not quite as enjoyable as the first volume. I like the way the book explored balancing friendships, family, fame, and a beginning music career.

An excellent follow-up to Junior High. As Tegan and Sara pursue music and start working with a manager, the two conflict more and more over different work styles. As the pressure pushes them apart, they navigate new and old friendships and young love. Tegan and Sara must push aside their conflicts and figure out a way to move forward as budding musicians and sisters.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. As fans of Tegan and Sara’s music for well over 10 years, I have loved watching their journey into writing books and tv shows. It’s fun and interesting to see what may be based on their own experiences and what is more fictional. I absolutely love the art in this series, especially the use of various art styles and colors to represent different conversations. So creative and thematic. I wish I had these kinds of books as a middle grade reader, as I’m sure both Tegan and Sara would say, too! 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up, only for the little angst present which you can’t really blame for being about 8th graders 😉

A sequel that happens to be just as good as, if not better than, the first. It made more than eager to see more

Crush, was equally as good as the first one. I was so excited to jump back into Tegan and Sara’s story. It kept me hooked and the artwork was wonderful and unique. This would make a good addition to any middle school library.
Thanks for the arc

What a great follow-up to "Junior High"! I adore Tillie Walden's work, and I'm so glad that she is continuing her journey with Tegan and Sara to illustrate their books. I thought that this book tackled a lot of difficult subject matter well, from friendship drama to relationship drama to sibling drama (lots of drama!). The book took a deep-dive into the world of being in a band and trying to juggle a career with your own personal life and school, and I thought that the Quinns depicted that struggle well. I enjoyed the dual narratives of Tegan and Sara, and how they managed to capture the fraught nature of sibling life, while also showing how much the two care for each other through it all.

as expected, this was a real winner for me. i love tegan & sara and i can't recommend their stuff enough (music and writing, both).

crush is a cute follow up to junior high, the first graphic novel in their middle school series that is loosely based on their life, upbringing, and the formation of their band and journey as a musical duo.

high school was largely autobiographical (the audiobook is great for that one and includes snippets of them performing as kids) and junior high and crush take a LOT of liberties. events align differently than they happened in reality in this series and different things have changed. this isn't 90's set and includes aspects of social media and cellphones, but the messages here are all pretty much the same: music is hard and music is work.

in junior high, i feel like a lot of the focus was on relationships between tegan and sara and friends and various romances which was cool. crush focused more on the relationship between tegan and sara themselves and how they navigated burgeoning fame. very quickly, they acquire a manager named ramona and are divided down the middle about how she works. tegan's focused on practice and writing, sara just wants to have a personal life. personally, this story was much more interesting to me than that of the first entry into this series.

as always, tillie walden's illustrations just do it for me. tillie walden is the one. i think for younger readers this is a pretty great intro into the world of tegan and sara as well as themes of sisterhood, friendship, learning that life is a balance of hard work AND fun, but also the importance of passion and standing up for yourself.

loved this one very much.

Thank you Net Galley for this e arc. Tegan and Sara : Crush #2 is and adorable sapphic graphic novel. We follow Tegan and Sara as they are exploring middle school and the music industry. The graphic novel is beautifully illustrated and the story is relatable to many people. I love the authentic dialogue of Tegan and Sara at this age. Also, the discussion of the music industry is chef kisses.

I enjoyed Tegan and Sara Quin's first graphic novel, Junior High, and this extension of their coming-of-age and coming out story is just as good. I loved how they adapted their real life experiences to mesh better with modern-day references.

Artist Tillie Walden is phenomenal and really brings an energy to each twin to help define each of them independently of one another.