3.5 stars

On the surface, Milo and Liam make unlikely friends. But being outcasts at their school brings them together and forms a close friendship. At least, until something more starts to develop under the surface. They start dating in secret, with Liam terrified that his strict father will find out. But as their feelings get more serious, they have to decide what their future will hold.

Thanks to First Second and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Tripping Over You by Suzana Harcum to review! I always have to check out something that says it’s great for fans of Heartstopper, and I’d say for the most part, this is pretty accurate. It has similar vibes of friends falling in love at an English school with one of the boys unsure of coming out. It is one I’d had to teens looking for something similar to Heartstopper!

However, I think because this was a webcomic, we don’t quite get the character depth that I wanted. From what I’ve heard, this was published a page (or two?) at a time, and I think that made it difficult in the character development department. I wanted more about Liam especially, because he had such a complex relationship with his dad. Though, this is only the first volume, so maybe that stuff gets fleshed out later in the story!

The art style was fun; I think it overall fit the story itself pretty well. Not my favorite that I’ve seen, though. All in all, this is a good introduction to the series, and I am interested in seeing where it goes next.

Sweet and funny, Tripping Over You is a nice romantic story with two loveable characters at it's heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this to review. My opions, good or bad, are completely my own!

This is such a sweet coming of age story of Milo and Liam who are at boarding school and discusses topics of sexuality, grief and loss, mental health, bullying, and more.

Liam is quite shy and struggling to acknowledge and come to terms with his sexuality and his relationship with Milo. Milo is gregarious and open about his sexuality, and while his father is approving, his pregnant mother is not.

I was unaware this was a comic series that started in 2008, so think Heartstoppers before Heartstoppers was a thing.

I do believe that fans of Heartstoppers will fall in love with the characters in this. While I am not the target demographic, I am glad that I read it as it is something that I can recommend to my teen clients as a therapist.

I will be continuing in this series.

This book was cute and heartwarming. I enjoyed seeing their friendship turn into something more. It does give me a bit of Hearstopper vibes but I don’t think it hits quite like that series. I think this series can flow a bit better between scenes and sometimes I did feel a bit confused as to what happened and would have to read back a few pages just to understand what happened. I wished there was a bit more context.

For fans of Heartstopper, this narrative of two boys at a boarding school addresses more "real" things than Heartstopper's ethereal happiness. We discuss first times, protection during sex, coming out, and going to therapy. This narrative is well-rounded and I am looking forward to reading more volumes!

I have been going back and fourth with this one, with 3 to 4 stars. Settling on 3 stars and here's why. I liked it but didn't love it.

The characters didn't seem fleshed out. Yes I know you can only do so much in a graphic novel but still. I couldn't get behind the main characters relationship. I really liked Milo but Liam was just meh. I didn't like how Mila had to pretend all the time, that him and Liam wasn't together. I get why not ready to come out but why, because his father wouldn't approve, their had to be something else going on in his personal life. Didn't know why he was going to therapy till the very end. But he was no further ahead in the long run because of the therapy.

I usually read graphic novels all in one sitting maybe that's why it wasn't a hit for me. I will do a reread before reading vol 2 just to be fair.

Thank to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC to review.

Perfect YA book! Can’t wait for the physical copy to actually buy it. One that is out of the closet and the other is still afraid to come out! Dealing with hardships and cute awkwardness! Easy to read and the story is wonderful.

Very sweet story of two teens in their last year of boarding school who finally admit their mutual crushes.
One is out and proud, and the other is deeply closeted and afraid his father will find out.
Watching them navigate this new terrain, while not 100% realistic, is very cute.
The art is beautiful and realistically drawn.
I'm assuming Book 2 takes place in university as well as drama with Liam accepting himself.
Recommended Punlishing date Aug 19, 2005
Thanks to @netgalley and First Second Books , for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to First Second Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really sweet start to a series! I’m looking forward to where the story takes Milo and Liam with their relationship. This was definitely just the very beginning of the story, but I enjoyed their communication and quirky selves slowly working up the courage to tell each other they like each other. Just super cute.

Can’t wait to read the next one!!

This graphic novel captures the sweet, messy beginnings of Milo and Liam’s relationship with a lot of heart. The art and storytelling blend well to show their struggles and growth, though some parts feel a bit rushed or lightly explored. Still, it’s a charming start that sets up their journey nicely and will appeal to fans of coming-of-age romance.

7270762
Shilo Quetchenbach's review
Jul 16, 2025 · edit

it was amazing
bookshelves: arc-review, favorites, from-publisher, netgalley, graphic-novels

I really enjoyed this! The friends-to-lovers romance of Milo and Liam is very cute and full of the awkward getting-together are-we-aren't-we moments that makes reading high school and college romance so much fun.

I really liked the art style! The characters faces and body language are very expressive and do an excellent job conveying their emotions. The muted color palette works really well and is pleasant to look at.

I like that the story isn't just focused on Milo and Liam, but also on their families and friends. It makes the characters and world feel more fleshed out. I wish it had been longer, which would have allowed the characters' relationships to unfold more naturally instead of being occasionally jarring.

I also really like the side-plot of Liam and his dad and his cousin, and how he begins to learn to stand up for himself.

I really enjoyed reading it and immediately jumped into the second volume to get more.

*Thanks to First Second for providing an early copy for review.

A cute story about two secondary friends who learn they may be more than friends. As they explore the new boundaries of this friendship, they both deal with other issues of friends, family and school.

Definitely would recommend for those who like graphic novels and love stories.

This book was so adorable!!! I loved it so much! Milo and Liam are just so cute! And each of them have tons of problems that they are working through! At times, it was a bit heavy, but there's hope that they will get through their problems. It was just such a good book, a sweet romance with a bit of life at school. I can't wait to see what's in store for them next!

★ ★ ★ ★



This is my first graphic novel series I’ve read, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but since it was compared to Heartstopper I was definitely interested.

In book one, we are introduced to friends Milo and Liam, who are about to graduate from their final year of boarding school. This leads to Milo confessing to Liam, and the book follows them as they date in secret.


I really liked the romance between Milo and Liam, but would’ve liked seeing more of their relationship.
The parts of their friendship that we do see doesn’t really do their relationship justice, especially since Milo had been in love with Liam for years.

That being said that was the only part of book one that I didn’t like and I’m already jumping into book two, can’t wait to see how their relationship develops.

"Tripping Over You" is very relatable and I love the main characters Milo and Liam! They are very cute together and I just can't get enough of their story! I can't wait to see what happen next for them and their dynamic together and whatever challenges are heading their way! The more I read the more I got into the book and just couldn't wait to see more of them! I also loved all their friends like Archie, Kat and Noel! They all just meshed together so well and their feelings and actions always felt realistic or at least reasonable, which I feel like gets overlooked a lot with many characters now making the worst decision possible that shouldn't even have been a consideration, while these characters while still not having the best decision, they are still logical ones, and ones that teens especially would go through and consider, which makes me love this book and these characters so much more!

TRIPPING OVER YOU, VOL 1. by Suzana Harcum and Owena White is a young adult graphic novel that follows Milo and Liam and their friendship that grows into more. We see grumpy/sunshine, high school shenanigans, friendships, coming-of-age, exploration of sexuality, mental health themes, and more. The friends to lovers romance progresses naturally throughout the story, and it's fun, messy, and realistic.

I really liked the characters - they are well developed and feel like real people, and they're entertaining to read about. I'm excited to see their growth and the development of the romance in the upcoming volumes. The art is really pretty as well.

I definitely recommend this if you want a fun, fast-paced YA graphic novel with queer romance and great characters.

I honestly really enjoyed this read! It was heartwarming and light, but still had more heavy topics at the same time. While not explicitly focusing on the "bad" and more aimed at being a lighthearted read, it still felt really strong. The little hints of the "darker" parts of their story were still so intertwined in their characters, especially in Liam's case. I liked that his being withdrawn/frightened is the product of his upbringing and the way that it felt really intertwined with the story! Milo is so sweet that it balances out really well, in my opinion, but was not represented as a "fixing" thing.

The actual story, while again, a simple and lighthearted story about them getting together, was still intriguing and enjoyable. It also wasn't a complete focus on them only and kept a focus on their respective friendships/family outside of their relationship at the same time. It made them both feel more fleshed out as actual characters/people than as simply two boyfriends.

I really did like this book quite a bit! The art style is also so good, I really enjoyed it! Their expressions/actions were really well drawn and made it easy to fall into the story!

Good introduction to graphic novels. Really enjoyed the communication that the characters had. I liked how the story progressed forward throughout each chapter.

The RayView: ✨✨✨✨✨
The HeatRay:🔥🔥🔥
How It Be Spicin’?:
.
Ahhhhh! If you like Heartstopper, I have a feeling you’ll also like Tripping Over You. I love the awkward beginnings of Milo and Liam’s story. The teasing innuendos throughout the whole novel had me giggling, just like the developing relationship between our MCs. I really enjoyed seeing Liam and his cousin too. Sometimes that outside perspective can make us see things in a new light. I’m glad for Liam standing up for himself and can’t wait to read what happens next!
Note: I don’t usually rate The Heatray with teens but as it does happen in the novel, I didn’t want to not acknowledge it, hence the 3🔥 for confirming.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

this story follows a closeted high school boy named Liam whose mom is dead and whose dad is controlling and close-minded. his whole issue is that he holds everything in and doesn’t open up, but he makes very little character development here. I feel like I barely know anything about him since he’s so closed off. his character felt cliché and not very fleshed out.
the friends-to-lovers romance was frankly toxic. Milo is controlling, inconsiderate, and his charisma is off putting. he has a point that Liam should set clear boundaries, but he never asks before kissing or touching him, and says weird things and jokes out of place. Liam even said that before he told him he was flirting, he thought he was just being mean.
the story moves like only a short time has passed but then I find it’s been over a year. this was very confusing, especially when Milo suddenly and too casually says I love you. and then Liam NEVER says it back, and that’s never addressed.