⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)

Great premise, gorgeous art—but an emotional arc that feels more petty than poignant.

Kathleen Gros’s I Hated You in High School had all the right ingredients for a cozy queer enemies-to-lovers graphic novel: a second-chance setup, forced-proximity hijinks in a cramped attic, and a nostalgic nod to classic rom-coms. Unfortunately, the execution left me more annoyed than amused.

What worked
Expressive artwork: Gros’s gentle line work and soft palettes are easy on the eyes and capture small physical cues—side-eye glares, nervous fidgets—beautifully.

Clear queer rep: It’s nice to see WLW leads navigate post-high-school adulthood without their sexuality being the sole source of conflict.

What didn’t
Irritating protagonists: Tessa and Olive carry a decade-old chip on their shoulders that never feels justified. Their constant sniping turns what should be simmering tension into a loop of petty grievances.

Manufactured angst: The central “misunderstanding” is so flimsy that the characters’ lingering disdain comes off as immature, not heartbreaking. By the time the attic accident forces them to talk, the emotional payoff has no weight.

Rushed resolution: After pages of circular arguments, the final reconciliation arrives almost overnight, making their sudden tenderness feel unearned.

Bottom line
The art and concept hint at a charming rom-com, but the protagonists’ relentless ick-inducing behavior—and their disdain for each other’s hurt feelings—made this a frustrating read. If you need your leads to show genuine growth before the grand gesture, I Hated You in High School may leave you rolling your eyes rather than swooning.

Losing her job gives Tessa an opportunity to return home in time for her parents’ 35th wedding anniversary party. She not only gets roped into helping put it together, but she has to deal with her former friend and high-school bully Olive.

The graphics are done like Family Guy characters. (I was actually thinking of a cartoon strip that sat at the bottom of the page every Sunday, but when I googled for the name of it, I couldn’t find it.) The green and black tones are a little surprising because they usually represent mystery, danger, or nature. None of these are tropes in this book. (Now I read this book on the computer so the colors could be different in hard print.) Everything is easy to read. I love the layout of the conversations, time, and pacing.

Get ready for raw conversations about gender expectations and the pressures we put on ourselves to be loved. I love these honest communications between Olive and Tessa. What they have to say is relatable and sincere. Though there are some moments of miscommunication that are freaking hysterical. I also chuckled out loud during the tour of the basement. Freaking funny.

I love Tessa’s friendship with Frankie. It allows us a direct link to Tessa’s thoughts, but it also shows a healthy relationship in the queer world.

Tessa and Olive are beyond cute. Kathleen Gros does an amazing job forming their relationship today, showing what happened in the past, and not rushing the “happy ending.” I have to say I was surprised by the amount of depth these characters have.

I loved I Hated You in High School. It’s a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance with humor and deep feelings. I’m totally on team Tessa and Olive.

This was a lighthearted romance that made for an easy and enjoyable read. The story flows smoothly, making it perfect for a cozy afternoon or a quick weekend escape. The visual presentation of the book was appealing overall. However, I found myself wishing for a bit more vibrancy in the color palette. A richer use of color could have brought more energy and emotional depth to the scenes, helping to elevate the overall atmosphere of the story.

While the premise was sweet and had potential, I struggled to connect with the characters. They felt somewhat underdeveloped, and their personalities didn’t quite leap off the page. I was hoping for more emotional nuance or backstory to help me invest in their journeys. As a result, it took me a while to feel engaged with their relationships and motivations.

This is cute, cute, cute and mostly harmless. Set in Canada, our frustrated protagonist Tessa is a frustrated artist, working as a barista, publishing her comics online, terribly unlucky in love but incredibly lucky in friendship. When her going-nowhere job ends, she gets a fat severance (oh, Canada) and finally has some spare time to go home and see her family for the first time in years, just in time to celebrate her parents' big milestone anniversary.

This is when she finds out that her parents are renting their basement apartment to

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Her high school nemesis.

Olive Virtue.

Who, quite unfortunately, has gotten incredibly hot since high school ended. And who is being disconcertingly nice to her, considering.

Considering what?

Well, you'll have to wait and see. Because Tessa won't even talk about it. Those memories are relegated to the hidden corner of her brain. She just remembers Olive was her sister's friend, and was horrible to her.

Readers of romance know where this is going, right? I don't need to spell it out?

The high school flashbacks are where the mostly harmless part comes in. Because Olive really was terrible to her. But the present day interactions, the work they both do to bond and eventually become more than former nemeses?

Totally worth the price of admission.

Cute, cute.

Kat Gros does it again! A great queer take on the enemies-to-romance trope, friendship, and family relationships. Vivid characters and dynamic art in a striking grey and black palette.

I Hated You in High School is a great story following two character who were pseudo-enemies in high school. This book does a really good job of show casing teen emotions and how we perceive them once we are past high school. I really liked the art style and though this was a well done read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

When Tessa heads home for her parents' wedding anniversary celebration, she's stunned to find that her ex-friend from high school is now living in their basement. Tensions flare, but there's also another emotion hovering in the air. High school was ten years ago. Can Tessa leave the past behind, and explore her new/old feelings for her nemesis?

This is a fun, kicky graphic novel about hurt feelings, and budding romance. We should all get a chance at a do-over. Who knows how things might have been if we'd done things differently . . .

Aww a super cute read! Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for the eARC.

I've been a fan of Kathleen Gros for a while, so I was excited to pick up their newest work. It delivered, as always, on great art and an engaging storyline. I liked how character-driven this one was, and how queer. The vibes were immaculate.

Second chance romance x mid-twenties crisis, how fun! Olive was the one who made Tessa’s high school time miserable. But when forced proximity pushed them to unpack the past, they realized that there’s some sparks left between them.

It was okay I guess, didn’t leave much impression on me.

This was okay, but not great. I wish there was more meat to the characters and story. A lot of topics are touched on, but don’t feel fleshed out. For example, gentrification and rising rents in Vancouver are mentioned several times, but I’m not sure how it fits into the story outside of it possibly happening to Tessa and Frankie. Overall, I wanted more from Olive and Frankie since I didn’t really like Tessa for the most part.

The art in the book was good. The fact that character growth is seen so well in this book makes it all the more special, not only as teens but the transition and growth of the characters is shown as adults too.

The familial support shown here was very precious and I loved that the most in the book. This graphic novel lived upto the trope of second chance, I wished that the story showed a little more depth but on the whole it was a very cute and engaging read.

This comic is a perfect slice of life transformed into an artistic format. I greatly enjoyed this story and getting to know the characters and the intricacies of their relationships and what they wanted for their lives.

Sometimes the memory of how someone treated you in the past colors completely how you perceive them to be in the present. This comic takes that idea and gives new contexts to past events and allows Tessa to see Olive in a new light.

This comic ultimately became about growth, time, and evolving relationships. I loved it. It felt and was very real and it gave me comfort to see two people mature together and rediscover and revive an old connection.

I recommend this complicated romantic comic. It is so well done and reflective of the realities of how many relationships play out in reality. I greatly enjoyed it.

I throughly enjoyed this graphic novel, I was immediately sucked in by the art and the story line. The characters and their struggles felt so real, and fully developed as I got to see them grow learn and become better versions of themselves through the story. The art fit the story perfectly and created such a beautiful and real world with a simple and consistant design.

This was cute!!! I was thrilled that it was Canadian, and I thought it handled discussions around sexuality/coming out to yourself with nuance and care. I wish it had been longer––I tend to prefer longer graphic novels though, so your mileage may vary!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It was quite easy to read, flowed naturally and focused on some important topics.

As a person of similar age to Tessa who is still finding herself and struggling with her job, it was very easy to connect with her character. She is a strong woman who did not have a pleasant experience in high school. Her older sister's friend Olive used to be her friend but then turned into bullying her due to her own struggles with figuring her own sexuality. Years after, Olive lives in the basement of Tessa's parents house. The girls meet again, Tessa struggles with being near Olive but her feelings come to the surface again. Slowly, the girls start to connect more, have a heart to heart about what happened in high school. They realise they really like each other and a beautiful relationship begins.

It was lovely to follow this story. I felt very intrigued and enjoyed my time with this graphic novel. At first, it was a bit hard to get into the art style, but as I read on, I fell in love with it. It's just a wonderful story touching up on self-discovery, bullying and internalized homophobia surfacing in various ways.

First a big thank you to NetGalley, the Author, the Artist and the Publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this one, it is good for some lighthearted fun reading.

It's a entertaining queer graphic novel that gives you an idea what it's like dating and exploring ones identity both as an adult and as a teen. And how miscommunication or the lack of communication or just assuming you know what someone is thinking/feeling can lead to awkward or hurtful situations, for both parties.

I like how Tessa's parents are incredibly loving towards both their daughters and their friends.

The art is simple but it give's a certain debt to the whole story.
And though the story might be a bit predictable, it is wholesome and a real feel good read.

4.25 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed my read of “I Hated You in High School”.
The art was well done and the pacing of the story was spectacular. It was a non-stop read for me and I relished each page. The layout and visual storytelling complemented the narrative beautifully.
While I was worried that the tone of the title was a little dark for my usual taste, the story was very well-balanced and even included lovely portrayals of supportive family and community (which are always fantastic to read!).

All-in-all, a great read and one that I definitely recommend!

I was honored to be able to enjoy an ARC of this book through NetGalley. Thank you to author/illustrator, Kathleen Gros, and Andrews McMeel Publishing.

So charming! A very lighthearted lesbian romance graphic novel. I'm a sucker for some quality queer "candy" reading - meaning stories that are sweet, fun, and easy to read. This checked all those boxes :o)

“I Hated You in High School” was a fun graphic novel read! I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Tessa and Olive. The author does a great job at describing experiences of queer individuals. I found it to be an easy and enjoyable read!

‘I Hated You in Highschool’ is a fun, charming romance with a limited color palette.

It’s very tropey, very fun and a reminder that queer joy is formed in many different ways. Sometimes you fill yourself with queer hate for a girl you had a crush on that one time and then SOMETIMES that girl turns out to be also queer and living with your parents??? And then you decide, okay whatever, gotta try I guess. And sometimes that ends in a relationship! Oh, the wonders of messy situations and messy characters.

This had a fun cast of characters and simple illustration style that paired well with the story and narrative and characters that truly leapt of the page.