A YA graphic retelling of Much Ado About Nothing with an expressive art style and an accessible story. I'm positive many teens will love this book, and, for librarians, Abuzz is a great buy to flesh out your shelves.

First things first - Abuzz proudly features a queer and diverse cast. Characters' gender identities and expressions are not points of conflict or contention. Beatriz's and Ben's conflict stems from her learning and understanding her demisexuality, and that's about it. I know there will be teens who will pick up Abuzz and see queer kids just living normal lives in media for the first time.

The panel layout is pretty standard, the linework has a sketchy quality to it, and the colors are in cool tones. Readers who normally don't do comics should have no difficulty navigating this one.

Story-wise, Abuzz is pretty faithful to Much Ado About Nothing, though to be honest, I've only seen a community theater production of the play a number of years ago. It hits the main points of the source material, and this would make a great book club or companion read to the original play.

If I'm being critical, I liked this book, but I didn't love it. It felt pretty surface-level throughout. But I can't fault it for playing it safe.

Content warning: Our trouble-making characters are shown vaping, caught smoking weed in the bathroom, and using strong language. There are also depictions of bullying. Small kisses are shown here and there.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Mad Cave Studios for the digital ARC.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in November. This was nice. This is a queer modern day version of a Shakespeare work, and this changed up work, worked really well.

Thank you for the eARC! This adaption of Much Ado About Nothing was super cute and I love it. The artwork was wonderful and it was very inclusive. I absolutely love Shakespeare and this adaptation was great for an updated world.

I'm not usually that brutal, but this graphic novel was not IT on all aspects. I don't even know why i finished it.

I will give it two stars because I don't want to be too harsh, but bear this short review in mind if you happen to look at it before requesting.

I read this in one sitting! Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite play, so I really enjoyed this modern, queer take on it. The art was well done, if a little clunky at times. Lots of bright colors and plenty of diverse characters. This was fast to read with plenty of nods to Shakespeare.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.