Great tension between the visual story and the text one, and a twist I did not see coming. Mythological beasts, outcast teens and tense little love stories. ( )

This is a really well done story. The book alternates text and graphic novel chapters, and there are two stories which tie together near the end. The text follows a pair of sisters and their friends and first boyfriends over a summer and into the fall, while the graphic novel follows a single Medusa girl and her struggles and high school experience. I really enjoyed the art.

I also had one pretty big personal issue with the whole book. The girl on the cover, to me, looks like she could be a number of races. All of the graphic novel pieces are in black and white, and while some characters in those parts are clearly one race or another, I think you could read her however you choose. And in the novel part of the text, for the most part, characters races aren't made explicit. Except, on page six, when the younger sister, Lulu "giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny white hand." It's the only place where skin color is mentioned at all. And I really wish it hadn't been. Or, that they had used any word other than white. Pale, light, something else. I would have liked it much more if it could be read as a racially diverse story, which, despite that one line, I tended to see it as.

A while ago, I read Brandon Sanderson's [b:Warbreaker|1268479|Warbreaker|Brandon Sanderson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1240256182s/1268479.jpg|1257385], and something similar happened to me. Throughout most of the book I'd envisioned one character as looking Indian; dark hair, deep tan skin. I'm not sure if I inferred that via the character's name, or some other character description, since it's been a while since I've read it. But near the very end that character is plainly described as white with blond hair. And it completely messed up my mental picture, which bothered me enough that it's stuck with me this long.

With books that have fantastical elements, I really enjoy when they have a diverse cast of characters, and, barring the authors intent, it's nice to be able to construct a mental picture on your own. One throw away description, like "tiny white hand" can really change the reading experience. And in this case, I think it would have been a better book without that one word. ( )

I like books that are unique and I found the alternating chapters between written word and graphic illustration refreshing. The story was a quick read, but also a powerful and emotional read. This is very much a coming of age story about a high schooler in love, dealing with a sister in love and the complex interactions between sisters, friends, parents, and boyfriends. I felt these relationships were realistically portrayed because teens can be overly emotional and jealous and scared. I felt a tad confused when I started the story, but once I got into the book I couldn't wait for the roller coaster to come to an end. ( )

I like books that are unique and I found the alternating chapters between written word and graphic illustration refreshing. The story was a quick read, but also a powerful and emotional read. This is very much a coming of age story about a high schooler in love, dealing with a sister in love and the complex interactions between sisters, friends, parents, and boyfriends. I felt these relationships were realistically portrayed because teens can be overly emotional and jealous and scared. I felt a tad confused when I started the story, but once I got into the book I couldn't wait for the roller coaster to come to an end. ( )

I like books that are unique and I found the alternating chapters between written word and graphic illustration refreshing. The story was a quick read, but also a powerful and emotional read. This is very much a coming of age story about a high schooler in love, dealing with a sister in love and the complex interactions between sisters, friends, parents, and boyfriends. I felt these relationships were realistically portrayed because teens can be overly emotional and jealous and scared. I felt a tad confused when I started the story, but once I got into the book I couldn't wait for the roller coaster to come to an end. ( )