Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel

by Aimee Friedman, Christine Norrie (Illustrator)

Overview

BREAKING UP is something different for the Gossip Girls set: all the drama, all the romance, all the style -- illustrated in juicy graphic novel format."There's a fine line between a friend and an enemy. One minute there's all this trust, and laughter, and love. And the next minute . . . there's hurt. And cruelty. And betrayal."Meet Chloe Sacks: Thoughtful, artistic, and a junior at Georgia O'Keeffe School for the Arts, nicknamed "Fashion High" for its trendy student body. Along with her best friends, Erika, Isabel, and MacKenzie, she's looking forward to a sparkling year of parties and romance.And it is an eventful year. But not quite what she expected. Who'd have thought that falling in love would be such a disaster?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545599931
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/25/2013
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	87 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Aimee Friedman is the New York Times bestselling author of Two Summers, Sea Change, The Year My Sister Got Lucky, South Beach, and more. Born and raised in Queens, Aimee now lives in Manhattan.
Christine Norrie is a multiple Eisner-nominated artist and writer. She co-created the graphic novels Breaking Up with Aimee Friedman and Hopeless Savages with Jen van Meter and Chynna Clugston-Major, and has contributed to the Black Canary and Lumberjanes comics. She lives on a farm in Upstate New York, where she raises hens and maintains a large garden. Visit her online at christinenorrie.com.

Editorial Reviews

Friedman's (South Beach) narrator, Chloe Sacks, is a self-described "aspiring artist, chronic daydreamer, borderline neurotic," and tells the story of her junior year at Georgia O'Keeffe School for the Arts in flashbacks. The volume strikes a sure balance between realistic issues and teenage sarcasm. For instance, the school is nicknamed "Fashion High" because of the ridiculous sartorial standard set by the students. Chloe is distraught to notice that her lifelong best friend, Mackenzie, is becoming distant, shallow and increasingly obsessed with popularity. Two-time Eisner nominee Norrie depicts a hilarious panel for the image of Mackenzie's "nightmare... los[ing] our precarious social footing": the tops-turvy friends are being sucked into a black hole labeled "unpopular!" Chloe befriends nerdy-but-oddly-handsome Adam, despite the damage such a friendship could do to her "popular girl" status. The two become a couple, but Chloe keeps it a secret from Mackenzie and their two other "inner circle" friends, Erika and Isabel. When the trio discovers Chloe's secret, she inadvertently alienates all three friends—as well as Adam. The stakes get higher: Erika deals with a pushy boyfriend who wants sex, Mackenzie's scheming social climbing explosively backfires. In the final chapters, Friedman moves from giggly gossip, instant messages and lattes, to a thoughtful exploration of the difficult time the girls have reconciling their friendships, and learning to accept each other for who they are. For teens going through similar dilemmas, this book will likely be a great source of comfort. Ages 15-up. (Mar.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 6–8
Dreamy, artistic Chloe alienates her friends Erika, Isabel, and Mackenzie when she falls for Adam, the biggest outcast in their high school. The conventional cartoon style of the black-and-white drawings is attractive and accessible, giving the story the look of a hipper "Archie" comic. The resulting tone is light and squeaky clean. Chloe and Adam's romance is sweetly awkward, and the friends ultimately support one another with heartfelt advice. There are some mature themes: Mackenzie has already lost her virginity, and Erika's boyfriend is pressuring her to have sex. Still, this entertaining yet simplistic story may appeal to tweens more than teens.
—Lisa GoldsteinCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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