The Love Report

by BeKa, Maya (Illustrator)

Overview

BFFs Grace and Lola try to unravel the mystery of romance with a plan to observe, study, and analyze the ways of love at their middle school in the first book in this addictive graphic novel series.

BFFs Grace and Lola talk about everything related to romance—and have lots of questions: What about the mysterious allure of the popular girl at school? And the rebellious goth with the reputation? And boys. They don’t quite understand what makes some school romances soar to legendary heights, while other flirtations fizzle. Lola has an idea—they’ll observe, study, and analyze all the couples at their Junior High—and compile their findings as The Love Report. Surprises await them, and force them to learn to see beyond appearances in this fast-paced series opener. They’ll also discover secrets between themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662640421
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Series:	The Love Report
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Lexile:	HL300L (what's this?)
File size:	95 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

BeKa is a code name for a well-known pair of French writers: Caroline Roque and Bertrand Escaich, both who are based in Toulouse in southwestern France. Caroline was studying for a doctoral degree in biology, when she was overtaken by her passion for storytelling. She and Bertrand—known for his comics script writing—became a writing duo and have never looked back. They have worked together on several successful series in France, including Chinn and The Misfits Club for Girls.

Maya, whose real name is Martina Mura, is an Italian-born cartoonist from the seaside town of Alghero, Sardinia. From a young age, Maya loved writing and drawing comics. As she grew older, she discovered Manga—which led her to attend the European Manga Academy for two years. In 2021, Maya joined forces with BeKa to create, where she uses delicate, lively line to perfectly capture the uncertainties and curiosities of two young teenagers discovering love.

Editorial Reviews

A School Library Journal Good Comics for Kids Weekly Pick
Featured on Reading Middle Grade's 60 Best Books for 8th Graders list

"Ah, young love! By turns sweet and dramatic, this graphic novel encompasses all of the angst, warmth, and bewilderment of experiencing all types of love - romantic, familial, and companionable - as a middle grader." — Courtney Yee, Changing Hands Bookshop

"This fast-paced read hits all the dramatic notes... art is vibrant and will be highly appealing to manga fans." — School Library Journal

“An excellent addition to the gallery of tween/teen domestic titles like Telgemeier’s Drama, Chmakova’s Berrybrook Middle Schools Series, and the romance oriented Baby Sitter’s Club….Definitely going on my list for tween graphic novel readers’ advisory for tweens looking for read-a-likes for the titles above.” — Chloë St. Claire, Multnomah County Library, Portland OR

"Will hit home for many young teens that are confused about crushes and love and all the intricacies.....I often get asked for early teen books that have friendship as a main theme but without it being catty.....I'd highly recommend this for about 12-15 year olds, but it could resonate with older teens too." — Dephne De Grandpre, Kidsbooks Vancouver

"I loved The Love Report. It was sweet and wonderful and timely. Everyone needs to read this book and feel the warmth and realness of these amazing characters.” — Karen Blankenship, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

“The PERFECT book for middle grade students! The artwork is beautiful and the story is masterful. This book fluidly covers so many different instances of love to shape what love can mean for anyone. It also briefly goes into the topic of boundaries and unwanted touch which is extremely important for our youth to understand.” — Kathleen Daniels, Librarian, University of South Florida

"A fun read with gorgeous art on every page. Stunning to look at with a good core message about female friendship." — Jacey Anderson, Rediscovered Bookshop

"Authentic representation of young antics and plots that is filled with genuine characters.  Love the dialogue between the characters.” — Came Johnson, Pittsvlvania County Public Library System (VA)

“Portrays the frenetic pace of breakups and makeups very well….one to have on hand for readers who have worked their way through other titles with lots of drama like Miller's Besties: Work it Out, Holms' Real Friends, Jamieson's Roller Girl, and the works of Raina Telgemeier.” — Ms. Yingling Reads

"A great book for anyone who wants a middle grade novel about navigating complex relationships (of all types - platonic, romantic, familial, and so on) as well as anyone who wants to read a book with a strong cast of female characters. I feel like this would be good for fans of Raina Telgemeier's "Drama" or Svetlana Chmakova's Berrybrook Middle School series." — Ash, Netgalley

From the Publisher

2023-04-12
Two middle schoolers set out to investigate what love truly means.

Lola loves love and wants to understand it better now that she has a crush on a classmate. Her best friend, Grace, whose parents’ arguments at home are escalating, has a more cynical view of romance, but she’s still willing to help. So the pair go around school, interviewing couples and gathering gossip about who has a crush on whom. For all the nuanced issues this graphic novel, translated from French, attempts to explore—among them slut-shaming and the pain of first love—too many shallow caricatures remain. Nearly all the boy characters come off as unfeeling, selfish jerks whom girls are justified in mistreating when their feelings aren’t returned. Scattered storylines mix with contradictory takeaways—the boys are rightfully depicted as sexist for ranking the girls by physical attractiveness, but the girls’ decision to reciprocate comes across as justifiable revenge. And even after Lola and Grace realize that Felicity, a beautiful and popular classmate, has hidden depths, Lola still refers to her as a “bimbo.” Further, the boys’ objectification of Felicity is framed as inevitable rather than something to push back against. Many characters have similar facial designs, giving the artwork a generic look. Lola, Felicity, and most other characters present White; Grace is Black.

A superficial and meandering exploration of friendship and love. (Graphic fiction. 10-15)

Kirkus Reviews