Read This Wacky Graphic Novel About Social Media Influencers and a Maybe-Murder
Hi book lovers!
Last time I checked my Instagram, everyone was on the beach! And if you say 'beach,' you immediately must say 'book.' And not just any book, but a mad cool graphic novel!
I personally am a big fan of graphic novels and manga, and I'm always on a lookout for the next awesome thing. And while I read plenty of them this year, Snotgirl is definitely something special!
SO dive in and let me know if you want me to talk more about graphic novels by upvoting this post!
Sending love & books your way,
Katarina
Authors: Bryan Lee O'Malley & Leslie Hung: Snotgirl Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Pages: Both volumes are 136 pages
Keywords: cray influencers, allergy bouts, murder, girl love
Snapshot: As soon as social media star Lottie Person meets mysterious Cool Girl weird accidents start to follow them around including maybe a murder. Also she might be in love with her.
Why I think you need this book: This graphic novel is hysterical! Also REALLY pretty and weird enough to be your next obsession.
No-Spoiler Book Talk
Lottie Person is really pretty, wears effortlessly chic clothes, and has a TON of followers and admirers. Every Saturday she hangs with her two friends, Cute Girl and Normgirl, at what they like to call 'Haters' Brunch.' Lottie's life appears to be truly perfect. At least on the screen.
Off the screen, things are a little bit messier. Lottie is far from glamorous, particularly when she suffers from terrible allergy bouts and often finds herself basically covered in her own snot. (Yeah, the title Snotgirl isn't metaphorical :) Moreover, her boyfriend dumped her for a younger version of herself, and her friends are just really awful human beings.
And then one day, while ordering her usual hal-caf cold brew with non-fat almond milk and one pump of lavender syrup, she meets Caroline aka Cool Girl. Caroline is oh so pretty and oh so damn cool, and Lottie decides to make her her BFF. Also she is crushing on her pretty hard which includes sex dreams and maybe murdering her. Question mark.
At the same time Dr. Dick prescribes her an experimental allergy medication which works like magic, but also makes everything a little hazier and blurrier. And that's when truly weird things start to happen. Maybe even a murder. Or two. Or three. But who can tell for sure. :)
Guys, Snotgirl is so on point and SO hilarious. Especially if you're familiar with the details of lives of social media influencers and their fake digital lives. (Have you seen the movie Ingrid Goes West? So this is similar in feel and taste:) One of my favorite moments takes place in volume 2 when another murder goes down, this time at a desert hotel. But the girls are dressed up already and decide to still do their sunset photoshoot because murder or not, they can't leave without sufficient amount of content. The story is truly wacky!
There are two volumes of Snotgirl out so far, and I recommend you just buy them both and take them to your next beach trip. Graphic novels are particularly great if you've been lazy with your reading and need a confidence boost by actually finishing a book. You'll finish Snotgirl in no time.
Cool fact about Leslie Hung
In volume 2 of Snotgirl, comic artist Leslie Hung included her though process and sketches of the characters and how she developed their outfits. For example, there's a ghost of a murdered fashion blogger at one point in the comic, and the ghost wears Free People. "I liked the idea of the ghost in a dress that could easily be interpreted as very boho chic or a bit modern Victorian," she writes. "The ambiguity of whether something is old or new, or if it looks good or bad, is something I think even super-fashionable people struggle with at times." I loved this.