Paperback, 224 pages
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Read from: October 18-19, 2021
Stand-alone
Source: Bought
TW: Gore, Death, Violence Attempted Sexual Assault
For Readers Interested In: Paranormal, Romance, Werewolves, Graphic Novels, LGBTQ+ Characters (Lesbian), YAPretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this fast-paced, sharply funny, and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle. When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either: they’re werewolves. Fans of Mariko Tamaki and Elana K. Arnold will devour the snappy dialogue, vivid artwork, and timely social commentary.
When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.
Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.
But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed, and the cops begin searching for a serial killer. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.
Lisa Sterle’s stylish illustrations paired with Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sharp writing make Squad a fun, haunting, and fast-paced thriller that will resonate with fans of Riverdale, and with readers of This Savage Song, Lumberjanes, and Paper Girls.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was a little wary about this one because it was a graphic novel. I don’t normally buy them, because I hardly read them. But this one was a little too good to pass up! And listen, this was the I was not disappointed!
Becca transfers to a new school that is way more elite than what she was used to. She gets invited to hang out with the “popular kids” and she quickly finds out that they are not exactly who she thought they were. They’re actually werewolves…. And they kill those terrible guys who harm women. But then one of them kills a guy accidentally and things start to go haywire…..
This may sound weird, but the best part of this was the artwork. I LOVED the color scheme and the way the characters were drawn. It was so good I looked at the art while I was reading and then I went back and looked over it again. And the color scheme is dark, lots of purples and blacks, but there’s neon colors like orange and yellow and stuff. And it all works together so good.
And the plot is great as well! There’s no holes or anything either! (This is usually a problem when I read graphic novels and novels in verse) I did wish there was something that explained how all of this came to be (besides the alpha thing) but it wasn’t there. But overall, I liked the way they fought the gross guys and were this pact of friends who are so tight.
Speaking of the characters, I did have some problems with them. They called themselves feminists because they were taking out the gross guys, but they treated the other girls in the story bad too. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t offing them like they were the guys, but they were acting like they were in the Mean Girls movie. If they were feminists, they would’ve been upping the other women in the book instead.
What I didn’t care for was the ending tho. It was way too rushed. Like out of nowhere it was like BOOM their career in this is done and then BOOM this last thing happens and then over. No explanation, no nothing. I wanted to see so much more like I had in the beginning. It just seemed weird that they had it done it in the beginning but they didn’t do it for the end.
For the most part this book was so good! The ending kind of destroys an inkling for a sequel, but maybe we might get lucky. If not, we’re super lucky that this one is so readable. We’re lucky to be able to read this one over and over. So if you’re on the fence, jump over the side. It’s worth it!
Overall, I give this
