Tegan Quin

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

After a rather boring and underwhelming summer, eighth grade is about to start for identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin. Naturally, this is precisely when their fledgling music career begins to take off: as it just so happens, the girls' band, Gunk, was chosen as a finalist in the contest Tegan surreptitiously entered them in at the beginning of the season. Although - spoiler alert! - they don't win, they do gain the attention of their favorite singer, Nite Fever, as well as her manager, Ramona Keys - and of course Chloe's cousin, DJ Kukumber. Now, in addition to navigating the normal perils of junior high - unrequited crushes, homework, and sometimes-fraught friendships - the Quins also have to decide how much they're willing to sacrifice to make it in the music industry.

CRUSH is the second and final installment in Tegan and Sara's middle grade duology. I just happened to grab of a copy of JUNIOR HIGH from my local library last month, thoroughly enjoyed it, and jumped at the sequel when it came up on Netgalley. I suspect I'm not the target demographic, since I approached the series as a Tillie Walden fangirl, as opposed to a Tegan and Sara fan. I absolutely adore her illustrations and storytelling style; she single-handedly managed to pull me back into Robert Kirkman's THE WALKING DEAD 'verse with CLEMENTINE (like many fans, it's a love-hate relationship I have with TWD tbh).

So, not knowing much/anything about Tegan and Sara, CRUSH (and JUNIOR HIGH) is shockingly adept at creating characters who are extremely relateable, even though their life circumstances are anything but. (Let's be honest, how many child prodigies are in the audience?) Tegan and Sara have different ideas about what their band should look like, and struggle to remain true to themselves even as their manager tries to repackage them as a salable commodity. In their personal lives, Sara explores her feelings for the elusive (or not?) Roshini, while Tegan nurses the broken heart that comes with crushing on an older girl. Lucky them: they get to live out their growing pains in front of a live audience, in the form of BTS snippets.

In the afterward, Tegan and Sara describe the tween girls as their "fictional doppelgängers." Whereas the Quins grew up in the '80s and '90s, the world here is set firmly in the present day, complete with smart phones, livestreaming, and wifi. It's kind of interesting trying to figure out which bits are true (or not), although I guess this is less of an issue for the non- (or casual) fan, like me. Some of the details did feel a little unrealistic; for example, I cannot for the life of me imagine a manager taking her firing so well. (Idk, maybe they're a little more laid back in Canada, even the show biz types.)

As a vegan, I took a special interest in Sara's burgeoning veganism. (I believe she went vegetarian in JUNIOR HIGH, possibly to impress Roshini?) Tegan is initially annoyed at her twin's efforts to catch her crush's eye, but Sara's veganism becomes a bigger issue when managers and stylists keep pushing leather on her. (Ramona's objection that she's not EATING the dead animal, so just what is the problem? - I'm paraphrasing - is kind of perfect. We vegans have heard it all, folks.)

Naturally, immediately after finishing CRUSH, I feverishly googled different variations of "Tegan and Sara" + "vegan." Disappointingly, the top result was (always!) a Livejournal article from 2009, "Tegan and Sara--not vegan, and actually pretty obnoxious about it." (lolz) Sara did write a forward to VEGAN CUPCAKES TAKE OVER THE WORLD, but it is curiously devoid of the word "vegan." And then I ... kind of lost interest?

But yeah, I am left wondering whether Sara went through a vegan "phase" in junior high, or whether this was just one of the fictionalized bits, perhaps meant to illustrate the clash between Sara's beliefs and self-identity and the pressures of stardom. I suppose it doesn't really matter, since the representation wasn't bad and I quite like how Nite Fever stepped in to save the day. There's definitely a commentary about the perils of child stardom lurking in there.

CRUSH and JUNIOR HIGH are middle grade graphic novels that have appeal well beyond its tween demographic. Walden's artwork is captivating as usual, and the Quins' story is as engaging as it is unusual.… (más)

It's Tegan and Sara's first year in junior high. A lot is going on: friend drama, feelings for girls, and a growing emotional distance between the sisters. Things are so different and confusing; will they ever be close again? Adroitly captures the melodrama of the tween years and provides a ray of hope for reconnection. The backmatter inspired me to check out their album "Hey, I'm Just Like You." The pacing feels hectic and yes, I had a hard time telling Tegan from Sara. But it will click with the intended audience.… (más)

I'm not a real follower of Tegan and Sara's music, but I do like the four songs and two short NPR concerts of theirs that have made their way into my iTunes. I am definitely a fan of Tillie Walden though and grabbed this book from the library to admire her art.

Junior High is a fairy typical bit of middle-school fiction, hitting Judy Blume topics like friendship drama, bullying, menstruation and bras. Less typically, the twin sisters here -- based on the authors -- also have LGBTQIA+ issues and start pursuing a music career. It's a bit long and meandering, but was never bored thanks to the sisters' relationship. I'll probably check out the sequel coming out later this year.

Comics about twins can be frustrating when it comes to telling the two apart, but Walden offers up a couple cues to help differentiate. Sara is associated with a color I called scarlet or salmon to pick up on her S initial, and her name is nearly an anagram for "ears" which is good since her ears are almost always visible. Tegan has a teal color associated with her and her ears are usually ouT of sighT (weak, I know).

Side note: I'm listening to Tegan and Sara music on Spotify while writing this, and it's nice. I'm still not a super fan, but I can see why people would be.… (más)