Review: "Paper Planes" by Jennie Wood

Paper Planes by Jennie Wood
Published May 2023 via Maverick
★★★★

It's summer, but Leighton isn't at tennis camp as planned: instead, she and Dylan are at a summer program in the woods—for therapy, for punishment. They were friends, before, or more than friends, or maybe not friends anymore, and then there was the Incident, and now they're here. Here, and communicating mostly via paper planes.

This graphic novel grew on me—the art doesn't entirely fit my personal tastes (miles beyond anything I could draw, mind! But I'm still a bit confused about why Dylan appears to have a receding hairline), but it's well executed, and there are interesting relationship dynamics that develop throughout the book. I love that we see variety of sexuality and gender, and that it's almost never treated as a big deal. A few things are unclear to me, like Leighton's parents' treatment of Dylan (in some ways they're very accepting, but in other ways they're eager to reject Dylan), Leighton's sister's story, etc. What sold me, though, is the end—which I won't spoil, but suffice it to say that I'm always happiest when things are still a little messy at the end, and characters don't all end up with exactly what they want. The paper planes floating throughout the book are also a very nice theme...whether the intended recipient reads the notes they contain or not.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy through NetGalley.