Quick reviews: Slip by McCoola and Pandya

by Claire Rhode

              Slip (Workman Publishing, 2022) written by Marika McCoola, illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya does not pull its punches. This graphic novel opens with a scene where Jade, our protagonist, learns that her best friend, Phoebe, has attempted suicide. Suicide and self-harm are a major aspect of this story, so if either is a trigger for you, you may want to skip this book.

              Shortly after learning about Phoebe’s attempt, Jade leaves for an art residency program. Her medium is ceramics—although she’s also great at sketching, which is good, because that will be plot relevant. Seemingly behind all of the other students, Jade needs to find a cohesive theme for her work, improve so her ceramics quit blowing up in the kiln, navigate a difficult relationship with the other ceramics student, and take some tentative steps towards her first relationship, all while trying to figure out how she missed her best friend’s pain. Oh, and her ceramics are coming to life and not in a friendly way.

              What I liked:

·       The respect for Jade’s emotions. She really was a wounded animal, and the story gave her space to process without judging her.

·       Everyone else’s art projects. Bloody AF Persephone? Yes please!

·       The ending. No spoilers, but it worked for me.

What I didn’t like:

·       Why does Jade look ten? Why is she a baby? Her love interest, Mary, looks like a totally normal person who wants a college scholarship. What are they supposed to be, 16? 17? So why does Jade look like this could easily be a story about middle schoolers? (Seeing them kiss was disconcerting. They looked very mismatched.)

·       The use of color. I recognize they did it on purpose, but I did not like it. Basically, almost all of the book is done entirely in blue. Emotional scenes are in red. What I didn’t love is the balance. There would be pages and pages of blue before several red panels. It worked in some places, where the red is used sparingly to draw attention. I’m like a little magpie when I read and I love fun colors and interesting visuals. For me, this book was not it, but it may be for you!

All in all, Slip was a worthwhile read. It’s got a finger in a lot of the lesbian graphic novel pies: cottagecore, realistic and respectful discussions about mental health, and art. I give it four out of five stars. 

 Claire Rhode, a former children's book seller, is now studying to be a children's book librarian.