FRESHMAN YEAR

An artistic, thoughtful young woman from southern Wisconsin sets off for college in Minnesota.

Sarah graduates from high school and spends her last summer before college with friends Finn and Emma and boyfriend Ben, who proclaims that he loves her and wants them to stay together, even after they leave for different campuses in the fall. Sarah’s earnest insecurities about her plans, including whether she may transfer to an art school at some point, are evident from the get-go and will ring true for readers who’ve been in similar positions during this major life pivot point. The simple color palette (black and white with a blue-gray wash), with panels that smoothly shift in size and structure to suit the needs of the story, form a backdrop to playful yet realistic drawings that effectively convey people’s emotions through their facial expressions. Sarah’s persistent anxiety comes through especially clearly. Mai’s author-illustrator debut follows Sarah throughout her entire first year of college and into the next summer. Her life is replete with new friends made (including her science-oriented roommate and a fellow artist pal), relationship struggles, spontaneous changes in personal style, visits home that show how things are both changing and staying the same, and more. This detailed, meditative tale is insightful, honest, and darkly funny, and it includes threads that are (realistically) not tidily resolved. Sarah and her family read white; there’s some ethnic diversity among secondary characters.

An engaging and relatable slice-of-life story.