Desert Isle Keeper
Check Please!
Have y’all ever read graphic novels? I didn’t for a really long time – I wasn’t sure where to start, I thought they were all comics, I had no idea what to do… It all felt overwhelming. I’m not a huge action fan so I didn’t want to read any that focused on that. However, over the past several months, I’ve become friendly with a lot of comic fans. Upon explaining my plight, they started sending me recommendations.
When I told them I loved contained stories with happily ever afters, I got five simultaneous recommendations for Check, Please.
A four-part graphic novel series, Check, Please! follows the story of Eric – Bitty – Bittle as he begins his college career at Samwell College. He’s an avid vlogger before he begins, so the conceit of the book is that we are his YouTube viewers and he’s telling us about his life. He’s a baker, and a hockey player, and very much a young gay man finding his way in the world.
He lives in the hockey house, affectionately called ‘Haus’, and the cast of characters around him are so pitch perfect to what hockey bros and college dudes are like – but in all the best ways. The object of Bitty’s immediate affection is Jack Zimmerman, the son of an NHL great with anxieties of his own.
As Bitty and Jack get to know each other, and as we get to know them and their world, what unfolds is a charming love story that I’ve now read approximately fourteen times.
Check, Please! Started its life as a webcomic, but has since been published in two books – Freshman/Sophomore Year (Book #1) and Junior/Senior Year (Book #2). There’s an additional book filled with text messages and ‘behind the scenes’ info called Check, Please! Chirpbook that is a must-have for anyone who falls for the series.
I’m well aware that this book may not hit the target for most AAR readers, but I have a feeling many of you know people for whom this would make an excellent gift. It has a welcoming and rabid fandom, and so anyone who loves this series will easily find other people to talk about Bitty and Jack and Parse, et al with. And if you’re at all inclined to give this top-to-bottom delight a go, please let me know. I love these doofuses with my whole heart.
Buy it at: Amazon or your local independent retailer
Visit our Amazon Storefront
Voracious reader, with a preference for sassy romances and happily ever afters. In a relationship with coffee, seeing whiskey on the side.
Buy Check Please! by Ngozi Ukazu:
Book Details
| Reviewer: | Kristen Donnelly |
|---|---|
| Review Date: | December 21, 2020 |
| Publication Date: | 09/2018 |
| Grade: | A+ |
| Sensuality | Kisses |
| Book Type: | Contemporary Romance | Graphic Novel | New Adult |
| Review Tags: | AoC | athlete | athlete hero | college | funny | hockey romance | Male/Male romance | new adult | Queer romance |
I finally got to read this and it’s just JOYFUL. How nice to see something funny and cozy. I love how perfectly she captures the spirit of bro-friendships and how good and positive they can be at their best. I laughed SO many times.
I’ve heard about this one (it’s got a pretty big fandom) But I haven’t read it yet. Sounds charming!
It does! I write fanfic for it, haha. It’s a lovely fandom.
It is, this one is my favorite book, its so good.
WELCOME TO THE GRAPHIC NOVEL DARK SIDE!!!!
I occasionally read NA but not often; I prefer more mature characters these days. The cover art for this title doesn’t inspire me but Kristen’s review makes me curious. How does it compare, for example, to Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series (besides the obvious age of its characters)?
Side note: for anyone who questions the emotional gut punch that a graphic novel might deliver, I recommend Pedro and Me by Judd Winick. It is not a romance. It is about friendship. It was my introduction to graphic novels; and remains one of the very few books to which I’ve ever given an A+/5-star rating. The blurb at Amazon describes it well:
Pedro Zamora changed lives. When the HIV-positive AIDS educator appeared on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco, he taught millions of viewers about being gay and living with AIDS. Pedro’s roommate on the show was Judd Winick, who created Pedro and Me to honor Pedro Zamora, his friend and teacher and an unforgettable human being.
This graphic novel and memoir was, and remains, absolutely transformational.
It is a COMPLETELY different vibe than those books, nblib. This is playful and quirky. While Jack’s anxiety is dealt with, there is no real inner monologue here and the whole story is told through Bitty’s POV. I think they’re authentic college students, but there isn’t any drama or angst in this beyond pining.
I AM SO HAPPY HERE!