Freshman Year

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3.8

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Author(s)

Sarah Mai

Publisher

Christy Ottaviano Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

13+

Release Date

February 13, 2024

ISBN

978-0316401173

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A stylish graphic novel about the unique angst, humor, and self-doubt that comes with going away to college—perfect for fans of Heartstopper.

Everyone gets a fresh start. Who do you want to be? Sarah is leaving suburban Wisconsin for college in Minnesota. She has high hopes for the future: impress her professors, meet interesting new people, stay close to her best friends and boyfriend back home, flourish as an artist, and shed her lingering high school anxieties. What seems manageable at first quickly unravels into a tailspin and she is overwhelmed by the freedom, the isolation, and all the possibilities that await in this new environment. Based on the author’s personal college journal and comics, Freshman Year navigates the inner workings of an 18-year-old girl in witty and heartfelt detail.

Editor review

1 review

Realistic Look at Starting College

March 05, 2024 (Updated: March 05, 2024)

Overall rating

3.8

Plot

3.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

In this fictionalized graphic novel memoir, Sarah Mai looks back at the summer of her senior year, when she is preparing to go to college, and captures all of the bittersweet excitement and angst of this liminal time. Her friends all have different plans, ranging from working at a new coffee shop to heading off to other colleges. She plans on breaking up with her boyfriend, Ben, but the two decide to try to have a long distance relationship. Her parents are full of a thousand tips for her success at school, and overly involved, as most parents seem to be. Her roommate is understanding and helpful (she picks up a mini fridge and gives Sarah time alone to settle in), and there are plenty of things to do. Classes are sometimes a challenge, and the college bureaucracy can be daunting (who hasn't missed a deadline to register for classes?). Going back home for Thanksgiving and winter breaks is strange, and reconnecting with old friends is sometimes rocky. Winter is an especial challenge, and Sarah struggles with her mental health, something which sometimes manifests itself in poor hair styling choices. At the end of the year, she's glad to have made it through, and feels a little more settled in her life choices.

Good Points

There is SO MUCH information about college in this book, and I'm sure that high school students will be riveted. Much of it is very specific to Mai's experience; choosing a major, particular friends, distinct classes. Still, much of it is a window into what many older teens will go through. Decorating a dorm room, navigating time without parental supervision, and feeling homesick are all part of just about every college experience. Mai covers everything in detail; the pages are crammed with pictures and text, and there's everything from her dog being diagnosed with a tumor to care packages to almost unintelligble French tests.

The black and white color pallette is a departure from Mai's colorful illustrations in Langeland's middle grade The Cool Code and The Cool Code 2.0 The Switch Glitch, although I wouldn't have minded the pastels on the cover throughout, though, as they seem very on trend. The darker colors seem appropriate for the turbulent, angsty feel of freshman year. Having recently read my own college journals, I can attest that even though college seems like an exciting adventure, there are a lot of complicated, negative emotions when living through those changing times.

While this would be fairly appropriate for middle school audiences, with just passing references to drinking or relationships, and circumspect drawings. Still, twelve year olds might not be interested in the amount of text, or in the more mature emotional workings. There were several situations that could have benefitted from more explanation; Sarah's mother seems to have some health situation that is unexplained, and readers unfamiliar with college classes could perhaps have used some more description of what Sarah was taking, when the classes met, etc.

I have not read many books about going off to college, except for Pratt's Giant Days and my favorite, Stanton's Waking in Time. It's a topic that I would love to see explored more, and Mai's experiences will be a revelation to high school students looking forward to their own college career.

I showed this to several middle school students who all deemed that this was "too many words", so I will definitely be sending this off to the high school.