Tegan and Sara: Junior High (Tegan and Sara, #1) by Tegan Quin

Tegan and Sara: Junior High (Tegan and Sara, #1) Reviews

• 
  s.penkevich

  Before they were queer icons and famous musicians pumping out hits, Tegan and Sara Quinn had to endure the teenage experiences of growing up, navigating difficult friendships and crushes, and learning how to become a band. Middle School is a fantastic and moving graphic novel of a slightly fictionalized version on their 7th grade experience growing up in Canada, a book I knew I had to have as soon as I saw the great artistic prodigy,
  Tillie Walden was providing the artwork (
  On A Sunbeam remains an all-time favorite graphic novel for me). We watch the twins face learning a new school and new friendships (while trying to keep their best-friend in the loop), adapting to the changes of puberty, and entering the tumultuous emotions of first crushes, but a chance discovery of their mom’s boyfriend’s old guitar might change their lives forever and give them an outlet for their feelings. Fans of the duo will enjoy this look into their early years though strangers to the music will find this to be just as heartfelt and endearing. Gorgeously illustrated and handling topics with humor and sensitivity, Middle School is an absolute delight that effectively captures the pre-teen vibes and might even inspire you to grab a guitar. So
  why don’t you come a little closer and let's talk about this lovely book.
  
  
  First performance
  
  Just based on the band and artist I knew I was going to love this, but the message on finding your friends and who you are hit especially well for me. When the album
  Heartthrob dropped in 2013, I had just started a part time job at a Barnes and Noble in a city I didn’t know and far from any friends I’d ever had after basically fleeing working a factory job I hated (okay so I might have tried to start a union at my Uncle’s factory. I’d say we don’t talk about this but nobody from that part of the fam even talks to me since then so it’s cool). Heartthrob and the first Lorde album happened to be the only two in-store-play albums we had at the time so it got a lot of play, which was great because I fell in love with it and I remember making a joke with a coworker about how whenever Closer came on we’d instinctively start shelving faster like it was some 80s workout video. So you know you are doing well enough as the new person if the cool employee with a Libertines tattoo doesn’t hate you, and a lot of old memories associated with really enjoying all the Tegan and Sara albums came back reading this (like my oldest seeing them as a first concert). So reading a book with that connection about finding friends and fitting in way nice as most of my friends 10 years later I people I met working at Barnes and now 3 of us share an office together working the library (and yes we have a union here) so that’s a happy ending.
  
  But back to this book because it really is quite lovely and—as expected—Tillie Walden’s artwork is phenomenal. I mean:
  
  
  Tillie Walden superfan right here
  Sara and Tegan are identical twins, so to help the reader keep them apart Tegan is often represented with the color blue while Sara through the color red. There are quite a lot of characters here which can be tough to keep straight sometimes but Walden switches up their hair enough to keep them in order. The story is rather episodic while having overarching elements such as Sara crushing on one friend while Tegan is navigating trying to be best friend’s with Noa despite Noa’s other best friend being a total bully and downer (this is packed with middle school drama!), but it all flows quite well and has a good comfortable pace that makes it feel like you are reading a full year of growth without ever feeling like it drags. I also enjoyed that, despite being their graphic memoir, the story is pushed to take place in the present as it will resonate more with middle or high school readers. Texting is very central to the communication in the book yet it does still retain a sort of “timeless” pre-teen feel that anyone will empathize with.
  
  
  Teenage Tegan and Sara performing
  
  I really enjoyed getting bits about the twins forming a band as well, here named Gunk (instead of Plunk, which was their actual first band name). We see how songwriting becomes a way to express complex emotions in a productive way and how quickly the twins take to putting effort in the music (also the difficulty of balancing art with school work). For those looking for more, Tegan and Sara released a memoir in 2019,
  High School, that tells the “true” story, and their 2019 album
  Hey, I’m Just Like You is a reworking of many of the songs they wrote as teenagers and are alluded to in this book.
  
  Even if you’ve never heard of this group (would recommend checking them out) you can get just as much out of the book as anyone else. It is quite a moving and familiar story and I just loved it. Walden does such an excellent job with the artwork, the story is really endearing, and everything about it just works. Also this would be a perfect way to kickstart Pride Month starting this week!
  
  4.5/5
  
  
• 
  currentlyreadingbynat

  This is a very cute middle grade graphic novel that is loosely based on Tegan and Sara's life, but is fictionalised and set in present day. The graphics are gorgeous, but at times I found that storyline to be a bit simple. I had to keep reminding myself though that I am not the intended audience and I think it'll be great for middle grade readers.
  
  As a mum of twins, it was lovely reading about realistic twin relationships. It's not all picture perfect where they're BFFs. Sometimes, there is a bit of animosity between twins and I can only imagine how it'll be during the middle grade years when they are also trying to work out their own individuality. I really enjoyed this part of the graphic novel.
  
  A great graphic novel that is a prequel of sorts from Tegan and Sara's adult memoir,
  High School. I look forward to reading that next!
  
  Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Steph

  the illustrations are great, but i think setting this fictionalized story in the current day was a misstep. a 1990s setting would have been so much more intuitive, and i don't think this graphic novel will transcend its target demographic. recommended for preteens and for fans of tegan and sara!
  
  longer rtc!!!
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
• 
  Hannah Showalter

  i loved this so much! part of me is always going to be an awkward, closeted middle school lesbian and this book healed that part of me a little! this was fiction, but i loved the little elements of truth from "high school" that were sprinkled in there. also, so cool that tillie walden illustrated it! this was a delight and i cannot wait to read the next one.
• 
  Parker Wolfe

  4.5 ish 🌟
  
  This was insanely adorable. I wish this was around for me to read when I was going into 7th grade.
  
  Though I'll admit, I did read it specifically for Tegan & Sara + I love Tillie Walden (win-win-win), soooo the changes that they made to make it relevant to junior high kids today were kinda a bummer. I wanted to know what bands they were really into and who their music idols were in real life, because unless Billie Eilish is a time traveler, I'm pretty sure she wasn't alive when they were 12.
  ... but I do understand the need to make it relevant to the 12 & 13 year olds of 2023 since it's being marketed for them and not necessarily for mid (late) 20 somethings who grew up loving Tegan and Sara.
  
  So I guess that means I'm off to read their book book 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️
• 
  Anniek

  5 stars for Tillie Walden's artwork, 2 stars for the writing.
  
  Tillie Walden's artwork is amazing as always here, and I've come to never expect less. The writing, however, didn't work nearly as well for me. The writing style felt clumsy, but I was especially alienated by the choices when it comes to fictionalizing the story.
  
  The story is based on Tegan and Sara's actual lives, but it's fictionalized by setting this story in the present day. I think this was a strange choice because their experiences were clearly influenced by growing up in the 90s, so it was alienating to read some of the ways the story was updated to the present day. I think this would have worked much better had it actually been set in the 90s, and I don't really understand why this choice was made.
• 
  Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)

  I was sent a physical copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.
  
  CW: Internalized homophobia, homophobia: gay used as an insult, divorced parents, bullying, anxious thoughts/comments
  
  Go back in time to junior high with the debut graphic novel from the twin musicians, Tegan and Sara, illustrated by Tillie Walden.
  
  If you’re looking for a new coming of age story, JUNIOR HIGH is it. In a fictionalized retelling of Tegan and Sara’s life in junior high, we follow the twins through all of their struggles: parent’s divorce, first crushes, sexuality awakenings, bullying, and trying to make friends.
  
  I enjoyed how the story was told despite it being fictionalized to fit modern times with references to the Nintendo Switch, Billie Ellish, and Stranger Things. JUNIOR HIGH is a relatable read for anyone who survived middle school and for queer kids especially.
  
  I’ve learned recently that I like reading books following twins. It’s such a unique perspective especially in graphic novel form. In JUNIOR HIGH, Sara’s color is red, and Tegan is blue which helps the reader tell them apart.
  
  I knew of Tegan and Sara before reading this graphic novel, but I didn’t know much about their life. I appreciated the author’s note at the end of the book because it shares what the real-life situation was from the fictionalized version.
  
  JUNIOR HIGH is the perfect sleepover read!
• 
  Rick Brose

  Tegan and Sara: Junior High was a delightful read. With a mix of autobiography and fiction, the characters felt genuine and robust. There were laugh out loud moments, and moments where I was getting teary eyed. The feelings and experiences felt authentic to the age being represented. I think everyone will be able to relate to some aspect of this story even if they are unfamiliar with the authors and their music. The artwork was soft, warm; the use of color to represent the different perspectives was great. I enjoyed the level of detail, and the artist did a good job of making it so the large cast of characters were easy to distinguish from each other. It was nice to see that the book did not shy away from topics like getting your period and trying to figure out the romantic feelings happening inside and similar things that middle grade kids face in real life. I love seeing the growing list of diverse and genuine graphic novels being published these days. This was a real treat, and I look forward to seeing more of this world.
• 
  Haylee Perry

  Tegan and Sara: Junior High was so cute and well-written. I loved the illustrations as well even though my ARC was blurry for some reason. The twins’ story reminded me a lot of my first year of middle school after moving to a new school. I’m not a twin though, so it was sweet to see how Tegan and Sara helped each other through this transition. I will say that I don’t understand why the authors didn’t just make this a graphic memoir. It was an interesting choice to make it set in the present day instead of the 90s, and I felt like some of the pop culture references were forced because of that. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
• 
  Laura

  While I have heard *of* Tegan and Sara, I don't think I have heard their music, and did not know they had a show based on their life in high school, that this is a prequel to.
  
  It was an average story, and only really got interesting when they got into their music. Up until that point, it was just another one of many middle-grade/junior high school stories with girls being mean, and girls getting their period, and fighting, and friendships. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is what makes up most of the middle grade stories out there.
  
  But, when they get into their music, then the story gets interesting, and you see the sparks that drove them to their musical careers.
  
  So, for that second half of the book, I will recommend this book.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
• 
  Bailey

  This book was so sweet. I read it mostly for Tillie Walden, but the story was really relatable and well done. I definitely see this becoming a staple in tween graphic novel collections, alongside titles by Raina Telgemeier, Shannon Hale, Gale Gilligan, and other popular creators. Looking forward to the next book in the series! (This review is based on a digital arc from NetGalley.)
• 
  Syd

  thanks NetGalley & FSG for my eReader ARC!
  I've been a lifelong Tegan and Sara fan. literally. my first two cds, cds that were MINE, were "so jealous" and p!nk's "m!ssundaztood" when I was 6 years old. legendary. and I wish I had had this book then.
  first off, I think this is illustrated so well by Tillie Walden, and I loved how she used color to differentiate between Tegan (blue) and Sara (red), the rest of the novel being illustrated in purple. so smart, so obvious, but effective! loved that.
  I also loved how accessible this was. it tackled periods, queer awakenings, sibling dynamics, big moves as a kid, the confusion of friendships, and while it definitely could have gone deeper, I think it was great (especially with the visuals!!) for the age range it's intended for. there were a lot of moments that put me in touch with my younger self in very tender ways.
  
  I will say that I think the dialogue was a bit weak at times, but again, I think that can help with accessibility and ease of reading! it's also literally written for kids! so I wasn't expecting a literary masterpiece.
  
  I do wish it had been set in the 90s and been more true to Tegan and Sara's actual experiences. I didn't love the use of current media information/texting, but I do get that it probably made the storytelling easier and more effective for the audience. but I think a 90s setting could've worked just as well, honestly.
  
  overall, super cute, real, and accessible. I'm also excited to see that they plan on releasing more books (hopefully with Tillie Walden???) in the future!
• 
  Fanny

  a very sweet middle grade GN; nothing revolutionary or new but sincere and touching, especially in the second half. tillie walden’s art is always delightful and full of heart, and as someone who listened to tegan and sara’s the con about 100000900 times in high school, worth the read, even if i am not (as an adult and Not a middle grader), the intended audience
• 
  Tutant Meenage Neetle Teetle

  I love this so much and I will definitely be reading the rest when they’re out! The only thing I didn’t like was that it was set in present day and not the 90s when the real Tegan and Sara were in junior high. I didn’t mind that parts were fictionalized, but I didn’t like the references to Billie Eilish/Taylor Swift and the technology that wasn’t around 20 years ago.
• 
  abi

  I liked the art style but this just felt like a re-hash of the tv show tbh
• 
  Jen Desmarais

  This was so super relatable!
  I found it strange that they would choose to set it in the present day, but then they got chicken pox. I would've preferred it to be set in 1991.
  I'm going to be very happy to let my children read this.
• 
  DK

  Highly enjoyable! Reading this brought back my own memories of middle school - the awkwardness, the fun times, the friendships, the fights, and all the first experiences that seem so earthshaking in the moment. The story is really relatable and is perfect for middle grade readers. Tillie Walden's art is lovely as always, with a special softness that communicates feelings so well. Tegan and Sara's story is full of early self discovery, questioning, and trying new things. The girls are confronted with new challenges - being in separate classes, making different friends, facing a class bully, family changes, and miscommunication. But no matter what, their bond remains true, and they're always loved and supported by their parents. I especially liked that the parents manage to be cool and passionate about their interests while also maintaining boundaries and rules. And, of course, they still do embarrassing parent things! As someone who works with middle schoolers every day, I'm excited for them to get a chance to read this graphic novel and see how it compares to their experiences!
  
  *I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
• 
  Elizabeth

  I love Tegan and Sara, and both my junior high and old lady self love this book.
• 
  Dustin Britt

  Just three years have passed since those queer Quin kids from Calgary -- Tegan and Sara -- released a triple-threat: a revisit to their childhood jams with the album "Hey, I'm Just Like You," a New York Times bestselling memoir called "High School," and its Freevee TV adaptation.
  
  After flourishing in the musical landscape for more than 20 years, the Twins are set to conquer publishing. After the success of "High School," they turned their introspective, frank storytelling style into a graphic novel for the young'uns: "Tegan and Sara: Junior High." Their experiences are relatable to many a North American teen: kissin' and cryin' and singin' and laughin' and -- in so many cases -- menstruatin' through life.
  
  The perfectly-titled pseudo-memoir follows our titular heroines through a contemporary version of their junior high (middle school, to Americans) experience. Part of us yearns for the early-90s experience to be told and drawn in all its grungy glory, but the bump to a 2022 universe may help the work resonate with YA readers more strongly. Storywise, the graphic novel is all "Hey, I'm Just Like You." Tonally, though, it's a perfect companion piece to the poppier, more neon "Heartthrob." The song and video for "Closer" make an excellent side dish to "Junior High."
  
  Autobiography and memoir is a solitary activity. What makes the tale -- and the dual-colored illustrations -- so unique is the omnipresence of Another Perspective. The girls, perched precariously on the edge of puberty, tell their story both together and apart -- interrupting core memories with metafictional observations and emotional outbursts that explode across pages. The novel's surrealist manipulation of time, space, and biology is made all the more striking by Tillie Walden's detailed, yet unfussy, illustrations. She eschews conventional, boxy panels in favor of a more abstract, free-flowing journey through the girls' minds.
  
  The memoir, which culminates with a life-changing creative discovery, is a marvelous glimpse into those tiny moments of queer self-discovery that we remember equal parts nostalgia and terror. But, as they should, our trio of artists focus on the many things that unify and separate the sisters -- queer discovery included -- rather than becoming exclusively a Lesbian Coming-of-Age story.
  
  "Junior High" is must-read for middle school and high school kids, especially those who menstruate, as the book handles the topic with both frankness and humor. And it's the kind of queer fiction we want: stories about queer people's lives that aren't only about their queerness. We're more than Just Gay -- we also get chicken pox, learn to play guitar, and embarrass ourselves beyond redemption at every turn. -- Dustin K. Britt [4 stars]
• 
  Sacha

  4 stars
  
  I love Tegan and Sara's music and have enjoyed the FreeVee adaptation of their first book, so I was really excited to check out this prequel nearly as soon as I got my hands on it.
  
  Fictional Tegan and Sara are in junior high, as the title states, and it's hilarious to see them \experience that in a modern setting (since they are currently fully grown adults. I am very close in age to them, so I cracked up the whole time thinking about (1) the horrors of actually being in junior high, (2) how strange it would be to think about myself being back at that life stage, and (3) the translation of their junior high experience into modern times (with parental figures who like the "classics," like Nirvana).
  
  Highlights include the sibling/sister/twin relationship, the connection both characters reveal to music, and the way that their queerness comes through in their music, their thoughts, and their interactions. There's a great authors' note providing more insight into these points for the real Tegan and Sara, and that is not to be missed.
  
  This is a quick, clear read, and fans of these two will enjoy getting 'a little bit closer' to the characters and authors in the process.
  
  *Special thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
• 
  Murray

  Being a 62 year-old Youth Services Librarian, I was not familiar with identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin the Candian pop stars or their memoir that came out four years ago about their high school years. That being said, this graphic novel memoir about their tumultuous transition from elementary school to junior high. If that's not bad enough, they move so they leave their friends behind and need to try to make new friends, deal with a bully, their first periods and bras, and trying to start a band called Gunk. A humorous and honest look at the trials and tribulations of puberty, sexual identity, sibling rivalry, and friendship. The authors admit at the book's end that they took literary license with their story but shared photos and highlights of what happened in during that time in their lives. Recommend for middle graders who like the "Emmie and Friends" series or the Raina Telgemeier graphic novels.
• 
  Melanie

  Thanks to Mac Kids and Netgalley for this art!
  
  I haven't actually listened to much Tegan and Sara even though I've been following them on Instagram since like high school? Haha. But I knew I wanted to read this semi-memoir illustrated by one of my fave graphic novelists--Tillie Walden!
  
  
  This was super cute and really captured the incredibly complicated and frustrated feelings of junior high-- although admittedly T&S seemed to have it more together than I did at the time! I loved the twin bonding (I have read a lot of books featuring twins lately???) And falling apart and coming back together and discovering who they were.
  
  
  The illustrations are my favorite part! Tillie Walden is incredible and I will keep reading everything she puts out until I die. This was super cute and I look forward to the future installments!
  
  CW: bullying, homophobia
• 
  TheNextGenLibrarian

  Before they were Tegan & Sara: indie pop twin-sister duo they were kids embarking on scary junior high in Calgary.
  👯‍♀️
  As Tegan and Sara enter junior high, both have plans to stick together as much as possible and try to make new friends. Both girls are also dealing with identity issues in relation to their queerness and for the first time ask themselves who they are without the other.
  👯‍♀️
  This was a great middle grade graphic novel that deals with lgbtq coming out experiences, as well as self-identity and learning who you are. Even though they attended middle school in 1991, this book is set in 2023 to make it more relatable to preteens. It’s great for fans of Varian Johnson’s Twins and Raina Telgemeier. It is also an awesome prequel to their adult memoir High School. The illustrations by @tilliewalden were amazing! This book releases May 30!
  
  CW: coming out themes, bullying
• 
  Manon the Malicious

  *3.5 Stars*
  
  I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Tegan and Sara: Junior High is a novelized memoir of the Junior high years of Tegan and Sara.
  I really loved the illustrations in this, Tillie Walden is an incredible illustrator, as we know. The story, however, felt a bit all over the place and the novelization as well as the fact set it was set in current times put me off. It wasn't bad though, it had some good parts and I found the relationship between the sisters interesting. I just wasn't as captivated as I thought I'd be and I don't know if I'll read the next ones...
• 
  Emily (emilykatereads)

  A fictionalized account of Tegan and Sara’s junior high experience. A really sweet coming of age story exploring their twin identity and making friends and the drama that comes with it at school. I loved the introduction of their characters to music which was enjoyable for a long-time fan, but the modernization of their story will work really well for current young readers. I can see this graphic novel being a hit.
  
  
• 
  Brittany

  I thought this was a very cute story in general, but the change in timeline was kind of jarring to me? I know it’s a fictionalized account of their junior high lives set it the present day, but it would throw me every time they mentioned Billie Eilish or Paramore or social media. I think the story would have been just as effective had it taken place in the 90s!
  
  ****also fyi I have been a T&S stan for more than HALF my life now and I did appreciate the lil ‘This is Everything’ cameo***
• 
  Hannah

  I probably had their actual memoir a little too in my head while reading this, which means I was trying to match things from this book to that one, which makes no sense because they specifically cover different times in their lives. Buuuuut anyway, I did like this, just not quite as much as HIGH SCHOOL, but since they don’t have the same intended audience, that’s not a real issue.
• 
  • sasha •

  Really cute read, the illustrations are simple but pretty and the story feels quintessential. I was very confused for multiple chapters: I knew that the sisters were in school during the 90s (or so the author's note goes), but then everybody had phones and YouTube and listened to Billie Eilish and knew about memes and drank mocha cookie crumbles (tee hee!) from Starbucks!
• 
  Lisa Pineo

  I really enjoyed this graphic novel by singers Teagan and Sara. I know some readers had a problem with the sisters changing their story from the 90s to be contemporary but I think it worked well. No matter when it was set, I think girls still have the same issues today and it felt modern and relevant. The stories in each chapter were interesting and realistic and the artwork style really fit with the book. I'm looking forward to the next book from these women.