Book: Squad
Author(s): Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Illustrator: Lisa Sterle
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Audience: Teen
Squad is a graphic novel about a girl who moves to a small town. She clicks with the most popular girl in school pretty quickly and subsequently starts hanging with “The Squad”. There’s a range of reactions from the other girls, but the new girl is excited as she was not popular at her old school. She starts hanging with The Squad, shopping with The Squad, eating with The Squad (you get the point). After settling in and carving out space within the group, one night she’s asked if she wants to officially be a part of The Squad. Not fully understanding what she’s getting herself into, she agrees to take part in the ritual which thrust her on a journey of self discovery, loyalty, discernment and finding her moral compass.
I liked the story. It felt like Clueless with werewolves, lol! This was in the “teen” section of my library. It deals with death, shows physical affection, and deals lightly with the topic of assault. Amazon says grades 9-12, I would agree. I might adjust it slightly to grade 10 and up (due to some of the subject matter).
Here’s a quick sample from the book. If you’re interested in reading a longer sample click here!
Major Morris 