Tough Love- Abby Denson

Tough Love: High School Confidential
Denson, Abby
ISBN-13 978-1933149080
ISBN-10 1933149086
Publisher: Manic D Press, Inc. (June 13, 2006)


Genre: Graphic
Reading Level: 4th grade
Interest Age: 14-18

Reader's Annotation:
High school love is not easy for anyone, but what about a boy who just discovers he is gay? Will he be able to live his life in peace from ridicule?

Plot Summary:
Brian is an average teenage boy who is trying to figure out who he is and what he wants in life. He decides to take a self defense class after school and meets an interesting boy named Chris. Chis and Brian hit things off, but will it turn into anything? Brian finds himself thinking of Chris as more than a friend. Julie, Brian's friend is very nice and is obviously interested in him but he does not have feelings for her. This is a coming of age and come out story about Brian. He navigates his world through conversations with people and the readers gets to experience his life through pictures.

Critical Evaluation:
All of the drawings in this book are black and white and do not have a lot of details in them. This clearly gives the reader an idea of what is going on in the story without a lot of thought and leaves more space for the words to sink in. Abby Denson's story shows many of the aspects of pain teens go through when they choose to come out. This graphic novel explores reactions of parents, other students, and friends. The main characters are well defined from the beginning of the story and it is clear how they will interact. Some of the drawings have too little detail and could have been drawn to fit the scene better. This book brings to light issues that are prevalent in teenagers lives now. Pictures of boys laying in a bed together or a teen attempting suicide would not have been drawn 10 years ago. This book is opening the reader up to a reality that has been around for a while.

About the Author:
Abby Denson is a comic artist and writer. She has won many awards for her cartooning such as the Lulu award Moonbeam Children's Book Award. She has written two graphic novels about teens. Denson writes a blog about the tastiest baked goods in New York in a comic format. Because of her unique style, Denson has captured the hearts of many people. She has also scripted for many other comics.

Denson was born in Illinois but grew up in Connecticut. She moved to New York as an adult to pursue her passion in comics. Now, she blogs, teaches comics classes, and writes.



Curriculum Ties:
LGBT awareness and acceptance. Character development with pictures. Separating books into clear sections.

Book Talking:
LGBT awareness talk and group work.

Challenging Issues:
This book could be challenged for its content of homosexual interactions as well as the violent image of someone attempting suicide. The policy on book selection would be brought about as well as the reasoning for adding this particular book to the collection.

Why Read this Book:
I chose to read this book because I did not have a lot of experience with graphic novels and it seemed like an interesting one to read. It is an issue many teens go through on some level. They may know someone who is coming out and struggling or they may be themselves. It is valuable in giving a simple but helpful book to make teens feel less alone.