ccatsol's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death
Minor: Infidelity
madmadmaddymad's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
NICE.
It’s a little bit Heathers, and highly satisfying. Becca moves to a new town and joins a pack of werewolves comprised of the school’s mean, popular clique. Once a month; they attend glamorous parties and devour any guy who can’t take “no” for an answer.
It’s a dark and playful feminist fantasy. Oh; and it has a really satisfying sapphic romance subplot. I love this one. 5 stars - will read again!
It’s a little bit Heathers, and highly satisfying. Becca moves to a new town and joins a pack of werewolves comprised of the school’s mean, popular clique. Once a month; they attend glamorous parties and devour any guy who can’t take “no” for an answer.
It’s a dark and playful feminist fantasy. Oh; and it has a really satisfying sapphic romance subplot. I love this one. 5 stars - will read again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
Minor: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A group of continually hangry teenagers fight predatorial behaviour... without addressing their inner misogynistic issues.
Squad operates on the premise of a new mixed-race student trying to fit in by joining an all-girls gang with "Mean Girls" mechanics. It misses being the feminist commentary it tries to be when the protagonist and her abused peers by a Regina George figure are portrayed solely as victims. You can't sympathise with them as they are still toxic to others when not in the presence of their aggressor.
In the end, most problems aren't solved and are kind of played down when the main obstacle is sorted out.
Squad operates on the premise of a new mixed-race student trying to fit in by joining an all-girls gang with "Mean Girls" mechanics. It misses being the feminist commentary it tries to be when the protagonist and her abused peers by a Regina George figure are portrayed solely as victims. You can't sympathise with them as they are still toxic to others when not in the presence of their aggressor.
In the end, most problems aren't solved and are kind of played down when the main obstacle is sorted out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Lesbophobia, Rape, and Toxic relationship
ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was an interesting, light and entertaining read. Despite becoming confusing in certain panels, the narrative is straightforward and clear. I loved the art style and the lgbtq+ representation (we need more of it) but I found the pacing too fast, leaving neither characters nor readers a minute to digest any new information or emotions. In conclusion, if you want a light and entertaining read I recommend this graphic novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Racism, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
foreverinastory's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to love this but this was not what I was expecting. There were so many toxic things in here and I was not prepared for it. Or the cannibalism.
Squad is the story of Becca, a transfer student to an elite high school. She doesn't expect to be adopted into the popular clique. But she is and now she has friends. Friends that are sometimes mean to each other, but that's the price of belonging right? Then Becca finds out her friends are werewolves and they prey on boys who sexually assault people. Becca agrees to be turned and together the four of them are unstoppable. When Arianna's predatory boyfriend is accidentally killed, cops begin looking for a serial killer and the girls world begins to unravel.
I guess in all this a good guide on what friendship shouldn't look like. You shouldn't be afraid of your friends. They should call you by the name you want them to use. They shouldn't insult your body or what you do with it.
I did like Becca's romantic storyline, even though it did feel a tad underdeveloped. Overall, I think this was not for me, which is par for the course with me and werewolf books honestly.
Rep: queer Asian American female MC, sapphic white female love interest, Black female side character, white fat female side character, BIPOC female side character, hijabi BIPOC female side character.
CWs: Murder, cannibalism, violence, attempted sexual assault, attempted rape, death, gore, blood, toxic friendship, bullying, sexual harassment, body shaming, slut shaming, misogyny, sexism, lesbomisia/lesbophobia, underage alcohol consumption, fatphobia, toxic relationship. Moderate: Racism and racial microaggressions, eating disorder mention, ableism, classism, grief.
Squad is the story of Becca, a transfer student to an elite high school. She doesn't expect to be adopted into the popular clique. But she is and now she has friends. Friends that are sometimes mean to each other, but that's the price of belonging right? Then Becca finds out her friends are werewolves and they prey on boys who sexually assault people. Becca agrees to be turned and together the four of them are unstoppable. When Arianna's predatory boyfriend is accidentally killed, cops begin looking for a serial killer and the girls world begins to unravel.
I guess in all this a good guide on what friendship shouldn't look like. You shouldn't be afraid of your friends. They should call you by the name you want them to use. They shouldn't insult your body or what you do with it.
I did like Becca's romantic storyline, even though it did feel a tad underdeveloped. Overall, I think this was not for me, which is par for the course with me and werewolf books honestly.
Rep: queer Asian American female MC, sapphic white female love interest, Black female side character, white fat female side character, BIPOC female side character, hijabi BIPOC female side character.
CWs: Murder, cannibalism, violence, attempted sexual assault, attempted rape, death, gore, blood, toxic friendship, bullying, sexual harassment, body shaming, slut shaming, misogyny, sexism, lesbomisia/lesbophobia, underage alcohol consumption, fatphobia, toxic relationship. Moderate: Racism and racial microaggressions, eating disorder mention, ableism, classism, grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, Rape, Death, Blood, Alcohol, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Racism, Eating disorder, and Grief
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Child death
Minor: Eating disorder and Racism
gem114's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Squad is a YA graphic novel that I picked up for my classroom. It addresses the desire to fit in as well as young women's desire to feel powerful and does both with a heaping dose of the paranormal. While I understand the goal of the story, the characters are a bit too far over the line of morally gray to be likeable, even if you can sympathize with them, in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Minor: Eating disorder
seawarrior's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was an interesting and exciting story that was reminiscent of Heathers, The Craft, and Jennifer's Body. Becca's newfound friendship with the Squad gives her the sense of belonging she's always craved, but at a price. Before long her hunger and her power begins to spin out of control, leading her to question how far she's willing to go to sate it, and if her Alpha really possesses the judgement necessary to protect the group.
The plot went off into directions I didn't see coming and ended with a darker twist than what I had expected from a young adult book. Becca's world is definitely grisly, she and her friends spend one night a month baiting themselves for predators, and tackling their cognitive dissonance when they consume someone they're not certain was deserving of a death sentence. Additionally, Becca is dealing with internalized shame from being sapphic and having been humiliatingly rejected in the past. Varied experiences of victimization, victimhood, vengeance and how to go on living with them are displayed throughout the narrative, with each girl having their own perspective on their bloodthirsty secret, which begin to splinter into disillusionment.
I really enjoyed the art for this book too, it was dynamic and full of expression, supplying additional meaning in some scenes where words weren't used. For the most part I felt the panels were paced well, giving the story almost a cinematic effect, though they were some instances where I couldn't follow what was meant to be happening on the page. Overall I would recommend this story to others who feel they can handle the subject matter. I was pleasantly surprised by its fresh depiction of werewolf lore and plot that continued to complicate itself.
The plot went off into directions I didn't see coming and ended with a darker twist than what I had expected from a young adult book. Becca's world is definitely grisly, she and her friends spend one night a month baiting themselves for predators, and tackling their cognitive dissonance when they consume someone they're not certain was deserving of a death sentence. Additionally, Becca is dealing with internalized shame from being sapphic and having been humiliatingly rejected in the past. Varied experiences of victimization, victimhood, vengeance and how to go on living with them are displayed throughout the narrative, with each girl having their own perspective on their bloodthirsty secret, which begin to splinter into disillusionment.
I really enjoyed the art for this book too, it was dynamic and full of expression, supplying additional meaning in some scenes where words weren't used. For the most part I felt the panels were paced well, giving the story almost a cinematic effect, though they were some instances where I couldn't follow what was meant to be happening on the page. Overall I would recommend this story to others who feel they can handle the subject matter. I was pleasantly surprised by its fresh depiction of werewolf lore and plot that continued to complicate itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
More...