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sokkaspoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Transphobia, and Alcohol
kaitlinwarwick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Overall, the writing style and the art style weren't necessarily my favorite. Some of the narration was a bit difficult to follow in some of the layouts, because of the way the pages were organized. This is in part because the art style felt a bit messy, and I wished that some panels could have included more details.
There's a lot about nonbinary identities also packed into this one, and I think one thing to keep in mind is that this is set in 80s. A lot of people didn't have the words that we do now to discuss their identities. So, it doesn't quite meet modern standards in that regard.
All in all, mixed feelings about this one, but I do hope it gets into the hands of the people that need it.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child death, Death, and Drug use
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death and Gaslighting
panic_at_the_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.5
I am also glad Claire's story wasn't just about trauma. So many heavy yet important subjects were being processed. Friendships were made, hearts got broken, laughter was shared and tears were shed. This story was so much more than just the pain Claire must have been through. I also love how the title of this graphic novel is sort of explained near the end of the story. Suddenly it makes sense why constellations are so important to Claire.
However I found it really hard to follow the story. Sometimes I didn't realise a next scene had started, which confused me a lot. Frames jumped from one to another. Sometimes the lay-out of a page felt rather chaotic making it confusing to me about where to start reading or who was saying what exactly. All of this made it rather hard to follow the story.
Either way, I once again want to emphasize how important this story is, whether I resonated with it or not. I do recommend checking the trigger warnings since heavy subjects come along with 'Constellations'.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
- 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
As a fellow product of adolescent IOP programs (albeit for depression, not addiction), the found family story was familiar to me and I felt that the author did justice in their portrayal of how complicated it can feel to forge friendships at the worst time in your life. However, it was at times hard to understand due to the strange narrative flow of the book. It was also not helped by the art style. Although very cool with its watercolor palette and doodle overlays, the art didn't serve a graphic novel particularly well in my opinion. It was often visually cluttered and the facial expressions mismatched the dialogue making for a difficult reading experience. I also found the middle section to be overly preachy at times. Maybe it's because I've been through similar kinds of therapy and have heard the broken records Charlie imbues in his clients many times before, but it often times felt like the main narrative of Claire's story was being overshadowed by detailed lectures from Charlie that didn't seem to progress the narrative at all. As a reader, I'm far more interested in Claire's journey learning those lessons than actually (re)learning them myself.
Constellations' story is important, and maybe I'm not precisely the right audience for it. If you resonate at all with Claire's story, you may find some comfort and validation here. Definitely check trigger warnings beforehand!
**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review eARC**
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Car accident