Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones

I love Check Please and I loved being able to reread it in book form ❤️ this is my high school and early college years wrapped up between bindings. Also, I loved finally getting to know Shitty’s name :)

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calbykoop's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A great second book!

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bryelle's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Super cute sequel to the first book. Love being able to see Bitty in his junior and senior years. Watching him come out to his family was emotional and seeing the relationship between Bitty and Jack progress is so cute.

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oddduck's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I started the online version of this comic sometime before the end of Year Two and thus had the delight of reading both years printed in this book as they came out initially. The reread was just as good as the first read. Perhaps even better, since I knew how things would play out and could eagerly await it.

Ngozi Ukazu has told an incredible story. Like, I don't even know what to say other than I loved every single second of it and it made me cry so many times. I'm just. So incredibly happy reading this story.

Jack and Bitty have some awesome character development individually and through their relationship. Hi, Honey makes me bawl every time I read it. And Jack! In Bitty's freshman year, he struggles so much with things not going according to plan. Compare that to his decision to kiss Bitty on national television after winning the Stanley Cup? We love to see it.

And man, Bitty's relationship with his parents. It's established very early on that Bitty's really close with his mom, and despite having a somewhat strained relationship with his dad, his opinion still matters a lot to Bitty too. Seeing Bitty struggle to tell his parents, even after they already know, just. Hurt, emotionally, but in a good way? Like, it feels very realistic and relatable. It's not easy by any means, but it's also hopeful.

There are of course plenty of fun moments to balance out the emotional ones. I think Senior Thesis is perhaps the funniest comic in the entire story. The entirety of it is so fun and silly, especially for someone who was in college/is a recent grad. Man. So much good stuff there, but the end, where Jack says he's tricking Bitty into writing his thesis via text messages takes me out every time.

And I of course have to mention the art. I liked the art at the beginning a lot, but holy smokes did it improve! The moment that this really stood out to me was when Bitty has the flashback to fainting at center ice during practice his freshman year. I had to go look up the original panel and compare them, because I was looking at the printed one thinking, "I remember this happening, but I don't remember it looking like this." And it was because of how much more detailed the art was! I remember the wait between comics was longer and it's clear why. Good for her.

My only real complaint about it - well, specifically how the print editions were put together - is that they didn't include the blog posts. I loved reading the blog posts and thought they added a lot to the story, so I was a little sad they were omitted. But it was nice Bitty's tweets were included!

This story holds a special place in my heart and I look forward to seeing what Ngozi Ukazu writes next.

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quasinaut's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This comic has everything -- copious procrastibaking (I can relate), a too-private then too-public relationship and the confusion and emotional turmoil that comes with navigating all that, friendships, college shenanigans, witty banter. Also, hockey, I guess. Bitty is such a delight. My only complaint is I had trouble keeping track of the side characters and their storylines, and I don't think the comic/graphic novel format helped here, unfortunately!

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diifacto's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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