There will be spoilers here.
This popped up on Amazon and I ordered it immediately. A YA graphic novel with goths on the cover? TWO goths? Unheard of.
You see, goth characters tend to be either side characters or part of a bigger ensemble cast. One of the few exceptions is Esther from Giant Days. You could make an argument for Wednesday, but I feel she's less representative of goth and more just an Addams. They're their own animal.
Anyway, I was thrilled to see two goth characters on the cover and the summary made it clear they were both main characters.
Agnes is the red-themed one with shorter hair.
Daisy has a purple and then blue color scheme.
The plot is that these two are basically each other's only friend. Not unusual for goths in high school. We tend to find each other. Not that I had that experience, but I would have liked it. On the last day of school, Agnes is devastated to learn she's moving at the end of the summer, so the two locate a scrapbook (The History of Everything) they made when they were eight. They make a whole plan for a bucket list of sorts that they want to do during their last summer together.
The problems begin when Daisy meets Noah, a new guy in their school, on the first day the list begins. He gets woven into their plans because Daisy is smitten, Agnes doesn't get it and feels rejected, they fight, then there's your typical makeup scene at the end, and they part smiling tearfully.
The characters are flawed but likeable.
Daisy is a sweet girl, but I didn't like how she folded Noah into their plans, then didn't understand when he was disrupting their last summer together. I feel like there could have been a note about how you don't have to change yourself for a guy. At the fair, Daisy, who is terrified of heights, chooses to go on the roller coasters with Noah and his friend Ian, leaving Agnes all alone. While she does end up having fun, I think there could have been a nod to "I'm glad I tried something new, but I shouldn't have done it to impress a guy."
Noah doesn't care for a band the girls love or their favorite show. He's kind of an ass about the latter. But overall, he's a good guy, and he got major points for offering to finish the bucket list with Daisy, and for doing things he wouldn't have done otherwise, like visiting the cemetery to "meet" Daisy's grandma. I like him.
Agnes is obviously going through it. She's mad at her mom for springing this all on her. I would be, too. Don't blame her a bit. I don't think an age is mentioned anywhere, but neither girl drives, so I'm thinking 15ish. No matter her age, she's definitely old enough to have her mom treat her like more of an adult and include her in this life-changing decision. I also don't blame her for being upset about Daisy pushing her aside for Noah, especially when she lied the day of their big fight.
I do still like Daisy. It's impossible not to like her. She's a kid with her first boyfriend. But they could very easily have just split time. It's a whole summer with only a few events on the list. So spend a day doing something with Agnes and the next with Noah. But then again, I guess you wouldn't have a plot if you used that sort of logic.
So yeah, I liked both girls, but they're both flawed characters. Daisy's the easier to like one, but she behaves worse, in my opinion. But there's something about Agnes where I felt like she was holding me at arm's length. I understood her better than Daisy, but that didn't endear her to me for some reason. She's more closed off with her emotions and that somehow translated to feeling that way with the reader, too.
I did love all the pop culture nods. They rename everything, but there are nods to Keanu Reeves, the Matrix, Constantine, Saw, and Buffy. My favorite was them going to the mall to visit...TOMB. The goth store.
One thing to note, no one ever uses the word "goth" in this, but there are definitely signs. Tomb. Dyeing their hair. The clothes. Horror. Mean girls laughing at them. Both of them have Puppie band shirts, which has to be Skinny Puppy. They like an 80s new wave band called Fast Fashion, which is definitely Depeche Mode. 80s new wave is very much interwoven into the goth scene.
I really liked the scene with Daisy and Noah in the cemetery, visiting her grandma. While I think a lot of people do this, it's a nice depiction of a goth in a cemetery that is actually there for a good reason. I think it's a lot of why I ended up liking Daisy best, despite her poor priorities.
I definitely recommend this. It's imperfect but it's still fantastic. Put on some Depeche Mode while you're reading.
