About the Book
-
Authors:
- Mad Rupert
- Ngozi Ukazu
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Graphic Novels
Cover Story: Overloaded
BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: Yes, Please!
Arty Art: Friendly But Frantic
Bonus Factors: Softball, Awesome Parents
Relationship Status: In It to Win It
Cover Story: Overloaded
Young person, you are carrying FAR too many things in your bags. I get wanting to multitask, but you’re going to regret this come middle age.
The Deal:
Molly Bauer is stoked. She’s starting her first year of college at PICA, the art school in her hometown of Peachtree, with a full ride. She can’t wait to dive right in. But then she finds out that she’s actually not enrolled and that her full ride doesn’t exist.
In order to make her dreams come true, Molly embarks on a mission to find financial aid—a mission that involves building a softball team from a bunch of art students, few of whom even know what a softball is.
Will Molly be able to turn things around? Will her dream stay the same if she does?
BFF Charm: Yay
I sympathize with Molly’s frustration at her plight—especially the fact that it’s not her fault and no one wants to help her make things right. I also appreciate the lengths she goes to to find a loophole in the system; I would have likely just given up and applied for financial aid, creating a problem for Future Mandy, were I in her shoes. I love her plucky charm and her passion. And I really appreciate her growth. Had I seen a poster for the PICA softball team around campus, I would have signed up immediately, and stuck around because of Molly.
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Although there are some blossoming relationships in Bunt!, there aren’t any swoony scenes until the end, and even so, they’re pretty tame/background situations or things hinted at. It’s fun to theorize about what the future holds, but not much actualization in the book.
Talky Talk: Yes, Please!
Much like her work with Check, Please!, Ukazu fills Bunt! with wit and charm. Her characters are all well-rounded individuals who shine as distinct individuals even when they only get a small amount of screen page time. The conversations they have feel real, and their voices unique. I particularly love Molly’s banter with her best friend, Ryan. (And no, before you assume, they’re just friends.)
Arty Art: Friendly But Frantic
Image via Macmillan
I like Rupert’s style of illustration. The characters are all different, much like their voices, and her use of backgrounds and colors are nicely balanced. Some panels are intricately detailed, while others are more simplistic; I like how well she can go between these disparate ideas. All that said, there’s a heightened feel of urgency to her art that made me feel rushed to finish the book, and that detracted from my ability to fully enjoy the story. (Full disclosure, this could just be due to my generally anxious nature …)
(Also, the fact that she uses Mad as a nickname for Madeline is so freaking cool. I’d give her a BFF Charm for that alone.)
Bonus Factor: Softball
I played softball for many years until I realized when I joined the high school team that it was no longer about having fun, but all about winning. Molly’s team is all about winning, but for an entirely different reason. They seemed to still have fun, even though they were terrible at the game. (I’d likely be just as bad, having not played for [REDACTED] years!) Their enthusiasm made me nostalgic for the game I used to love.
Bonus Factor: Awesome Parents
Molly’s moms are delightful and lovely. We only get to see them for a small part of the story, but their love for their daughter—and their loving exasperation at her hijinks—absolutely shines.
Relationship Status: In It to Win It
If you need another person to round out your team, Book, count me in. I might be far past my prime, and no longer in college or in need of financial aid, but I’m a millennial and therefore look younger than I actually am. It doesn’t seem like PICA checks things all that closely, anyway, so as long as we keep quiet about my truth, I think we’re golden. See you on the field!
Literary Matchmaking
Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please! graphic novels are about hockey, instead of softball, but
For another graphic novel about sports (also hockey), check out Faith Erin Hicks’s Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy.
And if you like anti-establishment themes, check out Claudia Gray and Eric Zawadzki’s House of El series.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from First Second, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid is available now.
