Review: Draw the Line

Draw the Line by Laurent Linn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've seen this book on the shelves at work a few times, and eventually, I convinced myself to pick it up on account of its pretty promising artwork and also the promise of a relatable queer protagonist. Laurent Linn delivers on both, though not without a few glitches. Some of which lay in the realm of this book being quite long - 500-plus pages for a debut contemporary YA, seriously? But also because as much as the book brings quite a bit of diversity to the table, it's not without its problems. Frequent homophobia including repeated use of slurs, for one thing, though I suppose that's still a pretty accurate reflection of small-town Texas. Not to mention bits of problematic behavior among our protagonist, deuteragonist, and tritagonist. Like, there's a scene where Adrian talks about Trent claiming he was asexual after a bad breakup, and then goes on to invalidate the very idea of Trent being ace just 'cause he's a teen boy. Not to mention how, despite being marginalized, pretty much all the friends (especially Adrian and Audrey) have a tendency to forget each other's specific issues and center their own above all else. But hey, all this problematic behavior can be explained by the fact that they're teenagers and imperfect - and a damn sight better than the bullies, although there's some unexpected complexity there too. I'm talking about a scene that owes more than a bit to a certain confession in The Breakfast Club.

But what really sells this book for me, in addition to the surprisingly sweet romantic storyline that gives me some good Simon Vs. style feels, is the artwork, of course. Not only Adrian's beautiful Graphite comic, but even the silly stuff - like the drawing Lev makes of the French teacher as a police officer chasing Adrian with a baguette, and the giant sign reading "INTERDIT DE RIRE," mais j'ai ri beaucoup quand même.

I hope Linn gives us another book soon. Heck, especially if it's a full-length graphic-novel adaptation of Graphite.

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