Graphic Novel Review – Blue is the Warmest Color by Jul Maroh (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Contemporary Fiction
Length: 160 pages
Publisher:‎ Arsenal Pulp Press
Release Date: September 3, 2013
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1551525143
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Birthday Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars

“In this tender, bittersweet, full-color graphic novel, a young woman named Clementine discovers herself and the elusive magic of love when she meets a confident blue-haired girl named Emma: a lesbian love story for the ages that bristles with the energy of youth and rebellion and the eternal light of desire.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone. I received a copy of this graphic novel as a gift for my birthday.

Thoughts: This was a well done graphic novel about coming of age, finding one’s self and love. It focuses on Clementine, a teen girl who is doing what she thinks she is supposed to be doing; plodding on through her studies and dating cute boys that her friends pressure her to date. Then one day she runs into Emma, a blue haired outwardly gay young woman. Through the years, and a series of chance meetings, Emma and Clementine fall in love and struggle with both expectations on each other and the pressure society puts on them until finally tragedy strikes.

This is a very melancholy love story of sorts and a commentary on society as a whole. You know from the get-go that Clem has passed away because we learn her story through the pages of her diary as Emma reads it. Clem’s diaries are the only thing she left for Emma. The story bounces between present and past. Emma tries to awkwardly deal with Clem’s homophobic parents while mourning Clem’s death in the present. In the past we fall into Clem’s diary entries and see Emma from her point of view.

This was very well put together as a story. I also really loved some of the illustrations here. The color blue is used to emphasize important elements throughout the book although much of the story is drawn in very muted tones. You are completely drawn into the characters’ story very quickly and it is an easy and engaging read, if a bit depressing.

I didn’t give it five stars because some of the tropes and themes in here feel a bit overused. That may be because at this point this book is nearly ten years old and it hasn’t aged well with shifts in more modern thinking. Despite my appreciation for the art and style used here, the story itself felt a bit tired to me.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. This was a very well done graphic novel about finding love and fitting into society, with a focus on coming out as a lesbian and the effect that has for you, your family, and friends. The drawing is moody, fits the tone of the novel well, and I loved the punches of blue throughout that were used to emphasize story points. The only down point to this is that the story felt a bit tired and the plot points over-used. However, I would still recommend picking this up if it sounds like something that would interest you. It is very well done.