When it comes to infatuation it’s a feeling that brings both misery and joy in the same breath. It may be a one-way street and you may never be able to express the way you feel about the person. On the other end, the mere sight or mention of the person, may give you butterflies, which is enough to make your day. This is what makes asking someone out such a treacherous battleground to enter. Your feelings may get hurt.

All of that makes adolescence so trying for so many teenagers. That “awkward teenage phase” may last far past into adulthood. We usually have crushes as long as we draw breath. There’s nothing like the first one. Those are the ones we will always remember. In Maggie Thrash’s memoir Honor Girl, she talks about her first crush, an older woman.

We meet Maggie, as she has to spend her summer at Camp Bellflower for the summer, deep in the Appalachia.  There she meets other girls and one very familiar face form afar catches her eye, Erin, someone who is a few years older. One day, an unencumbered encounter between the two, leaves Maggie in knots over her. As the rest of camp goes, she gets closer to her friends and finds who she really is. By book’s end, not all is conquered but not all is lost.

Overall, it’s an engaging, funny, and true to life story which speaks to young women coming of age. The story as told by Thrash is entertaining and heartfelt. The art by Thrash is beautiful. It’s a graphic memoir that speaks to legions of LGBTQ children. It reminds them and lets them know that they’re not alone.

Story: Maggie Thrash Art: Maggie Thrash
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy