Freshman Year (A Graphic Novel)

by Sarah Mai

Overview

A stylish graphic novel about the unique angst, humor, and self-doubt that comes with going away to college—perfect for fans of Heartstopper.

Everyone gets a fresh start. Who do you want to be?  Sarah is leaving suburban Wisconsin for college in Minnesota. She has high hopes for the future: impress her professors, meet interesting new people, stay close to her best friends and boyfriend back home, flourish as an artist, and shed her lingering high school anxieties. What seems manageable at first quickly unravels into a tailspin and she is overwhelmed by the freedom, the isolation, and all the possibilities that await in this new environment. Based on the author’s personal college journal and comics, Freshman Year navigates the inner workings of an 18-year-old girl in witty and heartfelt detail. 

Perfect gift for:
-Fans of Booksmart 
-High School Graduation
-College Freshmen
-The First Year Experience 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316401173
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	205,735
Product dimensions:	5.55(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.74(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sarah Mai is an illustrator and writer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she developed a passion for graphic novels, and is the illustrator of The Cool Code and The Cool Code 2.0: The Switch Glitch written by Deirdre Langeland. Freshman Year marks her author-illustrator debut.

 

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2024

Gr 9 Up—This slice-of-life story follows Sarah, a recent high school graduate who is spending the summer before college in Minnesota, hanging out with her friends. Her boyfriend Ben tells her he loves her and wants to stay together even after she leaves for college. Unsure about a long-term relationship and about majoring in English, Sarah, who presents as white, spends the summer preoccupied, but tries to enjoy each moment. While her mom, who uses a wheelchair, helps her with moving into the dorms, she alerts Sarah to all the things that can go wrong as a college freshman, leaving Sarah feeling woefully uninformed. Luckily, her roommate, who is grounded and makes friends easily, brings Sarah along for college clubs and activities. Readers follow Sarah as she embarks on her freshman year in college: her classes are an intense blur, she tries veganism, bleaches and cuts her hair, and considers art school to cope with the stress. Eventually, Ben breaks up with her and Sarah spirals into self-doubt and depression, even with a new group of friends, including some boy interests. She eventually confides her existential worries to her mom and happily connects with her family and friends on her 19th birthday—her last teen year. A variety of story blocks make each page flow differently, and the grayscale art is realistic. College-bound high school readers will appreciate Sarah's cluelessness, feelings of being overwhelmed, and existential self-searching with this stage of life. VERDICT A solid addition where realistic graphic fiction is in demand.—Jamie Winchell

School Library Journal

2023-11-04
An artistic, thoughtful young woman from southern Wisconsin sets off for college in Minnesota.

Sarah graduates from high school and spends her last summer before college with friends Finn and Emma and boyfriend Ben, who proclaims that he loves her and wants them to stay together, even after they leave for different campuses in the fall. Sarah’s earnest insecurities about her plans, including whether she may transfer to an art school at some point, are evident from the get-go and will ring true for readers who’ve been in similar positions during this major life pivot point. The simple color palette (black and white with a blue-gray wash), with panels that smoothly shift in size and structure to suit the needs of the story, form a backdrop to playful yet realistic drawings that effectively convey people’s emotions through their facial expressions. Sarah’s persistent anxiety comes through especially clearly. Mai’s author-illustrator debut follows Sarah throughout her entire first year of college and into the next summer. Her life is replete with new friends made (including her science-oriented roommate and a fellow artist pal), relationship struggles, spontaneous changes in personal style, visits home that show how things are both changing and staying the same, and more. This detailed, meditative tale is insightful, honest, and darkly funny, and it includes threads that are (realistically) not tidily resolved. Sarah and her family read white; there’s some ethnic diversity among secondary characters.

An engaging and relatable slice-of-life story. (author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

01/22/2024

This debut graphic novel memoir begins with Mai’s high school graduation. What follows is an immersive, stream-of-consciousness-style recounting of her experiences during her first year of college at the University of Minnesota, which demonstrates how frenetic and all-consuming freshman year can be. Throughout recollections of juggling coursework, relationships with her family and friends new and old, and the matter of what to do with her English degree post-graduation, Mai includes small observations about the life she perceives as being behind her; returning home for Thanksgiving break, the college student wonders, “Has this house always smelled like this?” Humorous inserts—such as an illuminated manuscript-inspired spread depicting “Ye Olde Shittee Midwesterne Wintre”—and anxiety-ridden monologues result in a balanced human portrait of a young artist wobbling her way through the mundane (dental cleanings) and the monumental (a breakup with her high school boyfriend). Back matter includes an epilogue noting the open-ended resolution and an author’s note describing the story as lightly fictionalized truth (“Whittling down one year into a single narrative is complicated, especially if that period was... well, all over the place.”) Ages 14–up. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"FRESHMAN YEAR is both a relatable recounting of the ups and downs of the first year of college, and an excellent exploration of navigating the challenges and responsibilities of emerging adulthood. A thoughtful, fun, and refreshing read—and the perfect gift for every high schooler contemplating college."—Megan Wagner Lloyd, bestselling author of ALLERGIC and SQUISHED

“This detailed, meditative tale is insightful, honest, and darkly funny, and it includes threads that are (realistically) not tidily resolved. An engaging and relatable slice-of-life story.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Freshman Year brilliantly captures the hardships and messy journey of self-discovery in college. Accompanied by a charming art style, it's a heartfelt and relatable story that will resonate with anyone who's trying to find their own path. Sarah Mai delivers an honest and essential YA debut."—Kat Fajardo, creator of MISS QUINCES

“A really lovely slice-of-life look at a tender time in life: The first year of college. This is a story chock full of heart, sadness, and wit.”—Tillie Walden, creator of ON A SUNBEAM and SPINNING

"This engaging story about adjusting to the upheaval of college fits nicely alongside other coming-of-age comics...Sarah’s difficulty finding herself is well communicated through the expressive art style."—Booklist

"Freshman Year perfectly captures the surreal nature and bewildering independence that comes with the first year of college—a time so unique unto itself. Brought back many forgotten sense memories I know I’ll never experience in quite the same way again, but I have always wanted to remember.  Thank you, Sarah!"
 —Heather Albinson, Wild Rumpus Books

"I would have eaten this book up as a high schooler and have, in my adulthood, read several comics that cover this terrain: moving away to college. This is Sarah’s graphic memoir of leaving her home to attend college . . . . It’s about all of the expectations and anticipation and what happens when those things butt against the realities of what college life is actually like."
 —Book Riot

"College-bound high school readers will appreciate Sarah’s cluelessness, feelings of being overwhelmed, and existential self-searching . . . A solid addition where realistic graphic fiction is in demand."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher