The Greatest Thing

by Sarah Winifred Searle

Overview

A 2023 Lambda Literary Award Finalist
A 2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
A 2023 Children's Book Council Young Adult Favorite

It’s the first day of sophomore year, and now that Winifred’s two best (and only) friends have transferred to a private school, she must navigate high school on her own. But she isn’t alone for long. In art class, she meets two offbeat students, Oscar and April. The three bond through clandestine sleepovers, thrift store shopping, and zine publishing. Winifred is finally breaking out of her shell, but there’s one secret she can’t bear to admit to April and Oscar, or even to herself—and this lie is threatening to destroy her newfound friendships.

With breathtaking art and honest storytelling, Sarah Winifred Searle delivers a heartfelt story about love, friendship, and self-acceptance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250297235
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	02/08/2022
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	282,865
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sarah Winifred Searle hails from spooky New England but currently lives in sunny Perth, Australia, with her beloved spouse and their cat. Best known for vulnerable memoirs and compassionate fiction, she writes and draws comics and still likes to make zines with her friends when she has time. Her first graphic novel, Sincerely, Harriet, was published by Graphic Universe.

Editorial Reviews

12/13/2021

Searle’s semi-autobiographical graphic novel covers teen relationships, mental health, art-making, and disordered eating with crackling specificity. In 2002, Winifred Cunningham is an anxious white 10th grader whose closest friends have recently transferred to other schools. Win, who is self-conscious about eating in front of others, “trick” her body “into forgetting it was hungry by making it sick instead” at night and stays awake worrying. But she soon befriends wealthy, enthusiastic April, cued as white and nonbinary, and poetic, pansexual Oscar, who has brown skin. The three share a love of art and struggle with self-esteem, and they find an outlet by creating a zine, Gutterglimmers, which evolves over the course of the story, conveyed in full issues accompanied by zine-making instructions. With help from her empathic mom, meds, and a guidance counselor, Win eventually takes self-expression from the pages of her zine to real life, and finally reciprocates the overtures of a welcoming friend. Spare illustrations with a limited palette add to a visually and emotionally satisfying read about escaping depression and loneliness through art-making. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Linnan, Linnan Literary Management. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A 2023 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist for LGBTQ+ Comics
A 2022 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of the Year

"Give this book to the teens in your life."
—Tillie Walden, author of Spinning and Are You Listening?

"I wish I had this book as a teen."
—Colleen AF Venable, author of Kiss Number 8


"Set in an era when landline phones were still in use, the story explores sexuality, mental health, and the messiness that goes with understanding of self in ways that will resonate with contemporary readers."—Kirkus

"An author’s note explains the balance of memoir and fiction, and the personal elements certainly render Winifred as a painfully realistic, relatable, and memorable character. Wordless panels carry the story, conveying despair or ebullience with gestures, tinting, and shadows." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[...] A visually and emotionally satisfying read about escaping depression and loneliness through art-making."—Publisher's Weekly

"In her crisp, precise art, Searle deftly depicts the emotions of her characters, largely through their expressive body language; Winifred’s slumped shoulders as she curls into herself are easily worth a thousand words... this is a sensitive, compassionate portrayal of teenage mental health struggles that emphasizes the importance of community, self-acceptance, and finding the courage to ask for help. —Booklist

"This graphic novel will give you serious feels... You'll cry, laugh, and smile through this slice-of-life read." —Girls' Life

From the Publisher

2021-10-26
A young woman is apprehensive about starting the school year after her two closest friends move to a different school.

Introverted, talented, and filled with self-doubt, Winifred is the focus of this simply drawn story; uncluttered panels and an appealing, muted color scheme let her introspective narration take center stage. She loves drawing and photography, gets middling grades in some of her classes, and is self-conscious about her weight—to the point that she has begun to eat foods she knows make her sick (she is lactose intolerant) as a sort of self-punishment. Set in the Portland, Maine, area in the early 2000s, the storyline follows Winifred as she makes new friends: She becomes especially close to April, who also has an eating disorder and whose wealthy parents are emotionally absent, and Oscar, who struggles with depression. Winifred and Oscar work together on a zine that is featured in its entirety in four parts. Initially, Winifred thinks she may be interested in Oscar, but she later realizes she is really attracted to a girl named Tilly. Set in an era when landline phones were still in use, the story explores sexuality, mental health, and the messiness that goes with understanding of self in ways that will resonate with contemporary readers. Varied visual perspectives, clean linework, and easy-to-read speech bubbles contribute to the pleasurable reading experience. Winifred and April read as White; Oscar and Tilly have brown skin.

A poignant, honest, and deeply engaging work. (Graphic fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews