Giant Days, Vol. 4

Giant Days, Vol. 4 by John Allison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Distributor
Published: 2017
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Comic, Humor, Friendship, Romance, University Life

BLURB:

It’s springtime at Sheffield University — the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and fast-pals Susan, Esther and Daisy continue to survive their freshman year of college. Susan is barely dealing with her recent breakup with McGraw, Esther is considering dropping out of school, and Daisy is trying to keep everyone and everything from falling apart! Combined with house-hunting, indie film festivals, and online dating, can the girls make it to second year?

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Oh my, this author really likes his cliff-hangers, doesn’t he? That’s fine, that’s fine. But it’s only fine because I have the next volumes next to me, staring at me intently, betting against each other how long it will take me to pick them up, which is why I recommend having the whole series with you when you start it, if possible. It’s just better for your mental health, yeah, yeah.

Esther, Susan and Daisy are finishing their first year of university. Remember how I was extremely shocked by the ending of the previous volume and anticipated lots and lots of drama? Well, it turned out not to be as dramatic as I expected. The author could have easily turned everything upside down, but I’m glad he didn’t and the story remained realistic enough.

That’s what I like best about this series. It’s realistic in the sense that you understand why the events featured are happening and you can totally visualize this university and its students actually existing, but at the same time it’s so unique that you know you’re going to have trouble comparing this comic to any other one. So while it’s realistic, it’s also crazy ridiculous (of the entertaining sort) and sometimes even heart-warming.

Esther, Susan and Daisy are girls that warm up to you. I definitely don’t think they’re perfect – Esther knows nothing about saving money, even when she needs it. Susan smokes a little too much and prefers to lie to herself about the guy she is still in love with (come on, girl!). And Daisy… Daisy… She is… Actually, I quite like how ‘‘innocent’’ Daisy is. How she’s clueless sometimes and would miss on lots of opportunities for fun if Susan and Esther weren’t with her. These girls complete one another. It is in fact their imperfections that make them so relatable and their actions understandable.

This series is just so much fun. The girls need to find a new place to stay next year. Susan tries online dating (boy, oh boy). Daisy meets someone new (I really like her). Esther is desperate for money and boys (not that that’s any surprise). Lots of fun.

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