Review: Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

Title: Comics Will Break Your Heart

Author: Faith Erin Hicks

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Publishing Date: February 12th, 2019

Pages: 340
Audio Length:

Genre: YA Contemporary
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

Miriam's family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that's what Miriam has: practically nothing. And practically nothing to look forward to either-how can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn't have enough to worry about, Miriam's life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town . . . and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam's grandfather, and heir to the TomorrowMen fortune.

What made me pick this book up: 

The cover caught my eye, that and the title. I love the bright colors and how it looks like it's comics in the font. And of course I love anything involving comic books.

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, I love anything involving comics. And I've been really big into contemporary lately. So this just sounded like a really interesting book to me. 

What did I like the most: 

I love the geekery of it. Of course it's about comics and having a huge fandom. I love how comics are becoming a normal thing to love, and how people don't have to be ashamed of it anymore.

The story is really good, it does almost have a Romeo and Juliet-esque story to it. Minus the people dying of course. But it's also interesting to me to see two teens who come from completely different lives, one rich and has a famous family, and the other not quite poor but definitely has to work, who could have been a famous family if not for the war on who got to claim the comics. 

The characters I think were written well. I loved the MC's parents most. Is that weird? Might be weird. They were so cool and down to earth. The MCs were both pretty great too. I feel like we got to know them and what they're like, and the struggles that they have. 

On one hand you have Weldon (I love this name btw) Who like I said, grew up rich and has a famous family for winning the lawsuit to claim the rights to TomorrowMen. He grew up getting what he wanted, all except the attention of his family. 

He has so much baggage and want and need for love that he acts out by stealing cars and just getting in a lot of trouble.

On the other hand you have Miriam, Mir for short. And her family lost the lawsuit. And so she has to work to go to college and have money for the family. But she has an awesome family who loves her and gives her all the attention.

The romance is sweet, but I feel like it took a while to get to it. I'll talk more about that in the what I didn't like.

This book is written really well I think. It was realistic and fun reading about the comic store and all that.

What didn't I like: Like I said, the romance took a while to get into the book, and when it did I feel like it happened too fast. It went from no I hate you because of what your family did to mine, to I want to spend all my time with you, I love you, blah blah blah.

I also feel like once it got to the romance the whole book felt rushed and nothing REALLY happened in the end. 

I didn't care for most of Mir's friends. They seemed selfish and rude to me. But maybe that's just me. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Absolutely! Especially these ones:

Sweet love story with some geeky elements.

Born in the wilds of British Columbia, the young Faith frolicked among the Sasquatch native to the province before moving to Ontario at age five. There she was homeschooled with her three brothers, and developed an unnatural passion for galloping around on horseback, though never without a proper helmet (because you only get one skull). After twenty years of suffering through Ontario’s obscenely hot summers, she migrated east, and now lives beside the other ocean in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She worked in animation for a bit, and now draws comics full time. She’s not sure how that happened either.