This book is a great way to start a conversation about consent and what that word really means for kids, teens, and even adults. Consent is a conversation that should be started early and explored often for all children. This book will help facilitate that conversation in a relatable and palatable way.

This is a very, very important topic.
All women in this time, until some people can think this problems just ended, are being arrasment for men in their lives. Men than they should trust and that's just not fair.
This topics need more visibility and attention.
This is so great book, and I can't say anything bad about the edition and all. I really love it.

Consent is a very important topic, but this graphic novel did not address it in a great way. The writing was clunky and all over the place. It felt like the author was just jam packing all the information and didn't flow it together as a cohesive plot.

It's been so long since I read this and my copy is no longer available to go back and refresh my memory.
I do recall thinking that this was a good start - but missed the mark, for me. I felt that there was a bit of a gossip/shaming vibe when the girls found out a classmate had been raped. I didn't feel like this was really dealt with in a way to provide guidance about the horror of that and how to offer empathy and compassion.
I do think this is a topic that is necessary for both girls and boys - I'm sad that is the case so I feel like this book is a start. I do recall thinking that being a graphic novel format might make it easier to open frank discussions with teens on this topic.

Thank you for providing a copy of this book for review however I was unable to open the file for this document unfortunately! Apologies.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this!

Not formatted correctly for my kindle but I know graphic novels are much better in physical form rather than digital.

This is the prefect book for teenagers/young adults to give them the tools needed to understand about consent and move on to more in-depth books on this very important subject.

*Huge thanks to Pete Wallis, Thalia Wallis, Joseph Wilkins, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Singing Dragon and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

What Does Consent Really Mean is a graphic nonfiction book that tackles the tangled and thorny issue of consent. What is consent and how do we know we have somebody's consent? This book gives teenagers a possible way to talk about consent in a meangingful manner. The graphics itself were colorful and the conversations clear and on-target. Although I liked this book for those reasons I thought the book was too preachy to be effective. The tone is too adult and kids adolescents don't really talk in the stilted way that happens in the book. Not messy enough.. I can imagine reading it together in health class as a guide to discuss consent.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Karen

We ordered this for our teen room! I think the fact that it is a graphic novel will be really appealing to deal with a very uncomfortable topic. The book shows real world examples of how consent can seem like no big deal, when in fact it is very important. It isn't as heavy as I was expecting which is great and make it more accessible to teens.

While the flow and dialog felt a little off for targeted readers, I think the graphic novel format is perfect for this subject. Will purchase.

I downloaded this title a while ago and have now finally read it. I wish I had done this earlier. It is an informative book in graphic format which unfortunately did not come over correctly with my kindle app. It deals with the question of consent from the point of view of confused teenagers who discuss and question each other about what is meant by the word and action of consent. Both male and female views are aired. It also includes advice on sexting and pressure. There are also a number of questions at the end of the book and websites to consult with and some YouTube resources to watch.

2.5

This is an amazing concept, though I felt that the dialogue was a bit out of touch and didn't feel natural (possibly written by someone who didn't have first hand experience with the concept).. #consent

I feel like this is one of those books people are going to put on a shelf in hopes that their teen will happen upon it. Its a resource, the start of a conversation. Especially since it raises a lot of really big issues in a fairly short length. The role of alcohol, of behavior, sexting, social media, reading body cues, societal pressures, porn. Really this book just asks the question, trying to get kids to at least think about these things. It becomes important then for parents to take the next step and discuss the content.

This graphic novel is a good resource which should be introduced to school exploring consent.
It is a good conversation starter and is good educational material for young people.

"What does consent really mean?" is so relevant and important. The question of consent is brought up between young friends in this book. The only problem is that the conversation felt very unnatural to me and if it sounds unnatural to me, I think it could sound unnatural to the target audience of younger kids and teens. The whole time I was reading this, I tried to imagine what younger me would have thought about it. Sure, it would have been a whole lot better than what I was actually told about consent ("if someone is touching you somewhere you don't want to be touched, say no"... well unfortunately its a lot more complex than that!) but I feel like maybe I wouldn't have really listened to it because it sounded quite preachy and cheesy. I can't fully describe it properly but it just felt like a really bad television soap or something in the way that it was received on my end.

I think that if it was edited better, it could have been so much better. They had the basics to a really good graphic novel but the final product fell flat for me. I am giving it 3 stars because I think that its an important topic and maybe it will be received better by younger kids and teens. If it helps even one person, then I think that is great. I did like how it wasn't just a bunch of white kids in the comic, there was a bit of diversity and that was a plus for me.

Consent definitely needs to be taught to young kids but it needs to be better than this, I think. I'm not sure if there are better books/comics than this but I haven't really heard of anything else. I hope there are better things out there but again, I'm not sure if there are. If you're looking for something to give to your child, this could be a good starting point. It might initiate a conversation or get them interested to hear more about consent so I guess I would recommend it.

The format of the graphic novel was quite hard for me to read because it wasn't a finished product but that didn't affect my rating.

* I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's taken me a while to figure out how to write a review about this book. I think What Does Consent Really Mean? by Pete Wallis, Joseph Wilkins, and Thalia Wallis is a really important book but the fact that I couldn't figure out what age range to place it in bothered me more than it normally would. High school age would be too late. Elementary feels too young because there are references to porn and good luck getting a parent to sign off on that. But middle school kids feel like both problems would be an issue. Some parents would be pissed that there are references to things they don't want their kids to know about yet (whether that is reasonable or not is another issue) and part of me thinks that middle school might be too late for these lessons too. I remember kids having "boyfriends" and "girlfriends" in fifth grade or at least our version of that. So it isn't that much of a leap to think that middle school age kids could be having sex. Not to mention, consent is not just about sex, but kissing, touching, and really just listening to what another person wants. Putting aside all my issues, I think this book is really important and should be read by everyone, no matter what their age is.

Synopsis:
"Consent is not the absence of 'NO', it is an enthusiastic YES!!"

While seemingly straightforward, Tia and Bryony hadn't considered this subject too seriously until it comes up in conversation with their friends and they realize just how important it is. Following the sexual assault of a classmate, this group of teenage girls find themselves discussing the term consent, what it actually means for them in their current relationships, and how they act and make decisions with peer influence. They are then joined by their male friends who offer another perspective.

If you are anyone who considers themselves a feminist, a supporter of survivors of sexual assault or a survivor yourself, the beginning of this book will probably piss you off immensely. Two of the girls are ready to victim blame their classmate who has just been sexually assaulted and are ready to badmouth her on social media. But stay with it!  This is how the discussion on consent begins. Amira and Jade (my two favorite characters in the book) come to the rescue. They have an honest discussion with their friends without shaming them for their victim blaming (hello, internalized misogyny) and help them come to the conclusion about what consent is and why it's important. It is revealed that Tia and Bryony have been in situations where their consent was not being considered by their boyfriends. They think that because they are in a relationship they have to be up for whatever their boyfriends suggest, no matter how they feel (thanks, society). Amira and Jade talk them through how consent applies to their situations too. 

The girls eventually meet up their guy friends (and boyfriends for some of them) at the park and continue the discussion with them. While Bryony stands up to her boyfriend in this situation, shoving him away from her and telling him how she feels, I feel like the boys get off the hook a little too easily. Bryony's boyfriend, Ryan, seems straight-up abusive. I understand how it would be hard to address in a book that is clearly meant for a younger audience and a shorter book at that, but his development into a guy who is all about consent seems like a very quick turn around from what Bryony experienced in the past. While I believe the other male characters really learn something from this discussion (as do the girls when they hear about the pressure boys are under), Ryan I am not so sure about. His development does not feel believable to me. Shouldn't this book show how the real world works sometimes (that not everyone is so easily redeemable) as well as showing how honest discussions can help people understand what others are going through?

Overall, this book really covers a lot of issues (and does so with beautiful illustrations). It talks about the pressure put on boys and girls, all the different aspects of consent, how to get out of the cycle of victim blaming, how to advocate for yourself and what you want, and much more. On a 5 star scale, I give What Does Consent Really Mean? 4 stars. Despite a few flaws, this book really feels like a good place to start in teaching kids early what consent is and why it is so important.

What Does Consent Really Mean? came out in November 2017.

Thank you, NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers/Singing Dragon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this graphic novel on consent. It’s written as a conversation between a group of friends - first just girls, and then some boys join the conversation later. It does a good job of dispelling myths that I think a lot of teens struggle with around sex.

I’m not sure how well it would play with American teens, since it is clearly British and so the dialogue can be a little “huh?” It’s a great idea and a quick read. I think it would be more successful in America if they updated the dialogue a little bit, just so it wasn’t laughed at and not taken seriously due to the strangeness of it. I would hate for it to be dismissed out of hand because it sounded awkward to kids here, because the message is A+.

I love the message behind this graphic novel, it's definitely something I'm extremely passionate about and I love how it's written in a simple way so kids and even adults can learn about consent really is. truly believe that even if you think you know what consent is, that you should read this book.
I loved how it showed both sides, from the male and female perspectives. This is a book that I definitely recommend and that I will show my younger siblings and their friends.

I write more about this on my blog that you can check out: https://angiesbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/07/what-does-consent-really-mean-by-pete-wallis-book-review/

Where to start? Well, this is certainly the book I wish I'd had when I was growing up and when my own children were of the age to need this advice for that fact. This book, "What does consent really mean?" is presented as a graphic novel and shows multi-cultural characters discussing and growing in knowledge about the topic of consent. This inclusion of such a range of opinions, yet, still coming to a consensus, also demonstrates to young people how you can and should be able to discuss matters openly in a healthy relationship. I found especially good the part where the teenage girls were more able to discuss this area than the teenage lads although through their clearly good friendships they worked through this, once again demonstrating a mature attitude to the audience.
I can certainly recommend this book as a reference book for any teenagers, schools or those involved with working with this age group.

Good discussion that brings up many key points to understanding consent. I was particularly glad to see the boys side come into it. The only reason I don't feel my library will purchase this is because I'm in the US, another edition that lists US resources in the back would be great.