Originally posted on: https://foxtrevert.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/what-does-consent-really-mean/

Thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for an early copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

Before I start my review, Jessica Kingsley Publishers are amazing. They publish books that they know will make a difference. These books range from topics of dyslexia, Asperger’s, gender issues, trans rights, etc,. I think they are amazing, not many publishers dedicate their company to books that help young people deal with social topics.

What Does Consent Really Mean is a graphic novel written by Peter Wallis & Thalia Wallis, illustrated by Joseph Wilkins. As it says on the cover, this book is about consent. The novel follows a group of teenage boys and girls as they discover a classmate has been raped and people are posting hurtful comments online about it. This opens a discussion about rape, consent and if you should say yes or no. It’s a very short graphic novel and I flew through it in about half an hour but the message of the novel is so potent that it is definitely worth the read. Plus, a lot of people in my life – including children and teenagers – tell me that they do not have time to read. 63 pages of a graphic novel do not take long and with a story like this, it is a necessary novel to read.

In recent times, rape and rape culture has become part of our dialogue. We speak about it frequently; on the news, on social media, in person – anywhere and everywhere, you will find you are faced with something that is becoming a widely discussed topic. However, some of the discussions surrounding rape and consent are wrong and do not educate or help people understand. Some media outlets use rape as a tool to get views – some shows and films through it in for the scandal whilst others keep it historically and socially accurate.

What this graphic novel doesn’t do is sensationalize this heinous crime. The reader becomes part of a gang of teenagers and feels like they are listening alongside them as they walk through the park, meet up with boys and ‘share’ a plate of chips. Through this, their discussion of consent begins.

The characters discuss how people do not “deserve it” because they had something “shit” happen and that no-one has a right to force someone to have sex, even if they are drunk (which is how the girl is raped in the first place – she was knocked out drunk and somebody took advantage).

The girls are the main group discussing consent and all are diverse and you can see all of their situations – they are all from different ethnic backgrounds and all have different relationships. The girls learn through their chat with each other that consent is an “enthusiastic yes” and that they should not be pressured by anyone, even if their boyfriend’s make them feel bad. When the boys join the conversation, the discussion turns to expectations and consent among men too.

All of these are valuable lessons to be learned and as they are told through the comic strip it is easier to read and feel immersed in for people who do not want to or have a hard time reading.

This book is not for children as there is small swear words in and it is a difficult topic but I would suggest this for anybody going into high school and further. Men and women need to know what consent is and when it is not okay to do something and through this storytelling with relatable characters and friendly faces everyone can learn something.

I gave this book 5 stars. It is a book that needs to be on shelves and seen by all, especially as the topic of ‘consent’ is still one that seems to be lost in translation for some people.

This is a book that all secondary school-age children (11-16) should be encouraged. The concept of consent is so so important to get right and truly understand, and this book addresses it so well. The comic book concept makes it really age appropriate and definitely more appealing to read (although even on my large screen computer the text comes up very small). The use of colloquial language makes it easily applicable to today's youths, without coming across as trying to hard to be 'cool'. The most important point it puts across is that consent is not the absence of a no, it is 'an enthusiastic yes'. There are discussion points at the end of the book, good for both young people to explore themselves or for sexual health lessons in school,

This book does a good job at addressing common misconceptions. A class-mate is raped, and there are ideas flying around that she must have done something to deserve it, or that she had initially said yes, or got 'pissed', and so on. The book does well to quash these common myths and address a very important issue. On the whole, this is a very valuable read and one that I'll be recommending.

4 Show more
Review Ok, so this was an admirable try at talking to young adults about consent. But I'm not sure how effective it will be. The dialogue reads very much like adults trying to relate to teenagers, and if today's teenagers are anything like I was, that's just not going to make them relate to this at all.

It also demonises things that can be perfectly normal and valid parts of any relationship. The consent discussion is important, making porn and nude pics out to be the enemy kind of negates that. The graphic novel rightly says that everyone views sex differently, and rightly says to promote discussion among partners to find out what the others are into. But it also sets up porn as creating unrealistic expectations about sex, which is not something that I wholeheartedly agree with. In some cases, sure, but teenagers aren't stupid. They can differentiate fantasy from reality, and the way that this presented that kind of made it seem like teenagers were just very 'monkey see, monkey do'.

The entire premise for the discussion on consent was a classmate being raped, which was sort of used as an incidental plot point, which felt sort of...cheap.

I also disagree with the way they handled nudes. Sending nudes is ALSO a matter of consent. It's a matter of trust between two consenting partners. If you send a nude, it's not you who've done anything wrong. The person in the wrong is the person who shares it against your will. I've sent nudes, I've never had them shared online. I consented, and the partners in question respected me by not sharing it. There is nothing wrong with that, and it's a valid way to share your sexuality with your partner. There was a sense of victim blaming where the nudes were concerned.

All in all, this was a great step in promoting discussion about consent, but it fell flat at a few hurdles.

This is a hugely important graphic novel about a vital issue facing society today: consent and the lack of it. It brings up a ton of related issues (rape, sex, peer pressure) and offers a clear and concise definition of consent: consent isn't not saying no, it's saying an explicit yes. I like that the topic is discussed by way of a conversation between girls and later, boys too. I also like how diverse the group of friends and their experiences was. While the dialogue is sometimes clunky, it is still a very important graphic novel and I hope lots of young adults pick it up and learn from it!

We talk about consent, but does anyone really understand, espcially teenager, when peer pressure is such a big thing? This book takes a good mix of teenagers, racially diverse, economically levels, sexualities, and has them have a conversation. This conversation seems quite natural.

The story begins with the teenagers leaving school, and discussing a new girl in school who had to leave her last school because she was raped. First the girls discuss this, and then it moves on to whether this was her fault (it was not, and never is), and what is consent anyway.

This later moves to them talking about their own relationships with boys, and talking to the boys as well.

The end of the book has many resources for further discussion, although., since this was written in the UK, many of the resources are UK based. However, it is pointed out that video on the cup of tea, which explains consent very well, as one of the resources.

This book should be available to all schools and libraries. It is a conversation that should be had for all.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review

A powerful message

What Does Consent Really Mean begins with a group of friends at school. They discover that a girl who attends their school was raped. This strikes up a conversation about the topic of consent and what it means.

As the graphic novel continues, more strong topics are discussed. They talk about porn and how people can believe what they see is real. Media is also another vocal point within the group, talking about how media can make a teenager think and possibly worry about their body image. It is a constant struggle.

From the beginning of What Does Consent Really Mean, the discussion about consent comes from a girls perspective. Because of this, conversations also take place about boyfriends and what feels right and wrong. About how you may want to just agree to do something even though it is not what you want. Of course, this goes both ways and not just from a girls point of view.

Later into the graphic novel, the group are joined by their boyfriends / boy friends and strike up the question to them – What do you think consent means? From the boys perspective, as well as talking about what they think consent is, they talk about how they feel pressured to perform a certain way. This may involve exaggerating what they really do with their significant others only to make themselves look “cool” to others.

By the end of What Does Consent Really Mean, everyone has a better understanding of what consent really is, and that both parties need to be in agreement to do anything, even if it is not sex.

The Artwork

On another note, the artwork of What Does Consent Really Mean is adorable and stylized. What I absolutely adore about it is the diversity it shows. Teenagers of all different races, body types and genders. This really does allow the reader to connect with the read. The writing style in the graphic novel was also simple to follow along with and easy to read. The colors were also vibrant and pleasing to the eyes!

Important read for all young teenagers

I personally feel that What Does Consent Really mean hits the mark with the main theme. At the end, it also includes resources and questions which would be incredibly useful for schools. These question revolve around the themes and topics talked about throughout the graphic novel – Consent, porn, sexting, media and more.

This graphic novel should be widely available for any teenager who wants to found out more about consent and what it means. I would highly suggest that when picking up What Does Consent Really Mean for learning purposes, that the resources are looked at. There are videos and links that give very helpful information and honestly expands what the graphic novel talks about.

Overall, What Does Consent Really Mean is an adorable graphic novel while at the same time a very good informative read. A useful tool for teenagers to read and start learning about what consent is.

“Consent is NOT the absence of NO, it is an enthusiastic YES!”

The graphic novel What Does Consent Really Mean? asks some very important questions and starts a discussion which is really important to have. Sometimes it felt a bit on the nose a la: We are going to teach about consent. Then again, it is the point of the graphic novel. Not only does it asks some really good questions, the story involves a cast of diverse characters on both ethnic and LGBT grounds. Furthermore, it includes characters who are single and characters who are in a relationship.
The story is just teens discussing consent and everything that involves consent: sex, nudes, porn, what is a no and what is a yes. Moreover, the narrative involves both the point of view of girls and boys which made me happy. For a second, I was scared that the graphic novel might gloss over the boys' narrative.

So I really recommend this book, especially if you are not sure what consent is.

In this short story, a group of friends is struck with the question of consent when the newest student is rumored to have been raped. Throughout the book, the topic of consent is struck head-on and explained through conversations that feel all too real.

This was a great conversation starter and quick read. I enjoyed the diversity in choice of characters and the inclusion of so many differing opinions on the topic. It's a great book to read on your own, or with your older (middle school and up) kids.

It's sad that in this day and age we still have to have a conversation about what consent is. But from the headlines we see weekly, it is still clearly needed.

This short graphic novel is a great introduction to what consent is and isn't. It's straight forward and honest, perfect for young teens (think Jr. High), but really everyone could use a refresher on this topic.

There are some good discussion questions at the back of the book as well that can lead to some much needed conversations.

I will not argue that consent is an immensely important topic and should be discussed from a young age, but I just don't think this book was the way to do it. While I agree that a graphic novel is an awesome way to get young people to pay attention, the flow of this book just did not feel right. The illustrations and storyline felt rushed and unnatural, like the author was just trying to pack as much information as possible into with with absolutely no regard for the quality of it. My suggestion would be to format it in clear chapters and discuss a characters story clearly in each one as opposed to trying to lump it all together.

Admittedly, for the first half of the book I was nervous because it appeared it was only going to show things from a straight female perspective, though the collection of characters were clearly from different backgrounds. Don't give up on it if you're feeling that way, because it does also explore issues if consent from the male perspective, expressing that consent requires an agreement between both partners. it also discusses the fact that rule holds true in homosexual and bisexual partnerships as well. I do wish that there had been acknowledgement that women can be the aggressor in a straight relationship, but that was left out (hence the only four star rating). The resources at the back of the book, particularly the Q&A discussion questions make this a great learning tool for adolescents.

This is such an important book. I have been begging for a book like this since I was a teenager. I teach a class called "Sex and Relationships" to juveniles at the local county jail. The kids always get up in arms because I always talk about consent. They say they already know what it means and don't need to talk about it again. Every time I have a discussion about consent I end up teaching them something new. This book covers all of my main points, except one. This book covers "no means no" and more importantly "yes means yes". It doesn't shame people for having sex, it instead tells them it is ok to have sex but only if you are both consenting. It talked about pressure to consent which is huge. It is amazing the stories I get from the kids in the jail about how they have felt pressure to say yes, but then they will defend someone who is in jail for rape because the girl should have just said yes.

The only point I wish this book had gotten was consent vs informed consent. It is well and good to say yes, but what are you really saying yes to. The book circled around it, but didn't quite smack me in the face with it which I feel was needed. This is a huge thing I teach the kids, especially the boys. You need to make your intentions clear, then respect the answer.

This book is very much needed and I am very thankful that it exists.

4.5 stars

While this can be a pretty good teaching tool to teach middle and high school students about consent, I feel like it should be the only thing that teachers should used. The reason why I give it a 4. 5 instead of a five cause it felt like skimmed telling guys that they should consent to things as well. The majority of the book spend telling girls they should consent to things which is nothing wrong with that all but it's a two way street. Some guys can be uncomfortable with doing things with their girls ( or guys) would could be pressuring them to things as well. It just needed to be shone in more " it can happen both ways" light. All in all It was pretty good.

This graphic novel will be a great resource to help youth understand the intricacies of consent that individuals need to grasp more, but future editions should be less cisheteronormative.

A great introduction to an important topic. #Consent #GraphicNovel

I really liked the message of "What does consent really mean?" and how diverse all the characters were. The writing and storyline is appropriate for a younger audience that is trying to learn about consent and sex. The dialogue was rather stilted at times but apart from that it was a pleasant read.

I requested this book from the publisher as I am thinking about resources for my boys as they approach their teen years. I found the graphic novel concise (important as teens are more willing to read it), diverse, and engaging. I really appreciated the content at the end which has discussion questions and gives additional resources. It uses British terms, and that might be confusing to American teenagers who do not know British slang. Overall, not enough of a negative to have me lower my rating. I would say this is a must read for tween and teen boys and girls.

This is a useful and much needed resource for teens and young people. It is an illustrated conversation between a group of school friends about consent, sex, porn, body image, relationships and other related topics. It is very accessible and easy to read, with a list of further reading and other resources, as well as discussion topics at the end of the graphic novel. At times the dialogue can be slightly clunky, but as it is written to be educational, perhaps that would have been hard to avoid. It still gets its points across well and provides a good starting point for conversations about consent. I wish I had had access to something like this when I was at school!

When four teenage girls learn that one of their classmates was raped, they start discussing the meaning of consent and other important topics.

This was a short graphic novel (around 50-60 pages) that speak of important subjects, like consent, porn or the effect of media on our body image... I didn’t actually learn anything reading this but I think younger people would.

I truly think this book should be read by every young teenagers who are starting to be in sexually active relationships or anyone older who still hasn’t grasped the concept of consent which is perfectly put in this book : “Consent is not the absence of 'NO', it is an enthusiastic YES!!”

This should pretty much be read and talked about in middle school.

This graphic novel was adorable, diverse, and presented an amazing point in such an understandable way! I honestly just want this book to be present in every school library across the world and for every middle-schooler and high-schooler to be required to read it and discuss it, because it brings up so many important topics regarding consent that kids need to be thinking about as they enter their sexually active times in their life - or even if they don't want to be sexually active, it can still teach them how to relate better to their peers who are, as well as empathizing with abuse survivors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Singing Dragon for the ARC of this book! All opinions expressed here are my own.