Girl Haven, written by Lilah Sturges and illustrated by Meaghan Carter, is a graphic novel currently scheduled for release on February 9 2021. Three years ago, Ash’s mom left home and never returned, leaving behind a husband and child and a shed full of mystical curiosities related to the all-girl fantasy world she’d created as a child—Koretris. One day Ash invites a new group of friends from Pride Club over, and they try one of the spells to enter Koretris. To their amazement, they’re all transported to a magical realm filled with human-sized talking animals who are fiercely protective of their world and are ready to fight to protect it. But if Koretris is real, why is Ash there? Everyone has always called Ash a boy—shouldn’t the spell have kept Ash out? And what does it mean if it let Ash in?

Girl Haven is a middle grade fantasy that holds appeal for older readers as well. Ash is trying to figure life out, find a friend group, and figure out how to keep moving forward after their mother disappeared. Making inroads with a new group is hard enough, but when you are still reeling with the loss of your mother and not quite comfortable in your own skin it is even harder. Add in a trip to a magical world with the journey of finding your own path and emotions, fear, and uncertainty can take over. I really liked the character and world building. I thin Ash and the Pride Group and are well built characters with room to grow both individually and together. I loved the world building of Koretis, and the story line surrounding is creation and troubles. I hope to see this continue on in a fun, lengthy series and plan on following it. The art style fits with the story, but I will admit is not my personal favorite style. However, it is a style found in many very popular graphic novels and cartoons, and I think it will appeal greatly to the target audience. There was great skill in the artwork, motion, emotion, and detail was well done. It is much more a matter of personal preference than anything else.

Girl Haven is a solid graphic novel for middle grade, and older, audiences that is entertain and encourages readers to find their own truth and their own story.

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
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Ash and his new friends from the Pride Club stumble upon a spell that transports them to the world of Koretris. What Ash believed to be a novel written by his absent mother turned out to be an entire world filled with magical creatures. Koretris is a haven for girls, so how did Ash get here? It turns out that Koretris is in trouble - threatened by The Scourge - and the citizens hope that Ash has the same magical gifts as his mother. The friends must save the queen and Koretris, and Ash must embrace his true self if he is to save everyone.

At its core, this is a story about gender, but there’s a lot going on here. There are some unpleasant stereotypes employed between Eleanor embodying the "Angry Black lesbian" trope, and that boys are primitive, violent, messy, and smelly. Junebug, a high-energy nonbinary sweetheart, is sprinkled into scenes like seasoning instead of really having any substantive contributions to further the plot, which is a shame because they are one of my favorite characters in this story. Ash and Chloe have some really wonderful conversations about identity and accepting oneself that then carry over to Ash and a few other characters, and this is where the majority of character development is spent. The amount of time and care spent on Ash is wonderful, so I would really have been satisfied with a little bit more time invested in everyone else.

The illustrations and colors are very soothing and soft. There are a few panels where the cartoony nature takes over and some of the characters end up with strange proportions. The magical creatures are really interesting and reflect the journey to maturity that Ash's mother was on while creating this world.

Oni rates this as middle grade. Given the delicate nature in which Ash travels the road of self discovery, this is one of the nicest approaches to some difficult topics that can begin around this age group.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 6-8

This book was absolutely adorable! I loved the unique cast of characters and the powerful messages about self-acceptance. I thought that the big final battle seemed a little too easily won, but despite that I would really recommend this to anyone looking to read a fun and sweet middle grade graphic novel with LGBTQ+ rep (or any middle grader who might want to learn about the community).

I honestly wished I could’ve spent more time in the marvelous fantasy world that the author created and I hope that there are plans for a sequel! The ending definitely seemed to hint at it… Anyway that’s all I have to say about this graphic novel. Thank you so much to @onipress for the review copy!

An excellent choice for Pride clubs in middle grades and middle school. This book seems to have been written for children who are struggling to understand their gender identity. Anyone can enjoy it, and use it to gain some insight and discussion prompts about gender, but it will be most touching for youth questioning their gender identity. Junebug is adorable comic relief. The fantasy world itself wasn't particularly interesting to me, but I used to really enjoy The Land of Oz as a kid, and the fantasy characters in their fantasy settings remind me of adventures in Oz. I think making this book available to children and younger teens could make an incredible, positive difference for kids who need love to overcome fear. I do think the story would be more effective without the author's preface and end notes, because her message comes through the story clearly, and putting her agenda (as much as I 100% support that agenda) in the beginning and end comes off as didactic. Still, this book wasn't written for me, nor for people unfamiliar with LGBTQ+ rights. It was written to make the world a little kinder for trans kids, and in that it very much succeeds.

In which Toxic Masculinity (unnamed) is an actual Beast that must be fought...and protagonist Ash is desperate to feel any kind of certainty about her gender and finally does. Often approaches heavy-handedness—it’s not graceful like, for ex, Witch Boy—but ultimately feels somehow like an essential purchase. I’ll be interested to see how kids respond to it—it’s hard not to see it through the adult lens both of years of thinking about and studying gender, and a youth in which no one I knew talked about exploring it.

This was a quick and cute graphic novel about gender identity and understanding who you are. Ash explores her transgender identity, while also finding catharsis over her mother’s disappearance. Ash was a cutie, and her arc through the story is very well done.

However, this story did feel rushed. Because there was so much story to cram in everything was fast paced, and so the other characters didn’t have much of a personality outside of their stereotypes. Ash was the most fleshed out because it’s her story, but the side characters I didn’t care for that much. There are a lot of cool ideas, but again they don’t have much room to breathe.

This is still a good series, but it needed to refine some story aspects to make it stronger.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I cast out all thoughts of this world. I think only of Koretris. I imagine her spires, her oceans, her forests, her valleys. I open myself to the space between worlds, let it lift me out of space. And deliver me into a haven for girls.”

Girl Haven is about four people who venture off in a world called Koretris, a fantasy world made for girls and only girls. Ash, the main character, wonders if she was brought into the world by mistake or not.

This was honestly so cute. I loved all of the characters, especially Junebug they’re the cutest and funniest character in the novel. This was a quick read but it’s a great book to read for all ages. It shows many different positive representations of people on different identities they have based on their gender and/or sexuality. It had multiple interesting twists throughout the graphic novel, from the different characters the comes up, the storyline, and in the end.

Thank you Oni Press and Netgalley for providing me an eARC of Girl Haven in exchange for an honest review.

I sat a little on this review because I wasn’t sure where to start. When I first saw the synopsis on Netgalley I was excited and happy to get approved. I read Girl Haven in one sitting and at the end it I was a bit “huh”.

Girl Haven isn’t terrible but also it isn’t what I was expecting. The premise is great, it is a book that deals with gender identity and finding yourself in a fantasy setting. The scenes between Ash and Eleanor are lovely as well but, well there is a -but-

Since finishing this I’ve read other reviews and the points raised about the inconsistency in the art and choices in stereotyping which are valid. The story feels a bit rushed as well, I’m wondering length had been expanded that there would have been more opportunity for the fantasy element to be less hurried and a more nuanced exploration the emotional centre for Ash and her friends.

For me Girl Haven offers a lot of potential, but I felt a bit let down at the end. I didn’t dislike this book, but I hoped for more.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

This was SO good. I loved how it explained gender to a younger audience. I think this is something I, and many others, needed as children to help realise certain things. It also shows the magic of one's imagination and that it can be great but also have some downsides. I loved all the characters and cannot wait to read more adventures with these characters.

Rating: 4⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

Netgalley copy Review

Girl Haven by Lilah Sturges
3.5/5

'A boy is one kind of story, A girl is another kind. And they are but two of many stories. What folly to think that the complete works of humanity would fit on two shelves! Each one bending under the weight of all the books it tries to contain.'

Ash grew up hearing stories about Koretris, a fantasy world that his mother created, a haven for girls where no boys or men allowed.
3 years ago Ash's mother Kristin went missing.
One evening as Ash, his crush Eleanor and their friends Chloe are all transported to Koretris, a girls-only imaginary world, Ash must come to terms with the fact that he may actually be a transgender girl.

Overall this is a cute little story, a great book for middle graders to learn about gender identity. Short and sweet and the illustrations were cute, glad I picked this one up.

From the same the re-known author of Lumberjanes, comes a tale of gender identity, belonging, and self exploration to finding ones self, whilst overcoming your fears while at it. An intriguing tale of a boy named Ash, that jumped inside a portal of a world created by his beloved mother called Koretris. In this world everyone (humans and animals) are all female. It is a book of one persons journey to self discovery set up in a fantasy world with strong friendship and love. I could not put it down once I started.

From the art style itself this book already captured my attention, the world is so lush and beatuifully drawn. The amazing set of characters is abundantly lovely.

This graphic novel is powerful, moving and thought provoking. it discusses themes such as gender identity, as well as sexual orientation and pronouns.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for everyone that is looking for LGBTQIA+ themed books that talks about gender and racism wrapped up in a fantasy graphic novel packaging that will surely entertain readers while also spark conversation.

This is the perfect book for younger readers to learn about gender in a story filled with friendship, love, family, and adventure. There are also cute animals and I'm so happy I got to read it.
I adored the author's initial and final notes on gender and sexuality and the lovely way she spoke to her readers about what they were about to read.
Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for this DRC.

Review to come in about a week on blog/Goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

OH MAN... this book just made me feel many emotions. From aww and go go Ash (for Ash and her/his problems and how they were trying to find out their place and identity) to OMG no (Chloe, how the boys were portrayed). I have thought about dropping this book many a time during my read. I have vented on Twitter each time. I am not happy with this book. For most at least.

There are a few things in here that may be spoiler... though given the blurb and that is is pretty clear that Ash is a boy who wants to be a girl I don't see them as big spoilers. Plus, I want to use the right pronouns for Ash.

What I did like was Ash. I loved Ash. She (as per the ending) struggles, her journey, her everything was just so well done. We find out that Ash is struggling with who she is. Girl? Boy? Girl? Preferably girl it seems. I am glad she found someone to confide in. And I loved that part where she undresses out of an armour into the dress she wears under it. To show what she picked. I loved all the conversations between Ash and various characters about her identity. About what is right. What to pick. How to know if this path is right. I was cheering for her. I was rooting for her so much. She is so sweet and throughout the story shows great bravery. I am also so happy at the ending. I see that dad and Ash had a good conversation and that he is there for her. Go dad!

I did love Eleanor and Junebug. They were just so much fun and I love how Eleanor and Ash got close. How Ash felt safe enough with Eleanor to talk to her about all their troubles. And I loved the ending and what Eleanor whispered into Ash's ear. Oh yes! I am in for that! And Junebug was just adorable and fun. I loved how bouncy she (I will say she as that was stated in the beginning that she was OK with that) was and how nothing seemed to scare her. I am curious to how her test-drive (as per ending) is going.

Chloe is the type of girl I would avoid in real life. And probably would have made me avoid a pride club if there was one in my high school. Constantly making remarks about everything. I was pretty disgusted by how she reacted when Ash said she (again using the right pronouns though at this time of the story she was using he/him pronouns) wanted to try nailpolish and how Chloe went into a full rant about male and what aggressive colours they should like and all that. And then came the you can't say "Hey Guys". Which just had me rolling my eyes. I am a girl, and frankly I don't give a crap if someone says that to me as I CAN SEE that it isn't meant in a wrong way. But these days people can't it seems. *rolls eyes* Even Junebug agrees with me and calls Chloe grumpity. To which Chloe replied that she is fun. Sure, but your fun is not to everyone's liking. Dismissing people, acting better than others. No thank you.

I HATED how the boys were written. Stereotypical (boys are violent, boys can't show emotions other than rage or happiness, boys are messy) and hurtful. I am a girl myself, but why do we need to hate on boys like this? Our world is split in female and male. We are both needed for this world. There is no need to act like this.

BUT I am confused. Koretris is for girls... but yet there are all these boys? So they aren't boys? I am so confused about that part. Especially since dad specifically says that Koretris is for girls and that he cannot go there. Umm? So all these boys are trans/non-binary? I am trying to make sense of it, but I just cannot. I think this part could have been better written.

I do love the fantasy world, well for most. I think it is an amazing place and there is so much still left to explore. I wouldn't mind more journeys to it.

The art was pretty great, I like the style.

But yeah, I just cannot rate it high as I was frustrated at several things. 2.5 stars is all I can give. Chloe, how boys were portrayed, the war, the battle. No thank you.

I wish this book had been around when I was a kid. What a beautiful way to explore so many themes kids might be struggling with, all wrapped in a fantasy setting with a cast of diverse, wonderful friends.

This was perfection. I seriously loved everything about it! Eleanor, Chloe, and Junebug were so welcoming of Ash into the LGBTQIA+ club, and they definitely didn't turn down the opportunity for an adventure. Each character had so much personality, but Eleanor was my favorite! The art was beautiful, and I hope there is a sequel!! :)

As soon as I saw I read the description, I knew it was going to be an important story. And it was, but done in a way to make anyone understand. It was cute and funny, but hit me in the feels when it needed too.

Ash meets some new friends who are part of a Pride group at school. He invites them back to his and they go into his mothers shed, all that's left of her, and find themselves in a little more trouble than they expected. The end up in the world Ash's mother created, Koretris, which is only for girls. ...So how did Ash get through?

Lilah Sturges really did explore this one side of gender and it was very insightful and can see it helping so many young ones who are stuck in a place in the middle, unsure of themselves and not knowing what to do.

It was an absolute joy reading this in advance, thank you again NetGalley and Oni Press for the chance to review this.

Girl Haven
Author: Lilah Sturges
Illustrator: Meaghan Carter
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 2/2/2021

Description: Ash follows his crush, Eleanor to Pride Club at his school. Afterwards, Ash invites his new friends to his home and shows them the magical world his mother created Koretris. His mother disappeared many years ago but has left behind all the artwork and writing about the world. When one of his friends casts a magical spell, they are all transported to this world which is for girls only. Ash simultaneously realizes that he is a girl and needs to save Koretris from the Scourge, an evil force tormenting this world.

What I liked about this book:
*The story was thoughtful and powerful. I have not seen many epic tales that tackle the patriarchy, gender and talking bunnies woven together so artfully.
*The illustrations are a beautiful blend of simplicity, color and detail that creates the beautiful world of Koretris.
*I loved the ending of this story – especially how Ash’s dad reacts to his journey to Koretris.

What I wanted more of:
*I wanted to see more of Koretris. We got to see the Reed Rabbits and the Candy Babies, but I wanted more. I’m glad that the story left the door open for more explorations into this world.
*I wanted a bit more of the supporting characters throughout the story. They are heavily featured in the first 25% of the graphic novel and then slowly fade away.

This is a delightful tale that blends fantasy with exploration of gender and the patriarchy. I would recommend this comic and look forward to reading more in this series.

This comic conveys some relevant gender messages using a fantasy comic setting suitable for junior/middle school or younger secondary school age students. I wasn't completely sold on the style of illustration but I guess it was helpful in creating characters that were not visually aligned with one gender or another. I'm in two minds over the storyline as on one hand I feel the story was a bit disjointed and secondary to the messages. On the other hand, I appreciate that there will be some young people who will benefit from the information in a context that is simple and non-confrontational. I will probably buy this for our library as the format will suit those who struggle with chapter books.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

So many trans stories focus on protagonists that have always known their gender. That's a good and important story to tell, but it's not everyone's story. From the moment Ash listed his pronouns as "he/him, I guess", I knew I'd hit on something special. Between that and Ash's desperate need to have the right answer about something as subjective as your personal identity, I saw my own story reflected in a way that I rarely do. This is the sort of adventure book I've loved since I was a child, but queerer and all the more delightful for it. This book could have been exactly what I needed in high school. I'm so glad the teenagers of today get to read it now.

[PLEASE SEE GOODREADS TO READ THIS REVIEW PROPERLY FORMATTED WITH EXAMPLE IMAGES]

I was so disappointed by this book! Easily what I was most excited to receive from NetGalley and what I am now saddest about. Admittedly this is making me want to take a break from NG because of this... run of disappointments.

The premise is fantastic: a boy is drawn into an all-girls world. What does that mean for 'him'? And what does it mean about our society? In general I love stories with gender-based magic being subverted in some way-- off the top of my head, I adore The Witch Boy and its later volumes. Gender-based magic is a GREAT way to mess with a binarist, fundamentalist idea of our gendered society.

And I'm glad to say that that aspect went off without many hitches. It's a little rushed-- I wish the book was that much longer, just because we could've used more scenarios where Ash is Suspiciously Okay With Being Seen As A Girl, but when she brings it up we can tell that it's been simmering beneath the surface for quite a while. So it's not just a case of magic 'knowing', but a case of Ash herself hiding the truth because it's hard to face. And the magic helps her face the fact that, really, she's known the whole time. It's a charming way of simplifying the journey many people take.

Unfortunately, there were many related issues. And now we will talk about those.

Firstly, this book has a case of the angry black woman. There are three kids in the GSA ('Pride Club') at Ash's school, and they're introduced through her getting her nails painted-- as a boy!!!! And this is how we meet not just the two friendly members, but one... slightly more intimidating character.

(spoiler for large images) (view spoiler)

This is Chloe. She later tells Ash off for using "you guys," saying it's sexist and introducing herself as a "feminist killjoy"-- a label she also wears on her jean jacket. You may notice that not only is she black, but she's the most butch of the three characters (though it must be said that the smallest, Junebug, is nonbinary.) Junebug is the kid who tells animals facts about themselves ("you're a cat. Did you know that about yourself?"), and Eleanor is the girl who checks in with Ash several times in the Magic Zone (plus chemistry!), Chloe... doesn't have much personality. Except possibly this:


(better quality)

And this:


(better quality)

So let's put it all together. In a school named Marsha P. Johnson Middle School (yes... really), we have three kids in the GSA. One is white and feminine, one is racially ambiguous and feminine (albeit nonbinary), and one is black and butch. The black butch girl is: mean, overly zealous in her social justice endeavors, aggressive, intimidating, grumpy, and 'tough'.

The letterer on this book is a black woman. I'm extremely hesitant to call this an openly racist move, given that the letterer is clearly (based on her website) focused on diverse books and... well, she is black, and I am white. (The author and illustrator are also white.) So instead I will say that this book does not exist in a vaccuum, and just as it was important to depict a white trans girl respectfully, it was also important to depict black butch girls respectfully. Unfortunately, this book failed to do so, and we live in a world where the white LGBT community has failed to treat LGBT people of color respectfully. The "Marsha P. Johnson" thing just feels like some kind of injoke in light of this.

If I can continue on this theme, the "all-female country" also needs to be handled with extreme care. I like most of the book's take on it-- that unfortunately, the country has been poisoned by the fear of men, which has generated conflict. This is the IDEAL take, in my opinion. We live in a world where roughly half of the population is men, and we must live peacefully together. Banning men is not an option, and dreaming of a utopian world without men is not just unrealistic but also harmful for many more complex reasons (eg what do you do if someone turns out a man anyway? are we going to pretend that white women haven't exerted racist forces against black men? how does this work with an accurate conception of gender?)

So I am happy that this was handled well... though I'm unhappy that Chloe's positions were not. Nobody ever speaks to Chloe about this. Of course, she's not a real person with real views-- she's a character written by a white woman. But the book proves that telling off 'boys' for getting their nails painted and making assumptions about them only drives them away. In the scene directly after that, Chloe asks-- seemingly seriously-- how it is that only three people come to Pride Club. And of course the reader thinks... well, you're a huge jerk! No wonder nobody wants to hang out with you!

(A pause to acknowledge, again, that they chose the one black character to be this jerk.)

Her claim about the phrase "you guys" only leads to an INCREDIBLY awkward and out of character insertion of "y'all" into Ash's speech. "You all" makes sense, but she... doesn't talk that way. It really stood out on the page, and it was obvious what she would have said if the author hadn't realized "oh shit I just banned all uses of the word 'you guys'." I'm not even going to get into how this can lead to AAVE-related issues, because, again, I'm white.


(better quality)

In the end, the book feels oversimplified. These are such major issues, and they're barely touched upon. Obviously we don't need a ten-page spread on why "you guys" is not inherently sexist, but... you know, why bring it up? Why not have Chloe be a full-fledged character who may have trauma with sexist men that she needs to work through? Why not focus on that conflict between her and Ash, who become friends and each change each other for the better? That doesn't have to be relegated to the world of adult books.

I have also read Lumberjanes, and so I know this is possible. You can handle these things in a subtle and tasteful manner. The darkest-skinned character doesn't also have to be the meanest. This book is middle-grade, yes, but many middle-grade graphic novels are fundamentally satisfying and handle social issues well. This... and imagine here I'm sighing really, really loudly in frustration and despair at wanting to like this book SO MUCH... is not one of them.

Okay now that I've discussed the story I want to... show you the art.

It's kind of weird.

I've read graphic novels like this before-- graphic novels where you can tell that the artist is okay at art, and oftentimes even talented, but they have no grasp on proportions. This was one of those cases-- it often felt like the artist was drawing them 2D every time. You couldn't imagine a seamless, 3D face for the characters because they were drawn so strangely every time. I've compiled a... collection of heads? for your consideration here, so you can see what I'm talking about.



Facial shapes melting, backs of skulls way too small... there are clearly issues with the art that mark it as missing crucial proportion study. I feel bad saying this because I'm no artist, but this isn't a sketchbook-- it's a published graphic novel that I read and am reviewing. And this is not nearly up to par for a professional graphic novel. It will not hold up against the other offerings of the market.

So I wasn't even able to give a star to the art, which I can normally do in cases like these! AUGH! The one bonus star is a combo of premise and worldbuilding... it was a great idea; I'm just sad to say it wasn't executed well enough for me to either read it again or recommend it to others. Ultimately, I hope this book can at least pave the way for better ones.