Firebird

Local Description

February 2024

Description

Sunmi’s gorgeous two-color teen graphic novel debut examines the power of resilience and reinvention, following the lives of Caroline and Kim, two queer, Asian American teenagers growing up in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, as they forge an unexpected connection.Caroline Kim is feeling the weight of sophomore year. When she starts tutoring infamous senior Kimberly Park-Ocampo—a charismatic lesbian, friend to rich kids and punks alike—Caroline is flustered . . . but intriguedTheir friendship kindles and before they know it, the two are sneaking out for late-night drives, bonding beneath the stars over music, dreams, and a shared desire of getting away from it all.A connection begins to smolder . . . but will feelings of guilt and the mounting pressure of life outside of these adventures extinguish their spark before it catches fire

Reviews

Gripping and thoughtful. - Kirkus Reviews Debut creator Sunmi's grayscale graphic novel artfully captures the trials and tribulations of one teen's experience wrestling with who she's always been and who she wants to be via emotive facial expressions and youthful language, making for a sensitive and meditative character study. - Publishers Weekly A beautiful coming-of-age story. - Booklist

Author description

Sunmi is a cartoonist whose work explores emotional distances, gender deviant fantasies, and failures of the American dream-all within the lives and framework of queer and Korean diasporic history and mythology. They grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now live by the Chesapeake Bay. Sunmi is a cartoonist whose work explores emotional distances, gender deviant fantasies, and failures of the American dream-all within the lives and framework of queer and Korean diasporic history and mythology. They grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now live by the Chesapeake Bay.