Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

by Mariko Tamaki

[nannah]

I found this one on a “recommended” shelf in the library, so I finally decided to check it out. It’s funny how I was feeling so reluctant to read this one and kept pushing it lower and lower on my to-read list, but now can’t stop thinking about it!

Content warnings:
- abortion
- unhealthy relationships
- cheating
- a Rromani stereotype

Representation:
- the protagonist is a half E. Asian lesbian
- the “love interest” is a lesbian, there are black wlw, there’s a black gay man & a gay/bi poc

Freddy Riley is in love with popular, charming, irresistible Laura Dean, but Laura Dean keeps breaking up with her. Freddy’s friends are sick of her talking about this off-and-on relationship and don’t know why she puts up with it. Seeking outside help, Freddy asks both the local fortune teller and the help of a local newspaper advice columnist -- and receives advice she doesn’t want. But with their words in her head and the support of new friends, Freddy learns how to get out of the rut and back on track with her life.

The first thing I have to say about this graphic novel is that it’s absolutely stunning. This art style is an instant favorite; there’s not one sloppy panel in here. Not one! There’s also gorgeous beats of time created by white/space or by the composition that adds a lot to the reading experience.

The story also has a lot of merit. We (as in wlw & mlm) often exasperatedly poke fun at how m/f relationships are sometimes defined by being unbalanced, but we do need to recognize that our own relationships can be very messy. And unhealthy. It’s a side of our adolescence that doesn’t really get portrayed often (unless it's in stereotypes).

And it’s funny -- I was just saying the other day that it’s a shame gay/bi men get to have messy storylines in any kind of fantasy & sci-fi context and get to do all sorts of things … but wlw, we’re kind of stuck right now where most of our content is either made up of tragedies or chaste period pieces (where both women are white). So it’s really nice this graphic novel got as popular as it did! Though not fantasy/sci-fi, it explores the messier side of wlw relationships.

However, as much as I enjoyed it -- a lot; I stayed up incredibly late to finish it -- it has major flaws. My biggest gripe with it is the fortune teller … her design makes it obvious she’s Rromani, and that’s … not great. It’s an awful, horrible stereotype that should’ve never been in here. It should be obvious by now that this isn’t okay to do.

The novel also tries to take on more than it can handle with Doodle’s (Freddy’s best friend) side plot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an important topic! But I don’t think it’s one the graphic novel was able to handle well in the page time it had. Especially with all of the drama Freddy was going through.

But what the graphic novel does right -- capturing the importance of friendship, selling the idea that you shouldn’t feel the need to “settle” for what you’ve got (especially important when you’re young and dating someone more popular, more pretty, more anything than you), and explaining how your relationships should never take anything away from you -- it does really, really well.