Squad
A Graphic Novel
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4.2 • 6 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An IndieBound Bestseller
“Squad is a fast-paced and feminist horror story for every girl who’s ever felt like prey, and asks how far a girl should go to hunt the hunters.”—Laura Ruby, author of National Book Award Finalist Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
“Squad is a story fitted with the sharpest teeth that chomps down on the patriarchy, and I adored it with my entire vicious heart."—Chloe Gong, author of New York Times–bestselling These Violent Delights
Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this sharply funny, and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle. When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either.
When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.
Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.
But then things get complicated. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure, their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—and Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.
Lisa Sterle’s stylish illustrations paired with Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sharp writing make Squad a fierce, haunting, and fast-paced thriller that will resonate with fans of Riverdale, and with readers of This Savage Song, Lumberjanes, and Paper Girls.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If the popular girls at a Bay Area high school seem overly eager to befriend smart, queer, Asian-cued Becca, they have a specific reason in mind: they're werewolves in need of another packmate. Every full moon, bubbly blonde Marley; assertive Amanda, cued as Black; and rich, ruthless Arianna, who reads as white, choose one sexually aggressive male as their victim—attacking at the moment when a party hookup turns nonconsensual—and they require a fourth person to help them fully devour their prey. Despite being conscripted into the pack, Becca enjoys the power that comes with the bargain, as well as having an outlet for her anger and hunger. But when Arianna's trophy boyfriend attacks Becca, she lashes out in wolf form, and the group begins to splinter—Amanda challenges Arianna's leadership, and Becca crushes on Marley as the FBI searches for the missing boys. Literalizing pack mentality, Tokuda-Hall (The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea) smoothly explores the complexities of so-called sisterhood. Sterle's (Long Lost, for adults) long, lean characters don neo-1980s and '90s fashions in art that dovetails with the economical storytelling to create an intersectional examination of high school social dynamics that doesn't shortchange readers on adventure. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 14–up. Author's agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. ■
