Forest Hills Bootleg Society
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
Set in 2005, this gorgeously illustrated, funny, and honest graphic novel follows four teens who stumble into an illicit anime DVD-burning business that shakes up their conservative small town…and their friendship.
When Brooke, Kelly, Maggie, and Melissa buy a bootleg anime DVD at a gas station, they get much more than they bargained for with Super Love XL, a risqué move featuring—among other things—a giant mecha who shoots lasers out of her chest. The four girls are horrified (and maybe a little fascinated). It’s so unlike anything they’ve seen, would probably shock everyone else in their town, and definitely would take over their extremely conservative Christian school. That’s when they have the idea to sell copies to local boys…for twenty dollars a pop.
At first, everything goes perfectly, with the friends raking in cash—pretty soon they’ll even have enough money to buy the matching jackets they’ve always dreamed of! But as the market for mildly titillating anime DVDs grows, the girls realize they’ll need new material. On top of figuring out how to replicate their first success, there’s growing tension within the group. Brooke and Kelly’s romance is on its last legs, and hurt feelings are guaranteed when Melissa starts falling for one of them.
Will the four girls’ shared history be strong enough to see them through this upheaval? Or will they learn that some things can only end in heartbreak?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When best friends Kelly Nahas, Brooke Imafidon, Maggie Hilcot, and Melissa Cho buy a bootleg anime DVD from a local Forest Hills, Calif., gas station, the teens are shocked by its contents. SuperLove XL, which features a giant mech that shoots lasers from its breasts, is the most suggestive thing they've ever seen, and they can't stop watching. The girls decide to make more bootleg copies and sell them to the teen boys in their conservative Christian town, but as demand for more salacious anime—and the pressure to remain discreet—grows, the operation may threaten their friendship. Collaborators Baker and Goux (Everyone Is Tulip) employ expertly layered paneling and muted blue hues to magnify emotional highs and lows. Paired with Baker and Goux's snappy dialogue and expressive, visually varied characters, the group's interpersonal challenges—including Brooke, Kelly, and Melissa's love triangle, and Maggie's struggles navigating loneliness—are deeply relatable and fully realized. While the creators delicately navigate heavy topics such as homophobia, mental health, and racism, this sincere graphic novel, set in 2005, is not without humor and hope. Kelly is of Saudi Arabian descent, Brooke is Black, Melissa is Asian, and Maggie is white. Ages 14–up.
