The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

Winifred’s starting her sophomore year of high school without her two best friends – who’ve moved to a new school – and she needs to adjust to being on her own… although this doesn’t last long. She meets Oscar and April, two students in an art class, and the bond over the things they have in common, most important of which is the fact that they don’t quite fit in with everyone else. But all three of them have secrets and even though her new friends begin to confide in her, Winifred is hesitant to share hers.

This is a very powerful coming of age story that the author notes is based on some of their own experiences. It’s a very relatable story of feeling like you don’t fit in, trying to find peers that you relate to and growing up. The characters are all very relatable, and there’s a nuance to the way their friendship flows and ebbs throughout the story. No single character is perfect – their flaws, imperfections and character growth shines through the whole book.

Winifred is a plus-size, queer artist who is beginning to find herself in her artwork, and she’s assisted in producing a zine alongside her newfound friends Oscar and April. Her choices throughout the book don’t always lead her to her expected outcomes, and while not everything is easy, she works her way through them to the end of the story. So while the story is often sombre, there are moments of brightness that lend it some positivity.

The artwork in this graphic novel is beautiful and the emotions come through in the character art. I loved the addition of the comic within a comic and Winifred and Oscar co-create a zine, with the extra storyline adding to the main narrative.

I love that there is a strong emphasis on art being an outlet for people and for adults seeing that need and advocating for students in this story as well.