Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki & Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
(2019) 289 pages

Final Rating: 8/10

Blurb:
All Freddy Riley wants is for Laura Dean to stop breaking up with her.

The day they got together was the best one of Freddy’s life, but nothing’s made sense since. Laura Dean is popular, funny, and SO CUTE … but she can be really thoughtless, even mean. Their on-again, off-again relationship has Freddy’s head spinning — and Freddy’s friends can’t understand why she keeps going back.

When Freddy consults the services of a local mystic, the mysterious Seek-Her, she isn’t thrilled with the advice she receives. But something’s got to give: Freddy’s heart is breaking in slow motion, and she may be about to lose her very best friend as well as her last shred of self-respect. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnist Anna Vice, to help her through being a teenager in love.

Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.

Review:
This graphic novel made ME want to break up with Laura Dean.

Freddy Riley and Laura Dean are the perfect example of a toxic relationship. It might be based on love, but when the person you love makes you a person you are not proud of and makes you abandon all aspects of your life for them, that is not healthy. I have no doubts that Freddy loved Laura, and that’s why she stayed so attached to her for such a long time, but being in love should not make you feel insecure and unhappy. Love should be rewarding for you, and if not, something is wrong.

Laura cheats on Freddy, belittles her, gaslights her into thinking she’s always wrong for feeling uncertain or unhappy when she’s with her, and manipulates Freddy to only think about her and to rely on her. These methods of manipulation are what bring Freddy back to Laura Dean every time, no matter what she does. As a result, Laura can be as mean or sly as she wants around Freddy, and Freddy will have no individuality to stand up for herself, because in their relationship, it is never Freddy Riley and Laura Dean, it’s just Laura Dean only.

The ending of this graphic novel felt rushed. I think that Freddy’s friends, whom Freddy stopped caring for after getting back together with Laura, should’ve been more included at the end of the book because they accept Freddy back into their friend group with not much resistance. Besides, this book was not even 300 pages long, I’m sure they could’ve added more to the ending to make it feel more complete because friendship is just as complicated as romantic relationships, perhaps even more so. 

The art of this graphic novel is absolutely stunning, and every expression, every body movement, is portrayed so well that you can feel the emotions radiating off the pages. 

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

And my favorite part of this book was the characterization of Laura Dean. She’s a manipulator, a gaslighter, and an overall horrible person, but she cries and lashes out when Freddy inevitably breaks up with her for good. I think this shows the complexities of a manipulator, and how not every single one is a sociopath or psychopath. I don’t think that Laura even understands the consequences of her actions, and she doesn’t realize how much pain she has caused. Many gaslighters often don’t even realize they’re gaslighting someone, or they simply have so many narcissistic views of themselves that they don’t even realize that they are hurting others.

And lastly, I enjoyed how normal being queer was, and how the sapphic relationship wasn’t focusing on how Laura and Freddy were part of the LGBTQ+ community, but rather focusing on the toxicity of their relationship instead. I think those details were heartwarming because you realize that your sexuality or gender identity isn’t what defines you as an individual, it’s your actions that do so.