Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

I think a lot of lgbtq+ fiction is lumped into two groups: joyful fluffy romance, and bleak hard-hitting stories about stigma and suffering. Obviously there is a need for both, and obviously the genre is more complex than that. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me is a good example of this complexity.This graphic novel is about romance, but I wouldn't call it a romance. It's about dysfunction, but not to the extent of abuse or violence. It's a story about someone young and in love (Freddy) with someone flighty and selfish (Laura Dean), and how Freddy's attachment to Laura results in Freddy also being flighty and selfish. I found it oddly refreshing to read queer fiction with tense relationships but without stakes so high and consequences so horrifying. There were elements of the plot that didn't work for me, and I can see some not enjoying the book because they don't enjoy the characters. But I liked it, and I loved the artwork.The color scheme is both quaint and striking. The lines are crisp. It's detailed and precise but with swirling lines that give it whimsy. The facial expressions are clear, so a lot can be communicated wordlessly. I'd probably rate it 3 stars if I didn't like the artwork so much. This story wasn't life-changing, but it was visually stunning, and I think it does contribute something quiet but interesting to its genre. I liked it more than [b:Bloom 29225589 Bloom Kevin Panetta https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1528170930s/29225589.jpg 49462918], but less than [b:Check, Please! 37534577 Check, Please! #Hockey, Vol. 1 Ngozi Ukazu https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524057162s/37534577.jpg 59136002] and [b:The Prince and the Dressmaker 34506912 The Prince and the Dressmaker Jen Wang https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494400495s/34506912.jpg 46116413].