Twelfth Grade Night | Blog Tour

Vi came to Arden High for a fresh start and a chance to wear beanies and button-ups instead of uniform skirts. And though doing it without her twin feels like being split in half, Vi finds her stride when she stumbles (literally!) into broody and beautiful poet-slash-influencer, Orsino. Soon Vi gets roped into helping plan the school’s Twelfth Grade Night dance, and she can’t stop dreaming about slow dancing with Orsino under the fairy lights in the gym.

The problem? All Vi’s new friends assume she’s not even into guys. And before Vi can ask Orsino to the dance, he recruits Vi to help woo his crush, Olivia. Who has a crush of her own . . . on Vi.

Star-crossed love abounds in this hilarious and romantic story of self-discovery, mistaken identities, and the magic that happens when we open our hearts to something new.

Title: Twelfth Grade Night
Authors & Illustrator: Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, Jamie Green
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genres: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Romance, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

This graphic novel was the perfect retelling of Twelfth Night. It was kinda kooky, extremely diverse, and hit all the romantic miscommunication cues needed for this retelling. The use of social media also made this retelling feel very modern and refreshing.

I loved all the characters! Vi was lovely and shy, hoping for a new start, Orsino had all the broody artist vibes going on, and, to round out the love triangle, there was Olivia, who was perky and a good complementary character to the other two.

The slightly fantastical part of this book involves a fairy world. Most of the fairy characters were funny and extremely entertaining so I was really glad they were included in the story. I can see this fairy world being woven into future books in this Shakesphere graphic novel retelling world.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Molly Horton Booth (they/she) is a writer, editor, and author of Young Adult fiction. Their next book is the graphic novel TWELFTH GRADE NIGHT, coming October 11th, 2022, book 1 in the ARDEN HIGH series co-written by the amazing Stephanie Kate Strohm and illustrated by the incredible Jamie Green. Book 2 in the series, KING CHEER, will be published Fall 2023. Molly is currently a copywriter for Wayfair.com, where she describes bookcases in exquisite detail.

Molly grew up homeschooled, earned their BA in English from Marlboro College, and earned their MA in English from UMass Boston. She lives in Baltimore, MD where she spends a lot of time with her partner, family, and friends, and the rest doting on her pets.

STEPHANIE KATE STROHM is the author of It’s Not Me, It’s You; The Date to Save; The Taming of the Drew; Prince in Disguise; Love a la Mode; That’s Not What I Heard; Restless Hearts (Katy Keene #1) and Once Upon a Tide: A Mermaid’s Tale. After graduating with a joint major in theater and history from Middlebury College, she acted her way around the country, performing in more than 25 states.

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, her son, and a dog named Lorelei Lee.

Jamie Green is a maker and professional curious person living in Greenville (funny, right?), South Carolina. They graduated in 2020 from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration. In 2019, they was recognized by the Society of Illustrators as the Zankel Scholar. Much like her hobbies, their work can be described as the feeling of being bundled up around a campfire or hiking through the autumn woods. It is a goal of theirs to both intrigue and educate, combining nature and whimsy and creating a space for curiosity (as well as a bit of magic). Jamie strives to create picture books, illustrated educational books, magazine covers, interactive materials, and chapter book covers/interiors.