Forest Hills Bootleg Society
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?
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?
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Community Reviews
Hmm this was working for me until it wasn't. It ends on a real bummer note. I try to be generous with my graphic novel ratings because I know a ton of work goes into the illustration, but I really didn't care for this one.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Gorgeous art style, very well realized characters. I really liked the tiny portrait notes that were included around people and places in some of the wide shot scenes. You got little snippets of things about a person, right handed, has secretly been in love with best friend since he was 6, really likes robots. It really added a great flavor and realism to the story. I also super enjoyed the maps that were added and the notes on those. It made the setting feel more tangible.
I liked the story right up to the very unsatisfying ending. I guess it was at least realistic, and I probably should have seen it coming, but I'm really tired of stories about queer folks ending unsatisfying. It wasn't a misery ever after, but it was unhappy. And I get unhappy in reality often enough I don't want it in my stories.
I liked the story right up to the very unsatisfying ending. I guess it was at least realistic, and I probably should have seen it coming, but I'm really tired of stories about queer folks ending unsatisfying. It wasn't a misery ever after, but it was unhappy. And I get unhappy in reality often enough I don't want it in my stories.
Stars: 7/10
Book TWs: Homophobia, homophobic slurs
-- edited after a realization
If anyone knows anything about me, it's that I love graphic novels. I never read them, but I love them. So when I went to the library yesterday, I checked the graphic novel section for once in my life. And to my surprise, they had something there that caught my interest. "Forest Hills Bootleg Society" seemed like a good, quick, fun read about four girls and anime bootleg business. What it didn't seem like was the second half of the story.
This graphic novel is a good 6 star read with an extra star for diversity. I mean, come on, who doesn't love a book where 3/4 main characters are queer poc. Sign me up for that anytime.
"Forest Hills Bootleg Society" made my heart soar. And then it ripped it out of my chest and crushed it to nothing like I was in an episode of "Once Upon a Time," leaving me insanely confused and only feeling bad for Brooke. No, seriously, the other three MCs become super punchable.
Set in 2005, "Forest Hills Bootleg Society" is a slice-of-life graphic novel about four girls and their highly secret anime bootlegging business. They sell sexual animes to horny boys to get money for cool jackets. Funny but interesting plot. However, about halfway through the story, it just became girl drama. Like the first half of the story never existed and the main goal was to make everyone get pissed off at (what felt like) totally out of character girl drama. I signed up for a cool plot, not "Keeping Up With the Kardashians' for God's sake.
Although, if we excuse the poor writing in the second half, this really was a nice story. The illustrations were beautiful, and each character had a well thought out personality. Nobody existed in the background-- not without purpose, anyways. The four main characters were all fun to get to know. Realistic personalities, realistic lives, realistic friend dynamics. But again, all of that was blown away in the second half.
Loose ends were kept loose, the tied ends felt like they were in the wrong knots, and the whole story fell apart come the last 60 or so pages. However, that's how it was for the lives of the characters, too. None of them got closure. And neither did the reader. This was a good book, but it definitely needs a sequel to make it seem good to those who don't dig deep and analyze every little detail.
But overall? I'd recommend this as a read to fill up someone's yearly goal. It's a quick read, just not a great one. It was fun, but not as promising as it looked. The only thing that could possibly make this better is a sequel. If it doesn't get one, this rating might go down to just plain 6 stars. Fun story with too many loose ends.
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