Monster Crush

by Erin Ellie Franey

A whirlwind adventure exploring love, gender, and big emotions, Monster Crush is the perfect read for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

Since her parents split up, Ruby Reid has been having a tough time at Crestwood High.

But everything changes the day Ella Mooney moves to town. Ella isn’t like most she’s never been on a Ferris wheel, never had an ice cream cone, and sometimes she grows fangs and a tail!

It’s not just Ruby who takes an interest in the new girl, and the pair find themselves on the run from a mysterious group that wants to capture Ella and her whole family!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Comics, Romance

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[miki larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cutie read! Loved this story of acceptance and coming into who you truly are. A really great and empowering read for LGBTQ youth (or anyone!) wanting to see themselves reflected in literature! Especially loved the elements of the different family dynamics and the use of color in the art style!

[deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

its sapphic and has a whole lotta heart! definitely wish it was in full color, and got more deep into plot points though- it’s pretty surface level and reads like it’s geared to a middle school audience and not a teen one

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story! I loved how the sexual and gender identity of various characters were never questioned, only accepted. Life changes so quickly, sometimes in the best ways! Great read.

[Ashley Holbert]

I wish this story was a bit more fleshed out, especially with the monster stuff and the relationship. there could have been more color used in the art as well. Loved the queer rep as usual.

[Aurora]

Got about halfway through, realized if I finished it I would be rating this 2 stars, and decided to stop. This feels soooo underbaked. The lack-of-coloring in the majority of the book doesn't feel purposeful (in fact, the occasional colored panels/pages just feel like taunting!), the story doesn't hold up to any amount of scrutiny, and it was getting very instalove in a way I found grating. Wish I'd liked it more because I want to support queer comics, but this is a solid no from me.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been so much better. I felt that the narrative was super clunky and just didn't have that great of a story flow. I was also not a big fan of the choice to have like 4 colored panels throughout the entire book.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ⭐️
I actually think we should make lesbians into monsters more often it’s very entertaining

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great graphic novel about two girls, one human one monster, and them finding friendship and love together (and I was shipping them so much). There is also an evil professor who is plotting to kidnap monsters (and who frustrated me to no ends). Family. Figuring out who you are (in case of Marshal). And more.
The art was fun, but the random pages that were coloured just confused me, I was actually hoping that was going to be hint to more colour in the end. I have seen this in other GNs, you start with white/black and then slowly more colour is added as something big happens (in this case friendship + love).
But all in all, I am very happy with this book and it was a lot of fun!

[Robert Pierson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork was OK and so was the story I’ve read of a lotta stories with a similar theme I would’ve liked to see more on the other characters in on their stories they were kind of just briefly touched on I would’ve liked this more if it maybe had been a series I just kind of found myself kind of towards the end speed reading it a little bit I’m sure there’s an audience out there I’m just not really in that audience it’s not a bad story it’s just far from a great one.

[Megan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super cute! Loved the graphics, love the color palette, love a “wolf” monster inspired YA graphic novel. Fun for a quick read.

[julita · Rating 2 out of 5]

like sure. Okay.

[Lotte]

Schattig, maar had het gevoel dat 14jarige Lotte dit ook had kunnen schrijven. Wel gewoon een leuke brainless read.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute! And I loved this art style. I also love how the different storylines were shown and different gender and sexual identities were depicted. So so glad I read this!

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked to see the storyline be more fleshed out and the artwork differentiate the characters more especially the monsters. Though I did enjoy reading this and I would recommend this is an enjoyable read for a young teen. If you are into books that are geared toward LGBTQIA+ youth, this is the book for you.

[Ellyn → Allonsythornraxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

03/02/2025
3 ⭐
Picked this up on a whim at the library and was pleasantly surprised! A cute romance with great art and really fun colour choices! Definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a cute queer romance with a paranormal twist!

✨ 10/100 read for 100 Graphics in a Year Reading Challenge ✨ + also read for the graphicsathon 28 in 28 Feb 2025 challenge!

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[Emily Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ A cute graphic novel but not one I would re-read.

Something about this just felt rushed/unpolished. I felt confused at times because the story was all over the place and the art style wasn’t for me.

There is a really cute strangers to friends to lovers romance which is a joy to watch the development of. That portion was great but I felt the fantasy/sci-fi portion needed more exploration and clarity.

Rep// Sapphic MC’s, sapphic mum, trans sibling. Central romance is sapphic / wlw.

Set in: high school.

Tws listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.






Tw// themes around gender identity and dysphoria, brief medical setting, kidnapping, threat of harm.

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Monster Crush' is a very flawed graphic novel.

It has pacing issues, and ideas that needed to be fleshed out further. Despite its title, the "monsters" themselves don't factor into the story much, nor are they shown much, as "monsters". Mostly it is a slice-of-life YA book, with science fiction elements added in here and there.

The monsters, how they exist in the modern world, and how they appear to have different, individual powers besides shifting into beast mode - none of this is ever properly explained. Healing? Phasing through solid objects? Each power is introduced once and then never again. These "monsters" might as well be the X-Men. Or the X-Men as werewolves.

Then there's a bullying aspect at the beginning, that goes nowhere once the first monster we meet is revealed, and it amounts to nothing. It's bizarre. What is the point of the bully character, Penny, if you're going to drop her once the supernatural comes along, and then have her appear in one more scene, and she does nothing? Nothing when faced with the supernatural? Really? Especially a vindictive, petty, bruised and beaten teenage bully? What is Penny's problem with Ruby, the protagonist, anyway? Ruby mentions they used to be friends. What happened? We never find out.

Every character is white, save a single minor player, Bree, the girlfriend of Ruby's mother, Jane.

If not for a few sudden swear words, 'Monster Crush' would easily have been suitable for children to read.

Its white, black and light purple abstract artwork isn't very good or special, either, and five panels out of the whole thing are in colour, for reasons that I think are meant to be meaningful and significant, but in actuality it comes across as random more than anything else.

'Monster Crush' is a messy comic.

And yet... I like it.

It's just so cute!

Its characters are very likeable and human, including the "monster" family, the Mooneys, who I adore. The monster teen girl of the family, Ella, a new girl in high school, is naïve and a sweetie. She is the love interest of Ruby Reid, a skater girl and tomboy, who, on top of finding out that monsters do indeed exist (not what she'd feared in childhood), is finding out she likes girls; like her mother before her.

It's sweet to witness - Ruby and Ella go to a fair together and everything - if rushed towards the end, where they declare their love after knowing each other for, what, a week? (This relates to the pacing issues I mentioned, and there are no indications of how much time takes place in the comic's story.)

I also adore the positive parent-and-teenage-child relationships, as well as showcasing one toxic parent - the main villain scientist, Dr. Delarosa, with her poor, guinea pig daughter Maria - to contrast them.

Ruby is on good, if still shaky and uneasy, terms with both her separated parents, and her busy but exuberant mother Jane, who lives away from her, tries to make time for her daughter, and make things up to her.

Ella's parents are similarly great, funny, and supportive, if overprotective, since they are shapeshifting beast creatures hiding amongst humans. However, they are not nearly observant, cautious and vigilant enough, when it comes to protecting their kids from scientists wanting to do experiments on them, and they are kind of stupid. It's not always charming; it's weird and inconsistent characterisation. What about their backstory with dangerous humans, and doing anything to keep their children safe?

But the Mooneys are still a laudable, loving bunch.

It's just such a relief, a breath of fresh air, to see good parents represented - in comics and everywhere else. Lovely, breezy, accepting, yet human parents who love their children as their own individual selves, and who are clearly trying their best in any situation, are unfortunately, extraordinarily rare in, well, anything. In our cynical, jaded times - and due to burnout culture - genuinely good parents are often seen as an outlier, an exception to the "norm" of shitty, toxic, narcissistic parents who exist for the sake of "conflict" (we already have this with Dr. Delarosa, and her toxic parenting of Maria is highlighted for how wrong and harmful it is). I welcome the vital change of pace, and praise 'Monster Crush' for it...

... and for its effortless LBGTQ+ representation. As well as the romance between Ruby Reid and Ella Mooney, and Ruby's mum being gay and in a relationship with Bree, there is trans representation - all of which is accepted and treated as normal and a normal part of life by each party's family, even if the rest of the world isn't fully accepting. Heck, even Dr. Delarosa, the villain, is openminded and respectful of trans people, no big deal. She certainly doesn't see them as "monsters".

Sapphic love and exploring gender identity are the graphic novel's quilt and stitching, and soul.

I cannot overstate enough how positive and loving 'Monster Crush' is when it comes to representing families. It's needed, it's important, and it's life-affirming for a YA book. Cut out the supernatural and science fiction stuff and you have a heartwarming, progressive, LBGTQ+, coming-of-age, slice-of-life comic that's full of love and accepting, supportive families.

Not that it isn't heartwarming as it is. Its "monster" and mad scientist elements could have been developed better, definitely. But with its human components, and normal everyday charm, the underdevelopment of the supernatural isn't a dealbreaker. At best, it demonstrates how brave and capable the characters are when faced with high stakes. Like the risk of exposure of monster teens and their parents. There isn't even anything metaphorical in use for what constitutes as "monsters" in society - no "fantastical" racism or queerphobia - that I could see. It simply is what it is.

It is a fun, funny, heartfelt, caring, female-empowering, messy read overall. Not a dull moment to be found. It's a darling poppet of a comic.

There you have it: my somewhat vague, hopefully spoiler-free review of 'Monster Crush'. Redheaded Ruby has a crush on the blonde, pretty, new "monster" girl Ella, who will do some crushing of her own to protect her loved ones.

Okay, that's it, I'll shut up now.

How did my review end up longer and more disorderly than I'd planned?

'Monster Crush' - my second guilty pleasure graphic novel of 2025 (my first is 'Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe'). Recommended for fans of both LBGTQ+ rep and supernatural/paranormal LBGTQ+ rep.

Final Score: 3.5/5

P.S. Final, last second highlight: Jenny. The owner of Jenny's Diner (not Denny's), where Ruby and Jane have their scrumptious meal together. She is a hoot, the best one-scene character in 'Monster Crush'.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby is a little off balance from her parents’ divorce after her mom came out as gay, and there’s a mean kid at school who won’t leave her alone. When Ruby meets Ella, a new girl at school, she is initially stand off-ish, but the girls bond and become friends – each other’s only friend. When Penny, the mean kid, bothers them both at the park, Ella reveals her true identity in a fit of rage. Ella is a sciftan – a non human shapeshifter with super strength and healing powers. Since Ella’s parents and sibling are trying to pass as human, Ruby must keep the secret for Ella’s safety. Meanwhile, the nefarious Dr. Delarosa is hunting monsters, and has a bead on Ella and her family. The suspense amps up when her minions start following Ruby and Ella with the aim of capturing them to extract their DNA.

There’s lots of LGBTQia representation in this graphic tale of romance and monsters. There’s a gay mom, a trans sibling (Ella’s) and a sweet queer romance. If the characters and story arc are somewhat standard and predictable, there’s something satisfying about seeing the good guys win so neatly. The monsters are benign and just want to live in peace. All characters are white, except for Ruby’s mom’s new girlfriend, and all the main character parents love their kids. The artwork is purple, black and white, with moments of big emotion rendered in full color.

How it could have been better: the artwork is bare bones, so there’s little detail beyond the rendering of the characters and their basic surroundings. It would have been more interesting with more detail. The romance was a little bland – you really don’t see Ruby and Ella falling for each other.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely really juvenile but I didn't really want to contribute to tanking their rating when I'm not really the intended audience, but for the sake of constructive criticism:

while we do love a queer story and some shapeshifting monsters, it does feel really underbaked & not very well thought out as far as the plot goes.

I think it would've been better if:
- there was color throughout (or if it was used more intentionally (I did notice the splashes of color when there were some initial, emotional first meetings, etc)
- if identities were further explored...
- the art itself was lacking. Very simple linework with errors. idk maybe it's the style but if i was paying to publish my graphic novel, I wouldn't have gaps in my linework like that. funky proportions... sorry idk it just wasn't very well drawn :(

Throughout the book there are random Diverse characters (which is great) but they have no names, roles, etc so it quite literally just feels like putting them in there to strike them off their list and have a Diverse book (not great). All of the main characters except for the mom's new wife are white but the author/illustrator showed a hijabi, and a tatted black woman, etc so like clearly these characters exist but didn't make the cut to have lines or personalities lol (but also I guess all of the other characters were lowkey evil or monsters so maybe the author didn't want to fall into that unfortunate trend, idk I didn't write it)

To each their own but I think a lot can be gained from some development here

[Sirish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library checkout, high on the list for its category. The story centers around two schoolgirls and some issues that they face, with some of the conflicts being resolved by the fantasy elements. When the girls face bullying from another group of girls, one of the girls is actually a monster who can challenge their violence with greater violence. When boys are surveilling the girls from a van, because they are monster hunter plumbers or something, super powers can advance the plot here. And when monsters are captured and resort to physically overpowering again, a confession of love brings things back to normal.

The drawing style is clean and simple lines, with very few pages in color, and it is effective in laying out the what happened details of the story. I can't recall if any of the characters are clearly explained or understood by each other, but this is what they did. Things like what the significance of a long scene of eating lunch with your mother at a diner and what the hostess says are, I guess, left for your own ability to interpret that.

Simply put, a cute example of a way things are and could be.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute story filled with great LGBT+ representation. Story is well paced, but it is a bit predictable. I do wish Ruby's dad was treated better, as the majority of his scenes show him being ignored, talked poorly about, and generally brushed aside.

While I enjoyed the story, I did have issues with the art, character designs and some panels. Some examples:

Our main protagonist looks way too similar to her school bully. Both sport ponytails with the exact same side part. It took several re-reads of sections to keep them in line.

Skateboards are never quite in perspective, making it feel like Ruby's always sliding off.

Some panels feel like they were placed out of order, particularly during a touching scene.

A scene in which a character exclaims they can't move is immediately followed by panels of her moving about, despite being under the same conditions.

------
All in all a good read if you want something cute, kinda spooky and quick. Also the cover art absolutely slaps.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plotline just felt rushed and undeveloped. There are just so many blank spaces in the narrative. The monster family went on the run when the younger child was so little she doesn't really remember when it happened, but where have they been? If they've been so isolated that she doesn't even know what ice cream is, why did they move to a normal town and enroll her in a normal school? From the narrative, I can't tell if the main character's dad is temporarily having a hard time or if he's always glued to the couch. And the romance between the two main girls is very weirdly paced. They've known each other less than a week, go on one (cute! adorable!) date, and are now in love? Genuinely got a little whiplash, because it goes from slow burn to instalove in a few pages. This will still find an audience, I think, because it's a relatively low angst romantasy, but it was kind of half baked for me.

[Nes🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby has been having a difficult time after her parents divorce. She has no friends at school and her mom seems to be too busy with her new life for her. Everything changes when Ella moves to town,Ruby quickly strikes up a friendship with the new girl and the two spend all their time together. One day while defending Ruby from a bully, Ella accidentally reveals her secret. What’s Ella’s secret? Who are these people that keep following them?

A cute story about love,friendship and acceptance! I liked the art style and the fact that only some moments were in color,it definitely feels like this would be a good read for younger people!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was kind of terrible. It feels like it was written for really young children. It's about a girl figuring out she likes girls. But it's also about some kind of monsters that are werewolves without being werewolves and some generic scientist that wants to catch them and experiment on them. Almost everything about this is in generalities. Plant your flag and commit to the story. It all felt wishy-washy. The art isn't great. All of the characters looked exactly the same. I'd give this a pass.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and positive with likable characters and good ideas.

BUT way too brief to do justice to the plot set-up, and the defeat of the bad guys was entirely implausible in how swift and easy and definitive it was. Does in anyone in 2024 believe that "the authorities" would immediately close down their evil science division that they just didn't notice had been being evil for years?

Also, the two MCs love each other? Didn't they meet just a day or two ago at school? Or was there a bunch of lapsed time not on page?

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby likes the idea of monsters and conveniently they turn out to be real and one shows up at her school. To avoid her own family drama, Ruby gets drawn in to the monster family world of hiding from secret government agencies.

The story is pretty simple but cute. Plenty of LGBTQ+ rep. The art is black-and-white with purple shadows, except for a few special moments which go full color. I had a lot of trouble telling the characters apart.

[Stevie Tunison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt a bit rushed and like it was lacking.... something. Like it needed more depth. but it was cute. I like that Maria finally listened to her heart and did what was right, but you could kinda see that coming. everything about it sorta felt predictable. predictable reads are okay, they definitely have a time and place. I liked the art, and the splashes of color throughout the story.

[liminal cryptid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute queer monster story with sapphic girls and a trans guy brother. Despite being set in high school, it felt very young, more middle grade, and it was a very simple story without much depth to it. I would have preferred more world building and feelings and less anime posing, but it was a fun enough read.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn’t bad. I wanted to like it more… not a bad premise just felt rushed. And kind of juvenile like the characters are supposed to be in their teens but feel like 10/11? Artwork cute, story okay idea.

[Rachel Leaf]

Absolutely obsessed when villains will kidnap and experiment on people and monsters… but draws the line at deadnaming a trans character 😆 Like “of course I’m not gonna engage in transphobia. I’m the villain, but even I’m not THAT bad!”