Rave

by Jessica Campbell

A queer coming-of-age story, complete with secret cigarettes, gross gym teachers, and a lot of church.

It’s the early 2000s. Lauren is fifteen, soft-spoken, and ashamed of her body. She’s a devout member of an evangelical church, but when her Bible-thumping parents forbid Lauren to bring evolution textbooks home, she opts to study at her schoolmate Mariah’s house. Mariah has dial-up internet, an absentee mom, and a Wiccan altar—the perfect setting for a study session and sleepover to remember. That evening, Mariah gives Lauren a makeover and the two melt into each other, in what becomes Lauren’s first queer encounter. Afterward, a potent blend of Christian guilt and internalized homophobia causes Lauren to question the experience.

Author Jessica Campbell (XTC69) uses frankness and dark humor to articulate Lauren's burgeoning crisis of faith and sexuality. She captures teenage antics and banter with astute comedic style, simultaneously skewering bullies, a culture of slut-shaming, and the devastating impact of religious zealotry. Rave is an instant classic, a coming-of-age story about the secret spaces young women create and the wider social structures that fail them.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Fiction, Religion

168 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2022

About the author

Jessica Campbell is from Victoria, BC and is an enthusiast of jokes, painting and comics. She completed her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she is a comics instructor. In 2016, she unleashed the art world and chauvinist skewering: Hot or Not: 20th-Century Male Artists.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age graphic novel about fifteen-year-old Lauren, growing up in a conservative religious environment at the turn of the century, and it hit pretty close to home for me growing up in a similarly restrictive environment. Lauren is not allowed to read books on Evolution, she hates her body, and she is very much guided by her parents and their evangelical church in all things. There's humor in the gross/creepy teachers, and then there's a kind of exploratory relationship with Mariah, who she is assigned to do a report with. Mariah is Wiccan and kinda punk and in a couple of sleepovers gives a kind of wild makeover and then makes out with Mariah. Lauren likes it, but then later regrets this, internalizing some well-ingrained church-based homophobia.

The title refers to Christian "rave" events sponsored by Lauren's church where girls are encouraged to dance with boys, but not too provocatively, and so on. The assumption that boys andmen are in charge of girls/women comes through pretty clearly. There's some funny moments, and some outrage at the serious and confusing restrictions Lauren experiences, but ultimately there's a lot of melancholy. I know the Canadian Campbell studied with Jeffrey Brown at the Chicago Art Institute, so I think I can see his influence a bit on her sketchy style. This is the second book I have read from her.

[Mallory Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Rave follows Lauren as she toils with her feelings regarding her queerness and her faith. this is a really touching and compelling graphic novel that suffers from being too short--i think that if we had more time to see Lauren and Mariah's relationship bloom, its inevitable end would have felt more impactful. every story beat seemed to happen within a page or so when it could have benefitted from more explanation. the ending was surprising and sharp, but lacked any kind of conclusive or satisfying sensation. i don't mind that it feels Lauren's life is vague and open to take on a new direction, but i needed a little more reflection for it to feel rewarding.

thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great LGBTQ+ graphic novel to add the rapidly growing pile. I think it's great for people to have access to these stories, even if they're just in the "Ally" category.

I'm not surprised to hear Campbell had assistance of some sort from Chester Brown. The panelling is reminiscent of his, although it is different. Most pages have 6 floating card-shaped panels. The artwork is more in service of the story than anything, and it is clear and well-told. Just nothing to get excited about.

The story is about a teen from a religious squeaky-clean middle class family who starts spending time with a girl from an alternative upbringing. They start to explore their sexuality together but Lauren's religious upbringing brings up doubt and feelings of guilt.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential but it just didn’t meet up with my expectations. I really wanted to love it . I didn’t know a lot going in other than it was about religious trauma (which it definitely was). Maybe the book was just too short for me. It felt a little disjointed.

Also this book should come with a content warning for disappearance/death. The ending really surprised me and not in a good way. I was not prepared and I wasn’t sure why that was necessary. It seemed to feed into the religious dogma—it almost read like one of those religious tracts that depicts the awful things that happen to sinners.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A teen struggles with her relationship with the church, a lesbian relationship, and teenness in general.

It's not as experimental in form as the cover suggests.  Most pages have six square panels, with kind of globby black on white drawings.  

Gives vibes of fictionalized autobiography and feels like it might have been a zine first.

[suzanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questioning religious teachings? Wicca? Very much up my alley!!

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb says it all - A queer coming-of-age story, complete with secret cigarettes, gross gym teachers, and a lot of church.

While not a fan of the illustration style, I liked this coming of age tale. While shelved in the adult section, this would also work for older teens.

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Youth pastor preaching to teens at Christian rave:

"And boys, you especially have got to resist the Enemy's temptations. Girls, can we talk?? These boys are weak. You have got to be strong! Don't lead them into temptation. So, as you dance, as you celebrate the Lord tonight, remember that your body is not your own. You are here on time borrowed from God. And girls, our Lord put you on Earth to act as servants. To the Lord first, then to your fathers, then to your husbands. When you dress and act provocatively, you are not serving your masters. You are committing adultery against your future husbands. You know the saying "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free?" That's real! Don't sell yourself short!"

Coming of age story about a 15yo girl who grows up subjected to the above, to catastrophic results.

I was raised in a similar belief system. Took me a while to grow out of it. This spoke to me.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the mood that Jessica is able to set with her pages. Lots of silent panels that express a lot of emotion!

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming of age story of a teenage girl raised in a religious household meeting new people and exploring new things. I've enjoyed Campbell's previous work and this one doesn't disappoint.

[Kate Ringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen this short graphic novel around for awhile now, but I didn't care to pick it up until today, in Berlin's feminist book store She Said. It wasn't at all about what I thought it would be, based on the cover. It reminded me of a book that I read a few years back... one of the titles that was banned from the 10th grade graphic novel book club... but better! It's about Lauren, a young high school student who goes to a very conservative church, who is paired with a witchy girl named Mariah for a science project on evolution. Think coming of age story.

This is the third graphic novel I've read that was published by Drawn and Quarterly. Makes me want to check out more of their work!

[Björn Schagerström · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 egentligen.

[sage e · Rating 3 out of 5]

the art style is my jam. subject matter is good and captivating, but i wish there was more prelude and a deeper dive into the characters

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, lonely, with moments of connection

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really sweet, sad story about an ill-fated romance, teenage insecurities, and the sway of religion in a small town. Highly recommended.

[Matt Matt Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight into what small town 00's Canada was like

[Amelia Marz · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I'm walking around work, bored, trying to find something to do while the 105 degree heatwave burns on outside, (it's supposed to end in like 2 days and I am very impatiently awaiting being able to be outside again bc this feels nearly apocalyptic,) and I find this book and pick it up.
It's super short, I finished it in like an hour, but it's poignant.
Teenage-drama-romance-in-a-small-town- but-everyone-goes-to-conservative-megachurch-and-you're-just-tying-to-figure-yourself-out-but-undeniably-ends-in-tragedy.
I'm not kidding when I say that it almost made me tear up a few times, and it's not like I had a bunch of time to become aggressively attached to the characters. It's just... real.
I remember being in high school and not knowing how to speak up, or having a friend who maybe you should have spoken up for, and the guilt you feel by being different.
The pain that the church puts so many people, (specifically young people because of how easy it is to target them,) through is real, and the hypocrisy of the church is even more real. This short graphic novel touches on all of this while also touching your heart.
Anyways. Working in a library is fun because when there's nothing to do, there's always something to do, and by that I mean reading short graphic fiction in the span of a day and now I almost get to go home :)

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea of this book. It has a lot to do with purity as dictated by the church, the male gaze, and conflicting emotions about queer relationships. The main character, Lauren, is at odds by what her parents/religion want from her vs. what she finds through a relationship & friendship with a Wiccan-practicing girl named Mariah. The book attempts dark humor, but I think it's definitely more sad and wistful than funny. I didn't love the illustrations: blocky, sketchy, small panels that sometimes made it hard to understand what was happening and who we were following.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve generally managed to escape a lot of queer induced religious trauma by being strictly anti-Church since the age of 11, but this still worked to stir up some feelings for me.

This book has one of those endings that I hated to read, and at first I thought it was slightly lazy, but the more I let it digest the more I can make out of it. It isn’t satisfying because it ends well but rather unsatisfying because it ends real. Some people think this way. And it’s pretty harmful and confusing. That’s all

[Shazia · Rating 4 out of 5]

already familiar with campbell's other work (see: XTC69), i was expecting this to be a quick and silly read. although there are some fun elements in rave, jessica campbell dives deeper in this comic dealing with a 15 year old christian girl discovering - and questioning - her sexuality.

[Margarida Galante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren tem 15 anos e uma família muito religiosa. A igreja evangélica a que pertencem rege o comportamento e a vida dos seus membros. A propósito de um trabalho escolar, Lauren aproxima-se de Mariah, uma colega que tem uma vida completamente diferente. Com Mariah, vai descobrir muito sobre si e questionar a igreja e as suas verdades impostas.

A história não é muito desenvolvida, mas apresenta uma crítica mordaz ao extremismo religioso e aos seus efeitos na adolescência.
Uma edição canadiana que foi adquirida na Kingpingbooks no Amadora BD.

[Hanna Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the art style a lot, but the story was lacking. It just wasn't that original or never-been-done-before, and the pacing was off. The second half felt *really* rushed and could have benefitted from being longer and more of the relationship being established.
But I enjoyed it, and I read it so quickly. I'm interested in reading more stuff by Jessica Campbell because there was a lot of potential here for sure.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely short comic about coming of age in the early 2000s. It's got a lot of bullshit religious garbage that the main character has to deal with at the point in her life when she's starting to truly question all the bullshit religious garbage she's been fed all her life. But there's also some really sweet/heartbreaking high school queer stuff and awful/heartbreaking skinny eyebrows. The style kind of reminds me of like brush pen Jeffrey Brown, and I felt like Jessica Campbell did a lot with really compact frames. Really enjoyable!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh, heartbreaking. So very relatable- while I didn't grow up around evangelical Christians, I definitely knew that kid who would fish for unfinished cigarettes to then look cool smoking. >_<

[Tom Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but moving coming of age story with wonderful black and white line drawings. It's always exciting discovering a new cartoonist's work. I'll be following Jessica Campbell in the future.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently I'm on a graphic novel kick! This one was alright, although it felt too short. Definitely wasn't expecting the events in the later half of the book, but the ending just felt kind of incomplete.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It just kinda ends abruptly. I really liked it until then but was hoping for more.

[Kat Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was not expecting to FEEEEL so much from reading this! i’m hugging my teenage self real hard right now 🥲💗

[Anna]

Poignant little graphic novella.

[Aurelia Littlepage · Rating 3 out of 5]

very relatable but too short and maybe not fleshed out enough!! The ending was like damn😭😭😭😭