How Could You - by Ren Strapp (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Strapp's expressively rendered, refreshingly diverse cast of characters engagingly brings light to some of the unique struggles of queer friendships and relationships. This love letter to the fleeting nature of college friend groups is approachable (and maybe stressful!) for anyone who has ever been a miserable college student glad they have someone to stick it out with." --Booklist

Falling in love? Scary. Falling for your best friend? Terrifying. Naming all the ways your heart hurts? Impossible.

College upperclassman Molly Song is set on getting over her ex this semester, but it's hard when she dumps you via email and posts all over social media about cozying up with her study-abroad roommate. After convincing her friend, Lou Kingston, that they should go to parties and find rebound girlfriends, Molly learns she should be careful what she wishes for when she starts to develop real feelings for someone she's not sure feels the same way.

Meanwhile, Molly and Lou's exes, Yona and Olene, have left their pasts behind as they study abroad in France. Together they see springtime in Marseille, find new friendships, and uncover new personal truths. Will their whirlwind trip bloom into a whirlwind romance, or will their journeys to self-discovery put them on different paths entirely?

College is a time to find yourself, but what could you stand to lose along the way? Lessons of the heart abound in How Could You, a queer debut graphic novel from Ren Strapp, perfect for fans of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me and Heartstopper.

Review Quotes

"Strapp's breezy debut rom-com features queer college students grappling with messy, intertwined love lives. [...] the youthful ensemble's trial-and-error approaches to matters of the heart ring true. Fans of queer romance will enjoy this."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"How Could You is an entertaining graphic novel about the pleasures and perils of college romances."-- "Foreword Reviews"

"How Could You invites us to indulge in the full-body experience that is college lesbian dating drama. From the swoony warmth of a summer fling to the ecstasy and agony of having a really big cry even though you're fully the villain, you will devour the delicious self-inflicted queer misery of this graphic novel. Funny, heartbreaking, and cathartic, How Could You is a triumph."--Ollie Hicks (Grand Slam Romance)

"Growing up, you're always told college will be the best time of your life, but Ren Strapp prepares you for the gruesome reality. . . . Twenty year olds just kind of suck at relationships. All the fun of hearing secondhand gossip, How Could You is a juicy lesbian drama burger you can't help but devour. If I had read this when I was 20, it would've fixed me."--Fawnduu (My Dragon Girlfriend)

"Ren Strapp presents an intimate, vulnerable window into the messiness of college romance."--Reimena Yee (Seance Tea Party)

About the Author

Ren Strapp is a comic artist, designer, and gender nonconforming lesbian werewolf. She grew up in Susquehannock territory and now lives on unceded land at the confluence of the Wimahl and Willamette Rivers. Ren started her comics career in zines and web comics and will be a zinester until she dies. Her work is inspired by risograph printing and American traditional tattooing. She loves weight lifting and hiking.