the greatest thing by sarah winifred searle

This isn't by choice-she was perfectly comfortable with the way things used to be when she was a member of a well-established three-person clique. It's the first day of her sophomore year, and Winifred is going to reinvent herself. Winifred must find out how to reveal her deepest secret in this moving coming-of-age story about high school, self-acceptance, and the life-saving power of teen friendships. Jordi Kerr is a freelance reviewer and youth literature advocate, and a support worker for the LGBTIQA+ community.With breathtaking art and honest storytelling, Sarah Winifred Searle delivers a moving graphic novel about friendship, love, and self-acceptance in The Greatest Thing.

Although thematically similar to Heartstopper, tonally, The Greatest Thing is best suited to fans of This One Summer and teens aged 13–15. Fittingly, the ending of The Greatest Thing is both sad and hopeful-this is not a story about the power of everlasting friendship, but a homage to the friendships that are impactful even when they are fleeting. Some readers may find this reassuring, especially given the themes that are explored, while others may find it interrupts the narrative immersion. Throughout the novel Searle includes exposition from adult Winifred, reminding the reader that The Greatest Thing is just one year within a whole lifetime. Searle makes good use of the graphic novel format to temper this emotionally intense content with backgrounds in soothing pastel tones and intimate, close-up shots of the characters supporting each other and accessing professional help. The Greatest Thing delicately handles heavy themes, including depression, self-harm, disordered eating, learning difficulties and gender questioning in an unsupportive family environment.

Together they channel their feelings into a collaborative zine which, in a beautiful use of the graphic novel format, Searle shows the reader every page of. Semi-autobiographical in nature, it’s set in America in 2002 where Winifred (Searle) meets Oscar and April-kindred spirits in self-hatred. Greatest Thing is a graphic novel about friendship and self-actualisation, with a dash of queer romance.

The greatest thing by sarah winifred searle