Book Review // BINGO LOVE by Tee Franklin & Jenn St-Onge

My Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Hazel and Mari form an unshakeable bond when they meet at church bingo in 1963. They become close friends but quickly fall in love with one another. Their families do not approve of their relationship and force the girls to part. Hazel and Mari meet once again -- 50 years later -- at bingo, but by this time they both have families of their own. Will they throw everything away to be together? Or have they missed their chance at true love?

I found this comic at a library conference and was so excited to get to read it. I immediately fell in love with Hazel and Mari and wanted so badly for them to find happiness in one another. It's not a perfect story, there were parts of the story that felt a little rushed or unrealistic to me, but at the same time, as a queer woman I realize that this is such an important book in terms of representation. It's so rare to have a romance between two women that doesn't end in utter tragedy -- let alone one featuring two women of color or two elderly women. The story isn't overly saccharine -- there is some struggle and hardship woven throughout Hazel & Mari's stories, but the ending is bittersweet, satisfying, and very fitting.

I also just wanted to applaud the artist, Jenn St-Onge, because the art style is adorable. I appreciated how the characters actually looked like real people -- they have all different body types, skin tones, and are even depicted with stretch marks and imperfections. All in all, I think this is a cute, important comic and I would recommend it to any LGBT youth (or, heck, even adults) looking to see themselves represented in media.

Review originally published to Goodreads.com.