Squad
- Downloads：7127
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-21 06:52:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Maggie Tokuda-Hall
- ISBN：0062943146
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this fast-paced， sharply funny， and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle。 When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique， she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret， either: they’re werewolves。 Fans of Mariko Tamaki and Elana K。 Arnold will devour the snappy dialogue， vivid artwork， and timely social commentary。
When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb， she’s worried she’s not going to fit in。 To her surprise， she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school。 At first glance， Marley， Arianna， and Mandy are perfect。 But at a party under a full moon， Becca learns that they also have a big secret。
Becca’s new friends are werewolves。 Their prey？ Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls。 Eager to be accepted， Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf， and finally， for the first time in her life， she feels like she truly belongs。
But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed， and the cops begin searching for a serial killer。 As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends。
Lisa Sterle’s stylish illustrations paired with Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sharp writing make Squad a fun， haunting， and fast-paced thriller that will resonate with fans of Riverdale， and with readers of This Savage Song， Lumberjanes， and Paper Girls。
When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb， she’s worried she’s not going to fit in。 To her surprise， she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school。 At first glance， Marley， Arianna， and Mandy are perfect。 But at a party under a full moon， Becca learns that they also have a big secret。
Becca’s new friends are werewolves。 Their prey？ Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls。 Eager to be accepted， Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf， and finally， for the first time in her life， she feels like she truly belongs。
But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed， and the cops begin searching for a serial killer。 As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends。
Lisa Sterle’s stylish illustrations paired with Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sharp writing make Squad a fun， haunting， and fast-paced thriller that will resonate with fans of Riverdale， and with readers of This Savage Song， Lumberjanes， and Paper Girls。
Reviews
Becky C
，
[3。5 stars] - Enjoyable mean-girls sapphic love story with a supernatural， dark spin and fun art style。 Engaging read but felt like the ending was very rushed。
Megan
，
I always love when I have actually read several of the nominees for a Goodreads Best Books of the Year category， and this year I had several in the graphic novels category。 This was hands down my favorite！ It started with more "wait I don't like ANY of these characters" than I prefer but， it got better。 As I was reading I thought "wait I thought I bought this because I heard it had some queer romance， but I'm getting zero vibes here， except maybe the one annoying blonde。。。。" and then， I was righ I always love when I have actually read several of the nominees for a Goodreads Best Books of the Year category， and this year I had several in the graphic novels category。 This was hands down my favorite！ It started with more "wait I don't like ANY of these characters" than I prefer but， it got better。 As I was reading I thought "wait I thought I bought this because I heard it had some queer romance， but I'm getting zero vibes here， except maybe the one annoying blonde。。。。" and then， I was right， and that went somewhere， and it wasn't lame， it was cute。 I liked that there's a sort of tied-up "happy ending" in this， but the characters have to sacrifice to get it。 But， they also get each other and less complicated life， and I feel like it was a tradeoff that makes sense。 I think this would make and probably will be a great TV series。。。 but I kinda hope it ends up animated， not live-action。 We'll see。 5/5 cute， the end。 Oh wait there should also be more lesbian werewolf fiction。 THE END。 。。。more
Riley
，
I wasn't disappointed， it just did NOT go where I thought it was going。 An interesting read for sure， especially about dynamics， power， femininity and how all of those things interact。 I wasn't disappointed， it just did NOT go where I thought it was going。 An interesting read for sure， especially about dynamics， power， femininity and how all of those things interact。 。。。more
Alexa Blart， Library Cop
，
Not a single werewolf was a boy and yet the ENTIRE time I was reading this I just had the chorus to werewolf bar mitzvah （“boys becoming men， men becoming WOLVES”） stuck in my head what the heck
Lexi Woodland
，
It only took me an hour to read this which was really nice。 Though I found it kind of confusing and all over the place at first， it picked up after。
jess
，
DELIGHTFUL
Izzys_Internet_Bookshelf
，
2/5I had high hopes for this。 It seemed to fall into an oddly stereotypical genre which sounds weird。
Siofra
，
Heathers with more of a wolfy bite！I enjoyed the allure into this graphic novel's popular world vibe with that supernatural twist。 However， I hate mean girls and Arianna was unnecessary。The lack of accurate consent they gave our MC about turning into one of them was uncomfy like she wanted to， but they said either you turn or you die！I enjoyed the story， and I felt like the cost of being powerful needs rules and broken rules and death being the penalty was accurate in a world like that。 Heathers with more of a wolfy bite！I enjoyed the allure into this graphic novel's popular world vibe with that supernatural twist。 However， I hate mean girls and Arianna was unnecessary。The lack of accurate consent they gave our MC about turning into one of them was uncomfy like she wanted to， but they said either you turn or you die！I enjoyed the story， and I felt like the cost of being powerful needs rules and broken rules and death being the penalty was accurate in a world like that。 。。。more
Andrew
，
Good Sapphic teen werewolf tale
Amanda
，
This was a wild ride and I loved every minute of it。 Teen Wolf meets Pretty Little Liars is a apt description。
Nora
，
I thought I was going to like this more than I did。 I really enjoyed the art （especially since it's by a Columbus-based artist） but the story never quite grasped me。 It kind of felt like a Riverdale reject plot and not in a good way。 I liked parts of the story that were talking about womanhood， but sometimes it got a little #girlboss。 Fun and exciting read， but not my favorite。 I thought I was going to like this more than I did。 I really enjoyed the art （especially since it's by a Columbus-based artist） but the story never quite grasped me。 It kind of felt like a Riverdale reject plot and not in a good way。 I liked parts of the story that were talking about womanhood， but sometimes it got a little #girlboss。 Fun and exciting read， but not my favorite。 。。。more
Emma
，
C/W:（view spoiler）[attempted sexual assault， gore， murder （hide spoiler）]Squad sucked me in from the beginning with its 90s aesthetic that reminded me so much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer。 I loved the questions the story asks about who gets power + why， whether in society at large or within groups of friends。 The werewolf element was really cool and unlike any version of the myth I've seen before。 I would've liked a bit more character development but have found that I sometimes struggle to feel e C/W:（view spoiler）[attempted sexual assault， gore， murder （hide spoiler）]Squad sucked me in from the beginning with its 90s aesthetic that reminded me so much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer。 I loved the questions the story asks about who gets power + why， whether in society at large or within groups of friends。 The werewolf element was really cool and unlike any version of the myth I've seen before。 I would've liked a bit more character development but have found that I sometimes struggle to feel emotionally invested in characters in a visual format so maybe that's me。Overall， I was really impressed with the deep and compelling story of Squad。 The artwork was a delight from start to finish as well。 。。。more
Annaka
，
Squad is a graphic novel where teenage werewolves run around and murder other teenagers for being creeps and rapists。 This is extremely cathartic and objectively rad as hell。 So is the artwork， which is bold and has a retro vibe that others have described as reminiscent of classic American comics dressed up in 80s and 90s horror and high school tropes。 （So like Afterlife with Archie except it’s lesbian werewolves。 And I am 100% down with that。）No one’s ever going to accuse Squad of being subtle Squad is a graphic novel where teenage werewolves run around and murder other teenagers for being creeps and rapists。 This is extremely cathartic and objectively rad as hell。 So is the artwork， which is bold and has a retro vibe that others have described as reminiscent of classic American comics dressed up in 80s and 90s horror and high school tropes。 （So like Afterlife with Archie except it’s lesbian werewolves。 And I am 100% down with that。）No one’s ever going to accuse Squad of being subtle。 Its timely message—do shit， get hit， basically—is sure to resonate with anyone who’s ever had to deal with a gross man （so at least 50% of the world’s population） but is a bit muddled in execution。 It’s pretty clear from the beginning that all’s not well in Squadsville， and not just because they’re murdering people， some of whom are named after famous asshats （again， not subtle， but excused by the sad fact that the death of these fictional eponyms is the only justice their real-world counterparts will ever likely have to face） and some of whom are objectively innocent。And that’s not necessarily a problem; part of the message of Squad appears to be that unchecked rage against the man （all the mans） is not justified， even if it feels really good。 The muddling happens when some of the squad members start doing things like body shaming their friends and slut shaming their classmates and being kinda casually racist？ None of this is ever really brought up or commented on， it’s just… there。 If the point was to introduce some moral ambiguity to these characters before they started attempting to murder people experiencing homelessness， I guess it succeeded。 The epilogue seems to imply that what really matters isn’t being part of the cool werewolf gang， it’s being yourself。 Which is cool and all but also kind of a strange message when you spent the whole book in a murderous bloodpact and all you had to do to get out of it was snack on someone’s heart after someone else had already killed her （which ain’t nothing， but still）。Maybe this is a horror thing， but it often feels like these Halloweeny books put so much of their energy into aesthetic that there’s not as much room left at the end of the day for a truly cohesive story （or at least a story that doesn’t trip over itself on its way to thematic relevance）。 Squad is pretty emblematic of that， but it’s still a fun ride and sure to be a good time for someone who just wants to enjoy the great art and get good and mad （preferably in October）。 。。。more
Leah Rich
，
The story moves at a good pace， the characters are fun， the narration and main character is compelling。 I love the illustration and visual delivery of story。 It gives you some graphic scenes and is super fun。 I love that it isn't overly predictable either！ More woman centered stories please！ The story moves at a good pace， the characters are fun， the narration and main character is compelling。 I love the illustration and visual delivery of story。 It gives you some graphic scenes and is super fun。 I love that it isn't overly predictable either！ More woman centered stories please！ 。。。more
Julia Rose
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Nice art style fun story
Hope
，
3。5-4I really enjoyed this book but did not appreciate the racial micro aggressions towards Becca and Amanda。Yay for sapphic representation， though！
Holly Hughes
，
”You know what I never understood， until I changed？ How close anger and hunger are， really。”Okay， so ultimately this didn’t quuuuuite go in the direction I was hoping and anticipating it would based on the first few pages， but I’m also not disappointed with the direction it did take。 That said， I felt things rushed a little too much towards the end—which left the resolution feeling choppy—and there were a few specific moments where the jump between scenes interrupted the story in terms of bo ”You know what I never understood， until I changed？ How close anger and hunger are， really。”Okay， so ultimately this didn’t quuuuuite go in the direction I was hoping and anticipating it would based on the first few pages， but I’m also not disappointed with the direction it did take。 That said， I felt things rushed a little too much towards the end—which left the resolution feeling choppy—and there were a few specific moments where the jump between scenes interrupted the story in terms of both general flow and comprehension。But！ The illustrations and colour palettes beautifully capture the tone of the story， and ultimately？ I am Here™ for exploring the gray corners of morality with young female characters through the lens of lycanthropy。 。。。more
Diana-christie Biancardi
，
I loved it！ The art is great， the story is so fun！ I thought it was just going in the 'means girls' direction but it was so much more。 I loved it！ The art is great， the story is so fun！ I thought it was just going in the 'means girls' direction but it was so much more。 。。。more
Marshae'
，
3。5， I think the problem with me and this graphic novel was that it maybe moved a bit too fast。 Like I def。 think it could've been drawn out a bit more and given some more detail and context to somethings。 Maybe even left itself open for a sequel （I would've read it） and taken it's time to explain the rules， how the girls came to join， and what not。 Also， I know the jokes about lesbians fall in love in one day or whatever and I felt this is what happened with this story。 Which is fine， but I'd l 3。5， I think the problem with me and this graphic novel was that it maybe moved a bit too fast。 Like I def。 think it could've been drawn out a bit more and given some more detail and context to somethings。 Maybe even left itself open for a sequel （I would've read it） and taken it's time to explain the rules， how the girls came to join， and what not。 Also， I know the jokes about lesbians fall in love in one day or whatever and I felt this is what happened with this story。 Which is fine， but I'd like to see more build up （？） to it。 Lastly， I think Amanda suddenly betraying her pack could've also been built up a bit more。 Like maybe show how she skips on meeting up with the girls more than once， or taking secretive phone calls/sending secrete texts （although there was that one panel very early on that could attest to this）， something。 Everything just seemed to happen all of sudden and if you zoned out while reading you'd defiantly miss something important。 I won't go into details about the microaggressions that the characters of color faced， but there were quite a bit。 Other than that the story was decent， the graphics were amazing， and I did love that Amanda was her own person even when it went against what the pack wanted her to be/act like。 。。。more
Alfredo Luna
，
Maybe 2。75 stars？ I don't know， I'm feeling pretty soggy about the ending， but maybe that's unfair to the rest of it。 Read this in a sitting after my coworker handed it to me with a sideways look in her eye。 This exactly the kind of book she likes to order for our library--a youthful， vibrant supernatural queer comic with feminist and progressive messaging--and I could tell that it landed with a clang for her。 I was confused， because that's the type of thing that I like to read （and write） as we Maybe 2。75 stars？ I don't know， I'm feeling pretty soggy about the ending， but maybe that's unfair to the rest of it。 Read this in a sitting after my coworker handed it to me with a sideways look in her eye。 This exactly the kind of book she likes to order for our library--a youthful， vibrant supernatural queer comic with feminist and progressive messaging--and I could tell that it landed with a clang for her。 I was confused， because that's the type of thing that I like to read （and write） as well。 Then I read it。 Spoilers below。I was very on board for more than half of it。 It starts as a pretty clear Mean Girls/Heathers dark comedy and trends into a cold-blooded werewolf tale of vigilantism and female friendship， but by midbook the rules that the story sets up for itself start to fall apart。 The victims of the girls stop being heavy-handed monsters of young men and start to be more like。。。a guy who like a girl at a party and was pretty polite and consent-conscious？ It becomes flat out murder of people who seem at least more "innocent" than their previous targets。 And to its credit， the book calls this out！ The non-alpha wolf-women are not cool with killing innocent people， even if they feed because they have to。 Then the climax comes together as it does， and things are more muddy and grey than ever。 If I'm honest I wasn't as turned off as my co-worker was （the story lost her with the casual way that the wolf women murder without a second thought， like it's getting brunch， especially our hero， Becca）， because I presumed that there would be some sort of comeuppance or complex ending to match this complex web of death and lies that they had woven themselves into。 And while the alpha who led them astray DOES face some consequences， brutally， the other three do not！ In fact， our protagonist Becca gets to live happily ever after with her first ever girlfriend （a relationship which I thought was well rendered if a bit back-seated to the driving murder plot due， presumably， to space） and walk away clean。 That's pretty weird！ I'm not saying that they needed to be killed or go to prison or something， but these women did willingly commit murder pretty often， and only sometimes on people who transgressed。 They didn't even ever really protest the killing of innocents like Mandy did！ So while I'm happy for them in a vacuum， I thought that the muddled ethics of the ending were a pretty sour note to end on。 When Becca has a big heart to heart with her mother at the end regarding her life and sexuality， it's WILD to me that she felt the burden of being in the closet that much harder than of murdering people who she admitted did not deserve it。 Being in the closet is agony， yes， but I can't imagine that committing murder isn't。。。worse？ So I don't know， unfortunately that kind of killed the vibe for me。 I'm not even sure what I would have wanted， to be honest， but I definitely expected a more morally grey， complex ending that matched the rest of the （well-written and layered） story。 Would've been pretty weird if， say， Dexter ended with him finding the love of his life and living a happy， peaceful life with no lasting consequences from his actions at all！ Also， I agree with people that the race politics are severely undercooked here。 Hinted at， the subject of jokes， but never looked at head on， which feels a bit like a missed opportunity。Anyway。 I really did adore the art。 Lisa Sterle is wonderful。 She has that kind of style that I like that sits on just of the edge of cartoony while still feeling very real， not quite to Archie but not trying to be photorealistic。 It's a style that I like and I'm glad to see it happening more and more。And while this was my first piece by Takuda-Hall， I'd definitely check out her other stuff， as she has an excellent ear for dialogue that I find is missing in a lot of comic writers， especially those who write young people。 。。。more
Adam Daniels
，
This book is pretty stupid。 However， I’m not the intended audience so I’m going to hold off on giving it a rating。 One thing worth mentioning is this the first book in which I have seen the use of the gender-neutral honorific “Mx”。 I hadn’t even heard of it until I read this book so I learned something new。 Pretty cool。
Angelina
，
Rating: 2/5I went into this graphic novel knowing absolutely nothing。 I liked the art style on the cover and I had seen it mentioned around a few times， so I figured I'd get it from the library and see what it was all about。 This is similar to Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf。 You have your main character who gets in with the popular crowd and discovers that they're werewolves。 I have conflicting feelings on Squad。 On one hand， I loved the art and the overall story itself。 But there were just a Rating: 2/5I went into this graphic novel knowing absolutely nothing。 I liked the art style on the cover and I had seen it mentioned around a few times， so I figured I'd get it from the library and see what it was all about。 This is similar to Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf。 You have your main character who gets in with the popular crowd and discovers that they're werewolves。 I have conflicting feelings on Squad。 On one hand， I loved the art and the overall story itself。 But there were just a bunch of little things that made me uncomfortable。 My main issue was the casual lesbophobia thrown around even from queer characters themselves， not to mention the fatphobia as well。 Also， the parent relationships in this were never fully explored and the main character seemed to hate her mom for no reason。 And nothing with the "nerdy girl who gets bullied and shunned from the squad but is lowkey friends with our main character" ever gets discussed or resolved？？ Anyways， I do think this will work for some people and I always love seeing queer characters in graphic novels， but I couldn't get past some things。 Overall， I love pretty pictures and Squad did have that going for it。 。。。more
Mikaela
，
4 stars
Rachel
，
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 This is a relatively quick read that has a lot going on in it， which I think was both a good and bad combination。 On the one hand it was definitely easy to keep turning the pages， but on the other hand I wanted to delve deeper into some of the aspects brought up。 This book is all about taking down toxic males and punishing them for their actions while also being about finding out who you are and where you belong。 I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 This is a relatively quick read that has a lot going on in it， which I think was both a good and bad combination。 On the one hand it was definitely easy to keep turning the pages， but on the other hand I wanted to delve deeper into some of the aspects brought up。 This book is all about taking down toxic males and punishing them for their actions while also being about finding out who you are and where you belong。 I'm really conflicted about the feminism/taking down the toxic males in this book。 Sometimes it felt like feminism but more often than not it felt like mean girls playing judge， jury， and executioner which I just couldn't get behind。 Their group dynamic always felt uncomfortable to me because the girls were all very stereotypically judgy and horrible。 The dialogue and overall script felt stiff and confusing at times。 I really loved the artwork but it wasn't enough to compensate for the bad story， characters， and my issues with some of the messages in this book。 。。。more
Sara M
，
It's basically The Craft but with werewolves， but honestly I'm here for it。 It's basically The Craft but with werewolves， but honestly I'm here for it。 。。。more
jennifer cecil
，
Beautifully illustrated and a darkly entertaining story line。
Dani Figueroa
，
This was so good。 It was lovely brain food。
Josefa Carvajal
，
4⭐️Me gusto bastante， si lo tuviera que describir diría: Mean girls lesbianas y son mujeres lobos。 Realmente es bien llevadero para el rato y me gusto el final
Jamie
，
The 100% feminist revenge fantasy （with a happyish ending！） that 2021 needs。
Elizabeth
，
what。 the。 fuck。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Squad
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Squad&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Squad&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0