Twelfth Grade Night-Arden High, Book 1

by Molly Horton Booth

Overview

"Magical and full of queer joy—this book is such a dream!"
—Alice Oseman, New York Times best-selling author of Heartstopper

The course of true love never did run smooth . . . and neither does high school in this new graphic novel series for fans of Heartstopper and The Prince and the Dressmaker.

Vi came to Arden High for a fresh start and a chance to wear beanies and button-ups instead of uniform skirts. And though doing it without her twin feels like being split in half, Vi finds her stride when she stumbles (literally!) into broody and beautiful poet-slash-influencer, Orsino. Soon Vi gets roped into helping plan the school’s Twelfth Grade Night dance, and she can’t stop dreaming about slow dancing with Orsino under the fairy lights in the gym.

The problem? All Vi’s new friends assume she’s not even into guys. And before Vi can ask Orsino to the dance, he recruits Vi to help woo his crush, Olivia. Who has a crush of her own . . . on Vi.

Star-crossed love abounds in this hilarious and romantic story of self-discovery, mistaken identities, and the magic that happens when we open our hearts to something new.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368064651
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Series:	Arden High , #1
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	198,508
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Molly Booth (they/she) is the author of Saving Hamlet and Nothing Happened, and a total Shakespeare nerd. Molly grew up homeschooled and earned their BA in English from Marlboro College and their MA in English from UMass Boston (studying—twist!—Shakespeare). Twelfth Night was the first play she ever directed as a drama teacher, and the production featured a wonderful cast of teen actors, including her sister as Feste the Fool, as well as a soundtrack featuring Carly Rae Jepsen and Taylor Swift. Molly lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where they spend a lot of time with their partner, family, and the rest doting on their pets. You can visit her on Instagram @MollyHortonBooth and on her website, MollyHortonBooth.com.

Stephanie Kate Strohm (she/her) is also the author of Prince in Disguise; Love à la Mode; The Date to Save; It’s Not Me, It’s You; That's Not What I Heard; and Restless Hearts (Katy Keene #1). In high school, she was voted Class Star, played Olivia in Twelfth Night, and once won a drama prize (it was not a prize for starting drama, although she could have won that, too). After graduating from Middlebury College with a degree in theater and history, she performed at several of America's least-attended outdoor summer Shakespeare theaters. She still knows all of Juliet's lines, just in case. Stephanie lives and writes in Los Angeles. You can find her online at StephanieKateStrohm.com and on Twitter and Instagram @StephKateStrohm.

Jamie Green (they/them) is a book illustrator, content creator, and alum of Ringling College of Art and Design '20. In high school, they were all about fandom culture, LGBTQIA topics, and anime/manga, which was perfect training to illustrate a romcom love triangle graphic novel (art school probably helped, too). When they aren't doing illustration for books, they can be found tattooing, lifting weights, or exploring outdoors. You can find Jamie on Instagram and Twitter @JamieMGreenArt or just Jamie Green on YouTube.

Editorial Reviews

08/22/2022

Booth (Nothing Happened), Strohm (Restless Hearts), and Green (Brothers in Arms) channel William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in this joyful graphic novel series opener. Human twins Viola and Sebastian have been inseparable until, as the duo prepare to transition into Arden High, a school populated by humans, fairies, and satyrs alike, Sebastian opts to go to St. Anne’s boarding school, instead. Juggling feelings of abandonment and elation at being able to finally dress how she wants (“I just felt more and more uncomfortable in those skirts. I wanted to dress more like Sebastian,” Vi says of her middle school uniforms), Vi meets and crushes on enigmatic human poet Orsino. But things get messy when Orsino recruits her to help him woo his own crush. Green’s distinct and whimsical character designs, coupled with a rich color palette, skillfully render Arden’s ephemeral fairy-realm setting. The creators pay homage to the source material by modernizing core elements while staying true to the original’s spirit. The twins’ struggles to forge their own personhoods, and Vi’s exploration of her gender and sexual identity, enrich the narrative. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 12–up. Agents: (for Booth) Alex Slater, Trident Media Group; (for Strohm) Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency; (for Green) Chad Beckerman, CAT Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

*High school pranks, youthful dialogue, and a bright color palette make for a fun and inviting comedy to dive into, and a charismatic supporting cast offers plenty of material for more Shakespearean hijinks in future volumes.

—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)


Twelfth Grade Night cast a spell on me! A willing combination of fantasy, fun, humor, and heart.—Faith Erin Hicks, New York Times best-selling co-creator of PUMPKINHEADS

Twelfth Grade Night is a heartfelt and expressive graphic novel with memorable characters, emotive art, and an engaging story. I loved it!
—Kevin Panetta, author of BLOOM


Booth and Strohm create a fun, bouncy, lively story through entertaining dialogue and high school high jinks, while Green’s illustrations get the facial expressions of teenage banter and confusion just right. This appears to be the first in what could be a popular series about joyful, mostly happy teens navigating high school with peers who are all being their true selves, be they fairies or minotaurs, bisexual or straight, trans, or cis. VERDICT Fans of Strohm’s previous novels (Love a La Mode, Prince in Disguise) and graphic novels such as Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper” series will enjoy this title. A sound choice for any library with a strong graphic novel readership.
—School Library Journal



Effervescent and goofy . . . endearing, magically infused, romantic comedy hijinks.—Kirkus Reviews


Joyful . . . distinct and whimsical.
—Publishers Weekly


Magical and full of queer joy—this book is such a dream!
—Alice Oseman, New York Times best-selling author of HEARTSTOPPER

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

Gr 7 Up—This graphic novel dishes out a lot of high school drama. Vi, a new first year at Arden High School, is dealing with her father's death as well as her fraternal twin brother's move away to boarding school. Vi is resentful towards her brother, Sebastian, for having to go to Arden alone, although happily, it has none of the trappings of her old, strict private school—including no uniform requirement. She is free to be herself at Arden, which is made up of some magical as well as human students. Vi makes fast friends and even meets her first crush, Orsino, a dreamy "emo-boy" poet. Vi gets pulled onto the social committee to plan the first school dance, though she remains largely on the periphery of the committee shenanigans while dealing with her own mini-love-triangle-crisis. Booth and Strohm create a fun, bouncy, lively story through entertaining dialogue and high school high jinks, while Green's illustrations get the facial expressions of teenage banter and confusion just right. This appears to be the first in what could be a popular series about joyful, mostly happy teens navigating high school with peers who are all being their true selves, be they fairies or minotaurs, bisexual or straight, trans, or cis. VERDICT Fans of Strohm's previous novels (Love a La Mode, Prince in Disguise) and graphic novels such as Alice Oseman's "Heartstopper" series will enjoy this title. A sound choice for any library with a strong graphic novel readership.—Kim Gardner

School Library Journal

2022-07-27
Vi Messaline has always done everything with her twin brother, Sebastian.

So she’s shocked when he decides he’d rather stay at their private boarding school instead of attending public school alongside her. And Arden High is not your average public school: Fairies run the social scene, glittery magic permeates the woods, and oddball students and their shenanigans rule the day. Taciturn and sensitive Vi is set to go solo in an overwhelming and strange environment. Adopted by a new, quirky friend group, she’s then swept up in Shakespeare’s familiar love quadrangle. This retelling closely follows the beats of the original Twelfth Night, and it’s solidly grounded as it tackles the often retold tale. The surprises lie mostly in the effervescent and goofy tone. Although Vi grapples with real issues—trying out a less feminine gender presentation, grieving the loss of her father, and navigating her changing relationship with Sebastian—the focus is on fun. Green’s buoyant art effectively augments this tone, with extremely appealing and expressive character designs and settings full of lush detail. Clever updates to the source material include the cliques to which the characters belong and the use of social media to facilitate mistaken identities. This playing to strengths helps readers overlook a breakneck timeline and less emotional complexity in some storylines. The cast is heavily queer and racially diverse; Vi reads White.

Endearing, magically infused, romantic comedy hijinks. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews