Corman's (Queens Day) new work follows a group of Manhattan teenagers in the process of growing up, pretending all the while that they already have. Tina is looking for love but has no idea where to find it. Technically a virgin, she supposedly dates James, who's off studying in Florida. Meanwhile, she takes guitar lessons from Evan, a cute alt. music boy whose girlfriend is in Germany. Tina and Evan's growing attraction is buried behind the cynical fronts that all these teen characters maintain to seem cool. Tina and her girlfriends, brutally catty behind each others' backs, sit in diners drinking coffee and trying to impress each other with sexual braggadocio that actually betrays their inexperience. As Tina gets closer to Evan, James returns on a school holiday and things begin to heat up, but James is ultimately revealed as a rather nasty sexual predator. Corman's drawings are very cartoony and lack detail, but skillfully convey the confused emotions her characters seek to hide. Although sloppy in places, her strong graphic sense and knack for storytelling carry the book. Corman's reliance on showing rather than telling sometimes leaves the narrative sketchy and in need of explanation. But older teens and those who were once older teens should have no trouble relating to this tale. (Jan.)
