I’m always on the lookout for interesting comics and because of that, my comics reading has a much wider genre circle than the rest of my fiction reading. Case in point, Faith Erin Hicks comic Friends With Boys. If it wasn’t a graphic novel, then it wouldn’t be anything I’d be interested in. Then again, I’m not sure it’s the type of thing I’d be reading going forward. It’s not that the book is bad (since it’s not), but I really wasn’t interested in the book that much. So let’s see what it was about.

It’s Maggie’s first day of high school and that means one thing: Public School. Maggie (and her three older brothers) was home schooled throughout elementary school and then heads off to a public high school. The title comes from the fact that Maggie has spent her entire life playing with just her brothers. I found this somewhat fake. I have my doubts that Maggie’s mom wouldn’t have setup playdates with other home schooled girls or anything. But that leads us to Maggie’s mom. After she finished home schooling the four kids, she took off as she needed a break. The mom isn’t seen the whole book, but she is mentioned (and missed) by all.

The book covers all of Maggie’s freshman year as she makes friends with a girl, Lucy, and Lucy’s brother Alistair. Alistair used to be an athlete until he was forced to chose between that and his sister. He chose his sister, shaved part of his hair and now is a semi-comfortable punk. There is also a ghost that plays a part in the story and propels some of the story along.

Overall, it’s a decent book, but I really wasn’t interested in it. The art is good and the characters are funny and quirky. I don’t know that I’d recommend it for everyone, but there will be some group of readers who will be interested. Mildly recommended.