Faith Erin Hicks is back with a new graphic novel, Inbetweens, about two aspiring artist sisters who go to animation school together. It’s a story of aspirations, inspirations, and figuring out what you want to be when you grow up. Hicks, who went to animation school herself, writes and draws a graphic novel that is a slice-of-life many of us have gone through right out of high school.
The story is about two sisters, Ash and Sloan, who both love to draw from an early age. They’ve set their sights on art school camp for the summer, and their excitement varies. Hicks makes it clear that their bond over art doesn’t necessarily mean both will get artist jobs growing up, but you can sense a push-and-pull between them to succeed. It’s easy to relate to one, and maybe even both, and I could see younger readers connecting with characters who haven’t found their footing yet, and discover that drawing for fun and drawing to animate are very different things.
Along the way, Hicks introduces supporting characters through Ash and Sloan’s friends and various teachers. Through Nisha and Cameron Hicks, the narrative explores characters with different proclivities in art school, though it never strays too far from the lead characters.
The energy level is palpable.
Credit: First Second
Thrown into the mix are actual lessons and plenty of references to animated films. Something that resonated with me is a teacher who isn’t the most supportive in their feedback. Incredibly successful and a hero to many in the animation world, he’s far too narcissistic to see how he makes students feel. He’s also a lens to the sisters, showing how insecurities, especially at such a young age, can shape how you feel about your own work.
As the story builds, a final animated film is required, and Hicks does a good job showing the stress that goes into it, the experience of showing the film to a class, and the various styles and quality of animated films in a program like this. It serves as a good climax while the characters learn and grow.
Mixed in with Hicks’ familiar art style are hand-drawn sketches of all sorts, be it doodles or the final animations. This creates an immersive experience as if you’re right there with the students.
One gripe I had with the read was its slower start. It takes about 50 pages to get to the first lesson when the story starts to get into gear. The simpler layouts of a YA book like this, three to four panels for most pages, certainly contribute to the slower start, but I didn’t feel hooked into the story until later than I would have wanted. Still, it was cool to see Sloan and Ash’s childhood comics.
Faith Erin Hicks delivers a grounded and thoughtful graphic novel that captures the uncertainty of pursuing art at a young age. The dynamic between Ash and Sloan anchors the story, offering a believable mix of support, rivalry, and self-doubt. While the opening takes a while to find its rhythm, the payoff comes through in its emotional honesty and lived-in details of animation school life. By the end, it feels like a story many young readers will see themselves in, especially anyone who has ever wondered if their passion could become their future.
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