How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone
Written and illustrated by Alex Norris
Walker Books
Ages 13+
Available November 14th, 2023!

Sprouting from Norris’ originally popular webcomic on love advice, How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone‘s conspicuous bright pink cover and unspoken promise of mastering love is an honest, funny, and freeing take on relationships. Unlike the title suggests, this “guidebook” ends up asking more thoughtful questions than giving answers, with chapter titles such as “What if I like being single?” or “Can I be friends with my ex?” that prompt self-reflection and challenge many relationship stereotypes. Norris emphasizes the joys of relationships built upon acceptance and self-love, but they also do not shy away from awkward, embarrassing, or hurtful realities that often meet readers with a warm yet blunt tone of advice like, “there will be times when you feel hurt, but these are the times it is most important to be kind to yourself” (p. 91-92). This book’s candid and accepting nature will easily welcome teenagers into the vulnerable, emotional space of love and relationships.

Each chapter is a short cotton candy-colored comic, and readers can either skip around to topics of interest or read it in its entirety. Norris thoughtfully contrasts the images and text—the simple, clean graphics and vivid colors balance the complexity of romantic feelings, and the humorous graphics often offset the sensitivity and sadness that can accompany relationships. Through these inclusive graphics and text that center self-love, friendship, communication, and connection, Norris masterfully celebrates the journey of love rather than the goal of a relationship.