When I feel like I’m falling behind on my reading goals (say, maybe, for summer reading?), I find that a graphic novel can provide a nice boost. One, they’re generally quick reads. Two, you can usually find something that is either right in your genre wheelhouse or something to shake things up with minimal commitment.

Volume One of Giant Days really hit the mark for me in the “genre wheelhouse” kind of way. It caught my eye last week when it arrived with a batch of new materials for my location. I loved the bright cover and the blurb on the back was enough for me to snatch it up for some lunch time reading.

In the book, we meet Esther, Susan and Daisy as they navigate their first year at university. The three girls could not be more different — Esther is a bit goth and more than a bit dramatic; Daisy was home-schooled and is out on her own for the first time; and Susan gives the impression of being grounded and together but just might be as dramatic as Esther.

In the first volume, the girls deal with new crushes along with the return of old loves, take down the group of guys behind a website that ranks girls by their looks and get through their first bought of the flu on their own. I loved the easy humor and how perfectly the first weeks of college are captured in the pages, especially those first friendships that are created out of your new, weird living circumstances.

The series is written by John Allison, with art by Disney animator Lissa Treiman for the first six issues (Max Sarin has since picked up illustration duties). Allison is the creator of the long-running web comic Scary Go Round and its various spin-offs, so he is well practiced in character-driven stories. I’d recommend this to fans of Scott Pilgrim, Lumberjanes and In Real Life. I know that I’ll be working the remaining volumes into my summer reading plan.

Jess is the Clerical Specialist at the Woods Run branch on the North Side. She’s your girl for YA lit, romance novels and knitting.