Tegan and Sara: Junior High

Written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin

Illustrated by Tillie Walden

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

978-0-374-31301-2

304 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2023

The names Tegan and Sara are well known to many as the Canadian Indie-pop duo but also producers of the TV series High School, based on their own secondary school experiences. Their Wikipedia page is loaded with accomplishments, collaborations, awards, and activism. But, for Tegan Quin and Sara Quin to become who they are today, they had to navigate the ups-and-downs of the middle grade years and puberty, all while trying to maintain their most important relationship, that of identical twins. This is the story of those Junior High highs and lows.

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

It's the beginning of their Grade 7 year and everything is new for the twins. First, their mom Sonia and stepdad Bruce have moved houses to be closer to the girls' dad, Steve. That means leaving their old friend Faiza and making new friends. But the girls will now be in separate classes so there is an added element of anxiety that their lives are more separate than they're used to. And Tegan and Sara are very close. Still, though they may be identical in their appearance, they do differ in their personalities. (Illustrator Tillie Walden tries to keep the two different in the artwork, when she can, by drawing Sara in red and Tegan in blue, though most of the illustrations are in violet.) So, when they meet Noa, Chloe, Vincent, and Avery, it's Tegan who becomes fast friends with Noa, much to the annoyance of obnoxious Avery who claims Noa as her own best friend and to the disappointment of Sara who is less concerned with becoming popular and more with remaining friends with Faiza.

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

But then Sara meets Kaito from her science class and his friend Roshini and things take another turn. While the twins navigate puberty–and all the surprising changes that come with it–and friends and family, two significant developments arise. First, the girls discover a guitar and start delving into song writing and performing. Second, they both develop crushes, Tegan on Kaito and Sara, much to her surprise, on Roshini. While doing things differently is normal, the twins rely on each other for support, and when things start to go awry, whether it's one getting her period and not telling the other or one exposing secrets that should not have been shared, Tegan and Sara find themselves in conflict. Can they be there for each other to get through the bad times and celebrate the good or will people and other things come between them?

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

Junior high and middle school is always tough. There are so many changes happening for young people, both inside and outside of their bodies, and figuring them out is even tougher when they don't always know whom to trust for support. Tegan Quin and Sara Quin certainly represent what middle graders might be going through as they confront new circumstances at home, at school, with friends and with their own bodies. But what Tegan and Sara understand best is how it feels to be and live with an identical twin. It's that relationship that is key to them becoming the successful musical duo they have and getting through those middle grade years undefeated. Yet their story highlights the fact that Tegan and Sara are their own people with their unique likes, dislikes, insecurities, worries, skills, and more, and, in the context of middle grade angst, they show grit.

Tegan and Sara: Junior High will be a welcome graphic novel for middle grade readers who may or may not know the twins as the singer-songwriters they are, but they will know the uncertainty of figuring out themselves with the coming of age. Tegan Quin and Sara Quin may be telling their story, but it's a story that goes beyond the autobiography and becomes more about encouragement and illustration for getting through.