Established friends Abby, Brit, and Christine swoop in and introduce themselves, whisking her away to the bathroom to calmly inform her that her period has leaked through her white pants. One of the main characters has endometriosis, which is a refreshing addition to the few YA books which explore this ( The Girls I've Been, Dark and Deepest Red, and Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement do this).

Christine is blond and rake thin, her sarcastic humour and devil-may care attitude concealing a deep secret. It’s a very entertaining work, and should help readers understand what they, their friends, and family members might go through or how one might become an activist for Period Power! As one of the characters says, “Fifty percent of the population gets a period… but it’s like this HUGE secret we can’t talk about?I was frustrated that several of the conflicts needed to move the plot forward are not resolved here. For example, Sasha’s mom learns of her daughter’s period from seeing the stained clothes in the laundry and rather than talking to her daughter, just provides supplies (pads and tampons) to Sasha the next morning. Lily Williams and Karen Scheeman have created a candid and down-to-earth graphic novel that perfectly captures the teen experience; the conversations between these friends are refreshing in their directness, as the girls refuse to feel shame over their own bodily functions, even when everyone around them wants to.

Abby starts a crusade to end the stigma surrounding periods and the school administration's belief that menstrual hygiene products in the girls' restrooms aren't that necessary. I brought this book to my art class kids after one of them came in with her first period ever and she was the first of anyone she knew to get one. As always occurs, Abby finds the dispenser is out of supplies (pads and tampons) and requires quarters (“Who carries quarters? This story works so well as a graphic novel because some of the impact comes from the visuals, especially Abby’s exhibition. Williams gets the life-as-a-high-schooler details just right in expressive panels shaded in — what else?

This is a sweet, information-rich graphic novel about friendship, menstrual health, and student activism. Families can talk about why the principal in Go with the Flow reacted the way he did to the girls' request. The women in our family are all VERY contact allergic to nickel, an allergy that is already more sensitive during menstruation. I wish that I would have been able to have the important conversations related to periods with my caregivers, but alas I didn't. Interestingly, the Acknowledgments at the back are where some of the most egregious double entendres lurk.