Content report card
Are you listening? parent’s guide: what’s inside
Medium confidence
Mild
· 1/5
Occasional mild profanity and crude language appropriate to teenage characters.
Moderate
· 3/5
At least one main character appears to be LGBTQ+; themes of love and connection between the female protagonists are central to the narrative.
Moderate
· 3/5
The story deals with grief, loss, heartbreak, and trauma; characters confront painful truths about their pasts and difficult family situations. No graphic depictions, but emotional weight is significant.
Mild
· 1/5
Minor depiction of teenage alcohol or tobacco use; not a focus of the narrative.
What it offers
Strong
· 4/5
Strong emphasis on friendship, trust, vulnerability, processing grief, and emotional honesty; the story rewards characters who listen to and support each other.
Strong
· 4/5
Both protagonists show growth, courage in facing painful truths, and capacity for empathy and care despite their struggles and flaws.
A note for parents
This graphic novel follows two teenage girls on a road trip through Texas as they process trauma, loss, and complex emotions. The story is emotionally heavy and introspective, dealing with grief and difficult truths, but focuses more on emotional impact than graphic content. It features LGBTQ+ themes and depicts realistic teenage struggles in a thoughtful, character-driven way that rewards vulnerability and friendship.
Analyzed by AI · 1 month ago
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From the publisher
A chance encounter sends runaway Bea on a journey through West Texas with Lou, who Bea must trust as she is driven to confront buried truths about loss and heartbreak.
A chance encounter sends runaway Bea on a journey through West Texas with Lou, who Bea must trust as she is driven to confront buried truths about loss and heartbreak.
Shelved under
Teenagers
Comic books, strips
Juvenile fiction
Juvenile delinquents
Automobile travel
Female friendship
Character driven
Strong Character Development
Loveable Characters
Not Diverse Characters
Diverse Characters
Weak Character Development
ISBN 9781250207562 · First Second
For your family
Is “Are you listening?” appropriate for your kid?
Are you listening? age rating: ready from about age 13.
For younger readers
This graphic novel explores heavy emotional themes—grief, loss, heartbreak, and trauma—as two teenage girls navigate a road trip and process difficult truths about their lives and families. While there's no graphic violence or excessive language, the emotional weight of the story works best for readers around 13 and up, though reading it together makes it accessible from around age 12.
LGBTQ+ characters or themes are part of the story (3/5).
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