A For Effort

The next semi-autobiographical graphic novel from Jarad Greene continues to follow Jay, this time as he faces his freshman year of high school--and a whole new world of friendships, self-discovery, and stress about the future.

The start of Jay's freshman year is full of new things. . . .New friends. New classes. New challenges.

All of which are expected, until his new friend group's obsession with perfect grades puts the pressure on--especially when his best subject, art, is full. Without it to anchor him, Jay hopes theater class will be the easy A he's looking for. But when the class begins, Jay finds himself struggling like never before. Turns out balancing Shakespeare with biology and geometry is a lot harder than he thought. Will Jay be able to step into the spotlight and deliver an A+ performance?

Perfect for readers of Yehudi Mercado and Rachel Elliott, A for Effort's refreshingly witty and honest story is a heartfelt exploration of how it's not always the outcome but the journey itself that truly matters.

About the Author

Jarad Greene's A-OKAY was inspired by Jarad's own experiences battling acne in his youth and his early understanding of being ace. The book is adapted from Jarad's mini-comic, "Memories of a Former Porcelain Doll", one of six works awarded a mini-grant in 2017 by the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. Jarad's debut graphic novel, SCULLION, was published by Oni Press/Lion Forge in 2020. Prior to that, he received his MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies, where he currently works as the school's Administrative and Development Coordinator. In addition to his own comics, Jarad is a well-regarded coloring assistant and has worked on graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier, Tillie Walden, Gale Galligan, and Kristen Gudsnuk, among others. He currently lives in White River Junction, Vermont.