Review
Sugar Town is sweet without being syrupy. Newlevant carefully creates a narrative that combines the dream of more accepting spaces with a realistic portrayal of life as a queer millennial. Its bright artwork and proud depictions of queer romance will make any reader feel hopeful about love. Newlevant’s work reminds us to love more openly, even for those not in open relationships. -- Molly Barnewitz ― Comicsverse
It’s worth reading Sugar Town, then handing it around to all your friends and saying, “Look, we can just have this. It’s perfectly okay.” -- Erika Friedman ― Okazu Yuri
It’s an extremely gentle romance, unspooling as sweetly and mildly as the oh-so-Portland retro mixtape Hazel makes for her new love. ― Publishers Weekly
It’s that emotional honesty . . . that elevates Sugar Town beyond the reader’s expectations. It’s a book that deals frankly with some very tender feelings―deep vulnerability, yes, but also embarrassment, passion, anxiety, and finally genuine love. -- Tegan O'Neil ― The Comics Journal
It's a sweet story with levels of complexity that surprise the reader, with every aspect of its emotional narrative feeling entirely earned. -- Rob Clough ― High-Low
It’s a human story of how real relationships can work outside of binary definitions. Newlevant’s drawing style is loose and friendly, with an approachability that invites comic readers in. The bright pink glow of the dance floor juxtaposed with violet rainy December nights creates the perfect setting for this touching holiday romance. -- Cathy Camper ― Lambda Literary
Sugar Town is a touching story of a woman and her sweetie and her other sweetie, struggling with her feelings regarding her sweeties’ other sweeties . . . It’s a lovely story I highly recommend. -- Annie Blitzen ― Women Write About Comics
The novella tackles polyamorous relationships, feelings of not providing enough in a relationship, feelings of inadequacy and the feeling there is not really a home for one to call “home” through brief, touching scenes that go deeper into Hazel’s and Argent’s fears. These segments are ones that people in their ‘20s can relate to, and I appreciated them greatly. -- Robert Johnson Jr. ― The Gatepost
The reader may be drawn in by the sheen of the art and smiles on the fashionable character’s faces, but in delving deeper they can discover people who live lives that are both outside the norm yet motivated by fundamental human desires. This is Newlevant’s victory. -- Robin Enrico ― Broken Frontier
In this graphic novel, the simple story of two weeks in the life of a young woman provides insights into the complexities of polyamorous relationships...Their nontraditional relationships are presented in a straightforward manner as both normal and successful ― Kirkus
Sugar Town is a frank, sweet look at a pair of queer girls getting to know each other. They make mistakes, they figure things out, and they figure out what they want to be together. -- Elizabeth Brei ― Loser City
Sugar Town...is [Newlevant’s] longest single work to date and her best. The book is an emotional and thoughtful look at falling in love and exploring the emotional work of polyamory. It felt like a breakthrough for the creator in a number of ways. -- Alex Dueben ― Smash Pages
I also loved the art style, which reinforces that warm and welcoming feel. I want to crawl inside the pages and curl up there. This is definitely one of my rare 5 star ratings: I loved every panel, and I know I will return to it when I need something hopeful to dive into for a little while. What a treat. -- Danika Leigh Ellis ― The Lesbrary
The bright colors and open lines Newlevant uses keep the mood upbeat. It creates an excitement for the reader that mimics well the fizzy feelings of first attraction and flirting. I loved reading about such interesting queer characters, and the different choices they’ve made from the traditional, and how well it was working for them. The characters are open and accepting about their feelings for each other, making them great examples to follow in living an authentic life. -- Johanna Draper Carlson ― Comics Worth Reading
Sugar Town is the queer, poly, kinky comic of my dreams...It is full of tenderness, and explores the many varied ways we can love and take care of each other. The artwork is just a delight. -- Laura Sackton ― BookRiot
Review
The title might lead you to expect a story that melts away like cotton candy, but Sugar Town isn't just sweet―it's satisfying. This is the kind of healthy, honest, joyful, and sexy queer romance we need to see way more often -- Lindsay King-Miller ― Ask a Queer Chick
Review
Hazel Newlevant draws like a dream and weaves a mesmerizing story. -- Alison Bechdel
About the Author
Hazel Newlevant: Hazel Newlevant is a cartoonist living in Queens, NY. Her comics have been honored with the Ignatz Award, the Xeric Grant, and the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant. She is the author of If This Be Sin, which was shortlisted for the Autostraddle Comic and Sequential Art Award for Best Graphic Novel, and No Ivy League. She is also the editor of Chainmail Bikini: The Anthology of Women Gamers and Comics for Choice. She currently serves as an Associate Editor at Lion Forge Comics.
