1. It is an incredibly thoughtful piece of work on children coming from torn families. While it is a much orated fact that a child is better off having two happy families than one unhappy family, it is not easy for a child to accept the separation and the several heartbreaks that follows afterwards.

2. It deals with quite a few of the societal evils a generation is exposed to - body shaming, unacceptability of homosexuality, bullying and even perhaps social media - but in a totally relatable way and with a heavy dose of fun and wit 

3. The plot is like that of a tex mex - some healthy wholesome bits and some cholesterol bits - while Debbie G's parents have separated, her mother and her maternal grandparents along with her close knit group of 2 friends try to make a surrounding for her that is understanding and comfortable, but then she has her BP raising fiends in school as well who take a dig at her body, her hair and her overall vibe 

4. What is particularly noteworthy was the acceptation of the grandparents, in fact even looking forward to their daughter getting married a second time - all because they felt that she needed a partner in life, irrespective of what the past held and the fact that she had a teenage daughter.

5. A minute to appreciate the details of the art in the graphic novel - Tamilians have a very common habit of sitting on the floor at times, like we all used to in the yesteryears but thanks to lack of mobility our derrieres and ankles prefer the comfort of a chair - what I particularly liked was that the artist Kalyani Ganapathy, showed Aishwarya the mother of Debbie G, sit on the floor while enjoying a regular family evening of watching nice nourishing T.V. I am pointing out this detail because when we read a novel, we build the set and characters in our mind, but when graphics are involved, they nudge our imagination in a certain direction and while this minute detail would perhaps go totally unnoticed and may even be trivial according to most, I would really like to appreciate the authenticity of the material. 

6. All the gossipy action makes for a good binge read amidst all the serious reads

But what could have been better?

A few more doodles definitely, before pulling the plug. When it is Vibha Batra, we need some more ensuing drama. 

Note: I received a review copy of The Secret Life of Debbie G by Vibha Batra and Kalyani Ganapathy in exchange of an honest review.