Tegan and Sara Quin have always shared the deepest parts of themselves through their music, but in recent years they’ve opened up even more, first with their memoir High School and its television adaptation on Freevee, but now they’ve gone even further back with a deeply moving, sweet, and gorgeously illustrated graphic novel (by Tillie Walden) about how it really all began, Junior High.
Not only are they releasing the book in physical form, but it will be an audiobook from Macmillian Audio as well, featuring a full voice cast plus original music by the Quins and lush sound effects throughout the program.
The story follows the duo in a lightly fictionalized version of their middle-grade experience — it’s been moved to a contemporary setting so cell phones make appearances, and the pop culture references are very timely. As the story unfolds Tegan and Sara explore their identity, coming out, and finding themselves not only through their music, but also in their dynamic as sisters.
It’s about who they were before they became the musical sensation they are today when their biggest challenges and triumphs included their first crushes, surviving the trials of puberty, and the complicated social structure of a junior high. It’s about who they are together, but more importantly who they are as they grow apart and confront the question of who they are as individuals.
It’s a story that’s beautiful and deeply relatable, like everything else the Quins do.
Tegan, Sara, and PRIDE will also be discussing Junior High live at San Diego Comic-Con this week during a panel taking place on Thursday. Tegan and Sara will talk about translating their junior high experience to the page, setting the book in the present day, their experiences coming out and growing up, and the first steps of their musical journey. For more details and to attend the panel, see the Comic-Con schedule here.
