Shortly after this year’s Winter Olympics, Adeline Kon’s Just Between Us was released and gave all of us sports sapphics a romance set in the high stakes world of figure skating. This young adult graphic novel delivers a medal-worthy ice queen, enemies-to-lovers sports romance filled with solid writing, compelling characters, and gorgeous art.
Lydia “Ice Queen” Chen is on the cusp of Olympic figure skating glory. And yet, Lydia has lost all love for the sport. She’s dedicated her whole life to it, but the pressure to succeed has become too much and has robbed her of all skating joy. Things get even more complicated when rival skater Elaine Yee begins skating at her rink. Lydia can see the passion and emotion emanating from Elaine in every move she makes on the ice and is reminded of all the things she once had but now lacks. As the two train and spend time together, the tension between them rises. Soon, Lydia has to decide what she truly wants out of the life she has built, even if it comes at a cost.
Just Between Us is a solid ice queen-cinnamon roll and enemies to lovers sports romance. For starters, it feels more like a perceived enemies to lovers than a true one, which is a take on the trope that I like reading. It’s always interesting to me to see how people navigate everyone around them telling them they should hate each other but simply can’t.
I think the dynamic between Lydia and Elaine is also really good. Lydia is never toxic or cruel to Elaine, but rather a type of cold that comes with hyper competitiveness. In fact, there are so many moments that make clear that Lydia is not really an ice queen, but rather the ice queen that everyone has made her into. For Elaine’s part, I love how she is able to melt Lydia’s heart by just being her kind and joyful self. She never has an ulterior motive or lies about who she is. She simply wants to get better and help Lydia get better. It makes her the perfect cinnamon roll for Lydia and a well-written character that is easy to fall in love with.
I enjoyed Lydia’s entire arc. When we first meet her current self, she’s someone who is cold, standoffish, and hyper competitive because of the pressure her coaches and her parents have put her under. It’s gotten so bad that she’s lost the love of figure skating. This makes for a situation that feels very relatable and makes you empathize with her. Through her relationship with Elaine, Lydia is able to realize how badly she has missed that love and how she needs to rekindle it. I think Adeline does a phenomenal job taking this idea of rediscovering a passion, which isn’t entirely unique, and crafting an emotionally resonant character arc.
While the story and characters are great, it’s in the art that this book truly shines. In fact, it’s what made me buy the book in the first place. The introspective monologues by Lydia are accompanied by powerful illustrations that really drive home the emotions of the moment. How Adeline draws the figure skating is incredibly fluid and dynamic. You get a very clear sense for the effort and artistry involved exhibited by the main characters. Adeline also does a great job making sure Lydia and Elaine not only look but feel unique in their routines. You feel Lydia’s attention to technical detail and Elaine’s passion in their movements across the page. Lastly, I loved the inclusion of splashes of gold throughout the book. Adeline uses these to great effect, with entire panels, backgrounds, and ribbons of gold accentuating key ideas and emotions among the mostly black and white pages.
All in all, Just Between Us is a great YA graphic novel to keep the Olympic spirit alive, well, and very sapphic. The art is great, the characters are likeable, and the story is one that will keep you entertained from the first axel to final lutz.
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