Grace Mendes is quiet. She wants to make the most of the college classes she’s paying for and isn’t particularly interested when her friend Callie keeps trying to draw Grace out of her shell. Until Grace reluctantly goes with Callie to a pillow fight match.
Under the Pillow Fight Federation (PFF) pillow fighting is a local league that blends the stage craft of wrestling with the grittiness of roller derby. A pillow needs to be the first point of contact in every fight but beyond that, anything goes. After watching players like Pain Eyre, Miss Fortune, and the reigning champion Kat Atonic compete, Grace is hooked.
Despite her shyness and insecurity about her body image, Grace decides to try out for the PFF only to be shocked when she makes the cut. Competing as Cinderhella Grace starts to climb the PFF rankings. But more attention also means more trolling and, for Grace, more struggles with her body image and self-esteem. As Grace makes new friends with the welcoming members of the league outside of the ring, she’ll have to if she can handle the pressure of the spotlight to dominate the PFF for her fans and herself in Pillow Talk (2024) by Stephanie Cooke and Mel Valentine Vargas.
Pillow Talk is a fierce look at an unlikely (but real!) sport that subverts the female gaze. In addition to the campy vibes of the player personas, Cooke takes readers behind the scenes to the work that goes into crafting and maintaining ringside personas as well as the storycraft involved to separate the good guys (faces) from the bad (heels) in each match.
The focus on female friendship and community underscores the disconnect Grace feels while struggling with her self-image in a satisfying arc that sees her coming into her own both in the PFF league and beyond. Valentine Vargas’ illustrations show characters with a variety of body types and skin tones while having a bright, nearly over-saturated color palette that adds punch to the artwork. Pillow fights span multiple pages with panels filled with movement to highlight the physicality and athleticism in the sport without falling into the trap of oversexualizing the characters.
Pillow Talk is a fun, deeply feminist graphic novel perfect both for sports fans and readers looking for a story with strong friendships.
Possible Pairings: Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler, Gender Inequality in Sports by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa, Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, Oscar O. Jupiter and Val Wise, Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team by Andrew Maraniss, The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz, Fence by C.S. Pacat, Rebecca Nalty, Johanna the Mad, Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
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