Finish Lines: A Graphic Novel

Miranda needs something to write about in her college application essays. But what?

Miranda has a plan: ace her junior year, get into an Ivy League school, and skip anything that doesn't look good on a college application. But the pressure is getting to her, and now her parents have cut her off from every club, competition, and committee she's a part of.

Desperate to get back on track, Miranda sets her sights on the Texas Water Safari--a 260-mile canoe race her mom was set to do with her granddad. With her mom sidelined by an injury, Miranda joins her grandfather. It's grueling, messy, and scorching hot.

Can a perfectionist survive the wild long enough to find out who she is outside of a college checklist?

Author: Sarah Broyles
Publisher: First Second
Published: 06/16/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.75lbs
Size: 8.60h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781250815194
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 80
Booklist 06/01/2026

About the Author

Sarah Broyles started reading graphic novels years ago with her kids and became hooked on stories told through sequential art. She has a dusty English degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where she continues to live with her husband Chad and their two daughters--who have, bittersweetly, long since outgrown story time with Mom. Finish Lines is her first book.

Hanna Schroy is a cartoonist and illustrator based in Austin, Texas. Graduating with a BFA in sequential art from the Savannah College of Art and Design, she is best known for her debut graphic novel Last Dance as well as a plethora of self-published mini comics and anthologies.