HAND-ME-DOWN

A boy finds that looking to the past helps alleviate his loneliness.

In this graphic memoir, white-presenting gay boy Damian and his older brother live with their grandmother Nanny; their mother died when they were toddlers. Nanny cared for the boys, trying “really hard to fill the mom-shaped hole” in their lives and to “be the mother who had never been there for her.” Now in eighth grade, Damian recounts how he still feels like an outsider. Whenever these feelings overwhelm him, his imagination takes him into the past, sometimes to Nanny’s childhood with her two sisters in foster care, a time that inspires many of the stories she tells. Sometimes he tries to imagine what his mother’s life was like when she was his age, a more difficult endeavor since Damian’s connection to her exists through photographs and stories “gathered over time from anyone who knew her.” In the muted artwork that features many close-ups of people’s faces, Alexander expertly captures small moments of worry. The story’s movement through different time periods (distinguished by different color palettes) offers glimpses into the interlocking lives of a family separated by tragedy. Like real life, the book doesn’t have a neat resolution, but it does offer a sense of closure as Damian realizes how positive Nanny’s influences have been and how the concept of a mother is broader than he originally believed. The author’s note includes photos along with more information about Alexander’s family.

Poignant, bittersweet, and delightful.