Readers will fall into this narrative of succeeding against overwhelming odds amid deep trauma.
Life was hard for the boy, who wasn’t an orphan but was close enough to being one while still having parents.
In this emotional memoir, Paulsen writes about himself in the third person as “the boy,” choosing several pointed childhood experiences that were instrumental to his maturation into a writer. As a child, the boy is rescued by his grandmother, who is appalled to learn that, at 5, he is performing for an array of his mother’s suitors in Chicago bars while his father is serving in World War II. Upon her insistence that he relocate to his aunt and uncle’s farm, the boy makes the journey by train to Minnesota alone. There, he experiences unconditional love for the first time. However, all good things come to an end, and when the mother retrieves the boy to join his father in the Philippines, the narrative shifts, and the boy experiences ongoing trauma that many readers will connect to. Paulsen keenly observes his youth from a distance, only identifying himself once by name. In this way, he effectively executes the roles of both an actor in the story and director of the text. This sense of close-detachedness results in a rich, compelling read that is emotive and expressive without forcing empathy from the reader. Both brightly funny and darkly tragic, it is fresh in its honest portrayal of difficult themes.
Readers will fall into this narrative of succeeding against overwhelming odds amid deep trauma. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-31415-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
IN THE NEWS
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.
Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.
Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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