Immersive and engrossing: a beautifully depicted emotional journey.
An adopted teen struggles with monstrous submerged anger amid bullying and self-criticism in this graphic memoir.
Author Myer, South Korean by birth, grew up in rural Maryland with White adoptive parents and a sister, Lizzy, who was adopted from a different South Korean family. Unlike Lizzy, who was popular and did well in school, rambunctious Sarah didn’t quite fit in, playing more easily with boys than girls. However, a wildly vivid imagination and burgeoning artistic talents helped Sarah interact with others; Sarah’s focus on drawing and animation wasn’t just a hobby, but a passion and an ongoing lens for relating to the outside world. Sarah’s use of anime cosplay to explore curiosity about gender expression and sexuality skillfully expresses central elements of the book and adds complexity to this coming-of-age story. The frequent racial microaggressions of early childhood escalated over time, with racist and homophobic White middle and high schoolers insulting, physically bullying, and harassing Sarah on a daily basis. As Sarah internalized this hatred, it was magnified by self-doubt, much of which was centered around being adopted, and it began to manifest as an angry, monstrous self that lashed out violently at bullies, friends, and even family. The themes of anxiety and self-image are powerfully depicted by contrasting the more minimalist drawing style in fairly neutral tones with dramatically shaded and dynamic panels.
Immersive and engrossing: a beautifully depicted emotional journey. (resources, author’s note, photos) (Graphic memoir. 13-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781250268808
Page Count: 272
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
A truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story about a lost soul finding her way.
Navigating high school is hard enough, let alone when your parents are CIA spies.
In this graphic memoir, U.S. citizen Glock shares the remarkable story of a childhood spent moving from country to country; abiding by strange, secretive rules; and the mystery of her parents’ occupations. By the time she reaches high school in an unspecified Central American nation—the sixth country she’s lived in—she’s begun to feel the weight of isolation and secrecy. After stealing a peek at a letter home to her parents from her older sister, who is attending college in the States, the pieces begin to fall into place. Normal teenage exploration and risk-taking, such as sneaking out to parties and flirtations with boys, feel different when you live and go to school behind locked gates and kidnapping is a real risk. This story, which was vetted by the CIA, follows the author from childhood to her eventual return to a home country that in many ways feels foreign. It considers the emotional impact of familial secrets and growing up between cultures. The soft illustrations in a palette of grays and peaches lend a nostalgic air, and Glock’s expressive faces speak volumes. This is a quiet, contemplative story that will leave readers yearning to know more and wondering what intriguing details were, of necessity, edited out. Glock and many classmates at her American school read as White; other characters are Central American locals.
A truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story about a lost soul finding her way. (Graphic memoir. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-45898-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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