KNOTS

A preteen’s tangled hair becomes symbolic of her life.

Twelve-year-old Norah, hoping to look cool for her first day of middle school, begs her mom’s permission to dye her thick, dark hair blond. Despite being told it’s a job for a professional, Norah attempts to bleach it herself. Her younger sister, Lark, tells her she looks “like a gerbil”—but Norah fixes the disastrous results by dyeing her hair blue. School isn’t as bad as Norah fears, until a classmate shares a story of parental neglect that results in already-anxious Norah and her peers being interviewed by a police officer. When a conflict of interest relating to her prison guard parents’ jobs means Norah’s mom and Lark will move away from Eastern Washington for the rest of the school year, her dad’s overtime hours leave Norah mostly on her own. Despite her parents’ belief that she’s the “good kid” who’s ready for this much independence, Norah struggles. Another disastrous attempt to dye her own hair draws unwanted attention from her teacher and makes her worry about Child Protective Services. Frakes offers a sympathetic portrait of Norah and her conflicted, realistic family, who read white, but the story is short on plot. Norah continues to feel responsible for adult problems while being unable to change her family’s narrative; only her hair gets better. The vibrant, expressive drawings ably carry much of the setting and characterization.

A sympathetic slice-of-life story.