An instructive story of surmounting many obstacles while grappling with mental health.
A young woman chronicles her experience with cyclothymia in this translated title from France.
This graphic memoir opens with Lou, 16, having just begun to experience symptoms of depression. As she goes on to attend art school and video game school, move in with her boyfriend, and create a video game, her significant mood swings cause her distress, at times leading to suicidal ideation. She’s told by psychiatrists that she’s too young and pretty to be anxious or depressed. Eventually, Lou finds a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy who helps her realize she has cyclothymia, a mood disorder, and she begins to feel stable thanks to a combination of lifestyle changes and medication. Lou’s story is relatable, particularly in depicting medical gaslighting. The narrative is punctuated with lists and infographics that educate readers about mental health. The illustrations are predominantly executed in black and gray, with orange serving as an accent color, a strategic choice due to the depiction of cyclothymia as an orange fox. Early in the book, depression is described as the “little black thing” and shown as a messy black spot or a menacing black fox. The art is expressive, with varied and creative panels. Lou is from Réunion and is portrayed with curly black hair and paper-white freckled skin.
An instructive story of surmounting many obstacles while grappling with mental health. (Q&A with readers, psychologist’s note) (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781960171108
Page Count: 160
Publisher: FairSquare Comics
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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