Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

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I will be the very first to admit that my intellectual limitations are considerable. 

I'm an excellent actress, and have made it this far pretending to be a functioning member of society. I've got you all fooled...

...but this book made me feel dumb.

I enjoyed and appreciated Bechdel's Fun Home despite the frequent literary and scholarly references. At times I even felt as thought I was able to follow along. Even if the reader doesn't absorb the deep, philosophical and artistic...um...stuff, her first novel had twists, turns, and engaged the reader. 

In Fun Home she depicted her father's story and how it shaped her own. In Are You My Mother she does the same for her mother. Both books appear to have been therapeutic outlets for the author,  but whereas the first novel was engaging, the second was exhausting. The scholarly references were pervasive and I found myself hoping for action and dynamism. It is as though the reader is sitting in on a very long therapy session. True to life, I suppose, the resolution seems to accept the fact that life's great struggles never resolve themselves neatly.  "Happily ever after" certainly wasn't warranted in Mother and I'm glad that she didn't try to include it. However, the ending felt hurried, unmotivated, and uninspired. 

Nice things to say? Well, of course.The art is excellent and I found the repetition of the same scene from a different angle interesting and innovative. I enjoyed thinking about the subtitle "A Comic Drama." That was clever. 

My thoughts on Fun Home

Arielle's Recommendation: Readers particularly interested in parental psychology will find a treasure in Are You My Mother. For mature audiences.

Bechdel, A. Are You My Mother: A Comic Drama. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2012. Print. ISBN: 9780618982509 Hardcover. U.S. $23.00

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Places, Everyone!

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         Drama is the word at Eucalyptus Middle School. It seems all of Callie's dreams have come true. So what if her crush, Greg, isn't in to her. She's designing the set for the the school musical, working with her friends on stage crew, AND Jesse, the new guy, seems to be just her type! But Drama has a way of catching up with you; and just when she thought things couldn't get better...they all fall apart.

Beautiful illustrations, bright colors, and expressive characters make this story come alive!

Telgemeier demonstrates the new realities of being in middle school with humor, style, and grace. Jealousy, embarrassment, sexuality, friendship, and family are all explored in an innovative and captivating way.

Arielle Recommendation: Much like Telgemeier's popular Smile, Drama is a quick read and explores some of the lesser represented realities of middle school. While Callie isn't an especially dynamic character she's easy to relate to and likable. Character's discussions of homosexuality are respectful and brief and may leave some younger readers with more questions than answers. This is a great pick for reluctant readers as the illustrations are so captivating and fun and the dialogue is substantial. This book definitely belongs on public library shelves and in school libraries where graphic novels are popular. Recommend Drama to reluctant readers, drama geeks, and graphic novel lovers. 

Telgemeier, Raina. Drama. New York, NY: Graphix, 2012.  Print. ISBN: 9780545326988 Pages: 233 Hardbound U.S. $23.99

American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. 2006. New York, NY: Square Fish, 2010. Print. ISBN: 9780312384487 Pages: 240 Paperback US $8.99

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Awards!

Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award

National Book Award Finalist

Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth

NPR Holiday Pick

Publishers Weekly Comics Week Best Comic of the Year

The Reuben Award for Best Comic Book

The Chinese American Librarians Association 2006/2007 Best Book Award

Eisner Awards 2007- Best Graphic Album- New

Time Magazine Top Ten Comic of the Year

Amazon.com Best Graphic Novel /Comic of the Year

Annotation: Beautiful, captivating illustrations, folklore, and humor bring to life three very different stories that merge to tell one complete tale about the Chinese-American experience.

The Graphic Format:

Three different stories are told in American Born Chinese. First, the story of the Monkey King; pulled from happiness by greed and brought to ruin by his own, unwise decisions. Next is the story of Jin Wang, the son of Chinese immigrants who is trying his best to fit in with his classmates. The final story is that of Danny, a teenager who is mortified and embarrassed when his out-of-control, Chinese cousin comes to visit every year. 

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All three stories are told through bright, entertaining illustrations. When the stories converge at the very end you’ll be shocked at how they tell the single story of one Chinese-American kid’s experience.

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Praise for American Born Chinese!

“Gene Luen Yang has created that rare article: a youthful tale with something new to say about American youth.”—New York Times Book Review

“. . . brilliantly written and designed, sophisticated and wise.”—The Miami Herald

“. . . one of the most powerful and entertaining works of literature to be published this year . . .”—The San Francisco Chronicle

“Yang accomplishes the remarkable feat of practicing what he preaches with this book: accept who you are and you'll already have reached out to others.”—Publishers Weekly

“Kids fighting an uphill battle to convince parents and teachers of the literary merit of graphic novels will do well to share this title.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

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Arielle's Recommendation: Recommend this excellent graphic novel to the struggling reader, comic book fan, or adventurous type that enjoys a good plot twist. Best for grades 8 and up.

Batman No. 1: The Court of Owls

Snyder, Scott. Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls. 2012. New York, NY: DC Comics. Print. ISBN: 9781401235413 Pages: 176 Hardbound US $24.99

Awards

#1 New York Times Best Seller! 

Annotation: Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, are trying to return Gotham City to its prior shimmer and glory. While fighting the good fight, the hero encounters a historic, secret villain that almost has him beat.

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Batman No. 1: The Court of Owls
by Scott Snyder

Graphic Format

According to its residents and villains Gotham City is “damned, cursed, murderous, villainous,” and “hopeless.” But Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, know that Gotham City is the home that he’ll protect and return to pristine glory. 

Scanned from Batman No. 1: The Court of Owls

Batman believes himself to be the oldest institution in the city; little does he know that a dark, centuries-old presence has been keeping tabs on the city and the Caped Crusader since the beginning.  

Scanned from Batman No. 1: The Court of Owls

Betrayal, destruction, fast-paced action, and awesome graphics make this new comic a must-see.

Click here to see if this book is available at Ericson Public Library!

Click here to see if this book is available at Ames Public Library!

Check out the full trailer for the New 52 Series!

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Praise for Batman No. 1: The Court of Owls!

“A+. The hero's got personality (and is unafraid to release a quip as sharp as a Batarang), a horde of supervillains, gumption to spare and a whole host of high-tech gadgetry to suitably impress longtime fans and those new to the Dark Knight.” USA Today

“This is one of the best comics of the week.” The New York Times

“[Writer Scott Snyder] pulls from the oldest aspects of the Batman myth, combines it with sinister-comic elements from the series’ best period, and gives the whole thing terrific forward-spin by setting up an honest-to-gosh mystery for Batman to solve.” Entertainment Weekly

“Scott Snyder, already the company's greatest asset over the last four weeks, spins a stack of plates immediately…. Too often Batman comics focus heavily on the hero persona … Snyder sets up equal amounts of conflict for both Wayne's public and private personas.” Time Out Chicago

“A stunning debut…. Snyder knows these characters, sets up an intriguing mystery, and delivers some action that Capullo realizes stunningly. This is definitely in the top rank of the revamp. The Onion AV Club

Click here to visit the DC Comic's website for the New 52 Series of comics!

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Bechdel, A. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Print. ISBN: 9781417823147 Hardcover. U.S. $25.00

Awards:

2006 Publishing Triangle’s Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction

2007 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir/Biography

2007 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work

2007 Stonewall Book Award's Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award

Annotation: An autobiography told through literary symbolism and detailed illustrations; Fun Home tells the story of how Bechdel came to terms with her father's death, her own sexuality, and life in general.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 

Jarring, painful, and simultaneously distant and intimate, Bechdel’s illustrated journal is an emotional tour-de-force.  Her true, dramatic, coming of age story reads like a salacious novel. Fun Home is hard to put down. Alison and her younger brothers split their childhood between helping their father renovate his precious, historical house and helping him maintain the family’s funeral home business (the “Fun Home” of the title).  Despite the amount of time spent with together, her father’s massive, crushing secrets do not begin to reveal themselves until she nears adulthood. The powerful discoveries of her sexual, emotional, and intellectual self are eclipsed by the newly discovered realities of her family’s history. Like a frantic personal narrative, Fun Home jumps back and forth through Bechdel’s life. Despite the lack of chronology, the story flows easily from event to event. The format, dialogue, and artwork make Fun Home a captivating, fast-paced read. However, the frequent allusions to ancient texts as well as classic European and American literature distance the reader from the narThisrator’s experience. The frank, straight-forward discussion of death, homosexuality, and intercourse make Fun Home an item to be recommended only to mature readers. Similarly, the realistic approach to these difficult topics and the respect paid through illustration to the human body makes this book ideal for mature teenagers and adults interested in a gripping discussion on sexuality, coming-of-age, and what it means to be a family.

This is super cool! 

Watch how Alison creates her illustrations!

Praise for Fun Home

"Hits notes that resemble Jeanette Winterson at her best . . . [A] story that's quiet, dignified, and not easy to put down." —Publishers Weekly, starred review 

"Bechdel's memoir offers a graphic narrative of uncommon richness, depth, literary resonance, and psychological complexity . . . Though this will likely be stocked with graphic novels, it shares as much in spirit with the work of Mary Karr, Tobias Wolff, and other contemporary memoirists of considerable literary accomplishment." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review 

"Stupendous. Alison Bechdel's mesmerizing feat of familial resurrection is a rare, prime example of why graphic novels have taken over the conversation about American literature. The details — visual and verbal, emotional and elusive — are devastatingly captured by an artist in total control of her craft." — Chip Kidd, author of The Cheese Monkeys 

"Brave and forthright and insightful — exactly what Alison Bechdel does best." — Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina 

"The only cartoonist I know of to match [Garry] Trudeau's achievement is the brilliant Alison Bechdel." — Chris Ekman, political cartoonist