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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
This book has beautiful artwork, done entirely in colored pencil.
We need more books like this because of who the characters are. The main character is the only queer black female (her words) on an all-female backpacking trip and worries about fitting in. The main supporting character is transgender and also feels like she doesn't belong.
This is an eye-opening read, as everybody has something to learn. The camp counselor makes seemingly innocent comments that actually are hurtful and confusing to our main characters, and we see how they handle it or sometimes how they should have handled it.
As this is a religious camp and the main character struggles with whether she believes in God, this book does have strong religious themes in it.
In terms of story itself, the plot ends way too soon. I think we have more to learn, and it should have ended after returning back to the campsite, not before they reach the peak.
We need more books like this because of who the characters are. The main character is the only queer black female (her words) on an all-female backpacking trip and worries about fitting in. The main supporting character is transgender and also feels like she doesn't belong.
This is an eye-opening read, as everybody has something to learn. The camp counselor makes seemingly innocent comments that actually are hurtful and confusing to our main characters, and we see how they handle it or sometimes how they should have handled it.
As this is a religious camp and the main character struggles with whether she believes in God, this book does have strong religious themes in it.
In terms of story itself, the plot ends way too soon. I think we have more to learn, and it should have ended after returning back to the campsite, not before they reach the peak.
I wanted to like this more, but it didn't quite get there for me. Charlie is a young Black teen who is queer, which you wouldn't know without reading the synopsis until like halfway through the book it seems she has a thing for the younger camp counselor; so I wasn't clear whether she was bi, lesbian, and/or genderqueer. I could tell she was undergoing internal turmoil, questioning her seemingly once-strong relationship with God, but there's no indication of what started that. Anyway, she's signed up for a Christian girls' feminist summer camping expedition, is alarmed to discover everyone else is white, but is not comfortable enough to be outspoken enough about anything that bothers her, or to stick to her guns when an adult brushes off her concerns (this is a recurring problem). The camp counselor uses some careless language that makes her uncomfortable ('whitening our souls') and from her campfire stories about the camp's founder, it seems her feminism has an edge of misandry (always looking on men as an enemy maliciously trying to hold women down) and that this is one of those groups with that weird American-brand Christianity that has an emphasis on 'purity' (not necessarily sexual, but they keep talking about purifying themselves, and there's the part where Charlie asks for pain meds and basically gets 'encouraged' to grin and bear it because some of us are just 'lucky' enough to be given a heavier cross to bear). The younger counselor, her daughter, is half Dine, but we don't get the backstory on that, or how you could still be so completely unconscious about your word-choices if you have a grown kid who is a visible minority, or how the daughter wouldn't notice the language issue until Charlie brought it up to her. I did like Charlie's one camper-friend, and they way they revealed her secret (that was nicely done) and why the camp counselor's weird rhetoric would get under her skin so badly. Neither girl is comfortable openly confronting their head counselor, so though they are good silent allies to each other, the whole book feels largely uncomfortable. This whole camping expedition is building up to a secret girl-powery purifying ceremony that no-one will talk about (it feels very cultish) but we never get that far, so I felt left hanging.
Was this a story intended to show how language-choice can affect marginalized people, including invisible minorities? Was it intended to show how certain exclusionary brands of feminism or religious rhetoric are hurtful? Maybe, but the lack of a conclusion left me unsatisfied. Supposedly this is Part 1, so I hope these things are confronted in Part 2!
Was this a story intended to show how language-choice can affect marginalized people, including invisible minorities? Was it intended to show how certain exclusionary brands of feminism or religious rhetoric are hurtful? Maybe, but the lack of a conclusion left me unsatisfied. Supposedly this is Part 1, so I hope these things are confronted in Part 2!
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.5 stars maybe? Another reviewer said this and I agree. I don't really know what to do with this book. I applaud the effort of trying to critique feminism and a lot of power dynamics that exist within white spaces that are unexamined, but I don't know that this book does it in a way that feels helpful. I did quite like the art--I believe the artist/author worked on Adventure Time and Steven Universe? On the other hand, I feel like a lot of backstory was left out of this book to get the main character to the Christian feminist outdoorsy camp. A lot this could come down to this book not being for me. I could see what people would maybe describe as whitewashing and microaggressions. I did want to sympathise with Charlie and Sydney but, frankly, they came across as overly sensitive to me. People, even well-intentioned people, can say things that are insensitive and hurtful and it's good to point that out so they are aware of it and try to do better.
This seemed to be more of a lecture and I found that really disappointing. It also ended very abruptly which I thought was odd. Apparently it's a two-part story? Probably would be good for some teens in the LGBTQ community but I can't say I could entirely recommend it to people.
This seemed to be more of a lecture and I found that really disappointing. It also ended very abruptly which I thought was odd. Apparently it's a two-part story? Probably would be good for some teens in the LGBTQ community but I can't say I could entirely recommend it to people.
I started reading this book and about halfway through decided to look into its reviews online to confirm a suspicion that I had. Charlie the main character is Black and the author is not. I was not aware of this when I picked this book up though it became pretty clear quickly that was the case. This book is also not branded as a volume 1/__ but in fact is, ending rather abruptly. Obviously since it’s only volume one this makes sense but the fact that is not clear is kind of frustrating.
The book describes itself as recording Charlie “questioning a once firm belief in God” but there is really no set up for this. There is no clear indication of what her faith used to be like and while it’s clear there is some questioning and larger underlying narrative centered around her faith journey, the indications of this throughout the story are weak and seem as if the author wasn’t/isn’t sure of the direction it will ultimately take.
The book describes itself as recording Charlie “questioning a once firm belief in God” but there is really no set up for this. There is no clear indication of what her faith used to be like and while it’s clear there is some questioning and larger underlying narrative centered around her faith journey, the indications of this throughout the story are weak and seem as if the author wasn’t/isn’t sure of the direction it will ultimately take.
Aw, that was a pretty darn good graphic novel. I really enjoyed it! You had your different views of feminism: from the main character who is lesbian, to a new friend she makes who is trans, to the troop leader who has a strong faith in God, but a God that made women strong. Also, the colorful illustrations in this (all done in colored pencil) are gorgeous.
Also, it has an open ending, which I have recently learned not everyone enjoys as much as I do... >_<
Also, it has an open ending, which I have recently learned not everyone enjoys as much as I do... >_<
3.5 stars
Based on their Eisner and Ignatz Awards-nominated webcomic, Gillman's story is about 13-year-old Charlie, who feels pretty alone (for a lot of reasons) at a Christian youth backpacking trip, and yet feels that God told her to be there for a reason. As the hike goes on and she starts to get to know some of the other campers, she starts to maybe understand...
The illustrations are beautiful and the characters well-distinguished and possessing different personalities. I love how Gillman had the girls questioning and challenging and stretching some of the theological notions they'd been raised with - and sometimes that came from characters you didn't expect. I felt like it came to an abrupt end, though. I thought there would be more to the story!
Based on their Eisner and Ignatz Awards-nominated webcomic, Gillman's story is about 13-year-old Charlie, who feels pretty alone (for a lot of reasons) at a Christian youth backpacking trip, and yet feels that God told her to be there for a reason. As the hike goes on and she starts to get to know some of the other campers, she starts to maybe understand...
The illustrations are beautiful and the characters well-distinguished and possessing different personalities. I love how Gillman had the girls questioning and challenging and stretching some of the theological notions they'd been raised with - and sometimes that came from characters you didn't expect. I felt like it came to an abrupt end, though. I thought there would be more to the story!
2.5
Good try. I like where it's trying to go but there are a number of problems - the writer appears to be white and is writing a character of color. Even if the writer isn't white, the writer appears to be white and most likely have all those privileges of being white. The messages need some clarity as well. The story goes between bluntly discussing things to being so subtle it's hard to know what the real message is. Good try though and I'll read more of MG - and often in fact.
Good try. I like where it's trying to go but there are a number of problems - the writer appears to be white and is writing a character of color. Even if the writer isn't white, the writer appears to be white and most likely have all those privileges of being white. The messages need some clarity as well. The story goes between bluntly discussing things to being so subtle it's hard to know what the real message is. Good try though and I'll read more of MG - and often in fact.
Really entranced me with the story being told, but seemed to end halfway through? Like I truly felt like this book could have been double the length, so that the second half of the hike (and the “cleansing ceremony” that was talked about constantly) could have taken place.