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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
I read 2/3s of this as a webcomic years ago, and just never made it to the end. Reading the whole thing from the start, I picked up so much more of this story than I did originally. A very thoughtful character-drive story, with some gorgeous landscapes.
Gillman's art is incredible, of course. The note that it ends on gives it the feeling of a short story moreso than a novel - It works for me, but your mileage may vary.
I think it may have meant a lot to me if I read it as a (queer Church-camp-going) teen.
Spoiler
the major event all of the characters have been discussing has not yet come to pass, but the (emotional) event at the actual heart of the narrative has already happened.I think it may have meant a lot to me if I read it as a (queer Church-camp-going) teen.
Really beautiful. Melanie Gillman is an incredibly talented creator and I hope they are able to continue this work.
It's interesting that I've read two graphic novels in a row featuring a prominent black female with thick ankles named Charlie, short for Charlotte. Was that a writing assignment for last year?
I don't know what to do with this graphic novel.
I mean, look at the summary: A queer, black teenager finds herself stranded in a dangerous and unfamiliar place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp.
It sounds like the kind of stuff I've been reading like crazy lately but I don't actually know what this is.
I put it on my Christian shelf but I can't tell if this is Christian or if it’s chastising contemporary American Christianity. I added it to my racism shelf but I can't tell if there was any racism going on or if Charlie was the only black girl in the group and was uncomfortable because she's tired of being stuck with clueless white people all the time.
Ok, yes, there was racism going on mostly in the form of careless language but I can’t tell if it’s being spotlighted here or not. At one point, camp counselor Penny says she’s half Diné but it seems that she’s only ever been introduced to her camp leader mother’s disparaging remarks via this hike, thanks to Charlie pointing them out, sort of like how Charlie’s mom didn’t realize there were only white kids at this camp when she dropped her daughter off and it took her daughter saying something to make her aware. So only Charlie sees racial disparity? As for my Feminism shelf, the most vocal feminist is the one who seems to be a misandrist. She may also have cancer. It’s hard to tell.
Anyway, her angry feminism is upsetting to camper Sydney, who is visibly uncomfortable every time the camp leader starts spouting her weird stories. But this could either be showing that these kids are aware of how language is used to marginalize groups OR it could just as easily be showing that these kids are too sensitive and need to stop being snowflakes. I just can’t tell what we’re aiming at here. If I was this confused, how confused will young readers be? Maybe it won't be confusing at all, maybe I am not giving younger readers enough credit.
We have this cataloged as YA but I'd put it at the very lowest end of YA, like for 13-year-olds; the dialogue and situations are pretty simple and unfaceted. I think I'd be more comfortable with giving this to the 10- to 14-year-old crowd except that the main themes in this story, so far, are mostly invisible, you have to pick up on contextual clues to get them and even then they can be easily misread. So while it seems to be a summer camp story geared toward a younger audience, there’s a lot running in the background that isn’t going to be picked up by readers not already savvy to looking deeper for information about gender identity, sexual preference, and Christian feminism.
For instance, I would not have known Charlie was queer had it not said so in the summary. She is obviously interested in the camp leader's daughter, Penny, developing a crush on the 18-year-old, but it's not uncommon for 13-year-olds to get crushes on older kids they think are cool, regardless of gender and sexual orientation. Mostly, it's Sydney, the painfully subtle character, who hints to the reader that Charlie is not-straight but Charlie never confirms this, herself, nor does Sydney ever directly say, "Hey, I think you’re a lesbian/bi/sexually interested in women or, at least, that one particular woman" so even her outing of Charlie isn't obvious if you're a reader who hasn't been introduced to this topic before.
Sydney spills her own big secret just as subtly and Charlie, who somehow recognizes the coded message Sydney's sending, understands immediately. Again, a reader new to these topics may not pick up on the one silly clue regarding Sydney's gender identity which, I imagine, would make the story more and more confusing as it goes along.
I'm not sold on this being a volume-by-volume story. This book leaves off at an awkward place with no resolution to anything, such as why Charlie is at this all-white Christian camp in the first place, the answer to which may help the reader get on board with this journey much more quickly but, no, it has to be a slowly-unfolding mystery, so vaguely unfolding. While there's no indication that this is not a single-volume tale, the webcomic is ongoing so I assume they'll collect and publish the next set of comics at some point, but, as it stands, this is not a good introduction because it's leaves off with unanswered questions and in an illogical place. I mean, for the webcomic, it's a completely normal place to leave off - at the end of Day 3. But for an actual compiled story? Not so much. I think this would work better if it were published as the complete set, once the story is finished.
The art is fine. It’s like a mix of Peanuts and the 3-tone colored pencil drawings in books from my childhood.
The author clearly loves the outdoors and creates some lovely landscapes.
Their people are more cartoonish, however, which gives the whole thing that strange Gumball juxtaposition where there's an overlay of unserious, child-like drawings against a more realistic background.
But in this case, the medium is the same, rather than illustrations over photographs, so there's a strange dichotomy going on in the eyes when looking at the pictures. Why are the people so cartoonish if the backgrounds are so realistic?
I can’t say I’m going to recommend this one to anyone. I’ll let all the awards it has received or been nominated for do that and I’ll just stand over here wondering what the fuss is about.
I don't know what to do with this graphic novel.
I mean, look at the summary: A queer, black teenager finds herself stranded in a dangerous and unfamiliar place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp.
It sounds like the kind of stuff I've been reading like crazy lately but I don't actually know what this is.
I put it on my Christian shelf but I can't tell if this is Christian or if it’s chastising contemporary American Christianity. I added it to my racism shelf but I can't tell if there was any racism going on or if Charlie was the only black girl in the group and was uncomfortable because she's tired of being stuck with clueless white people all the time.
Ok, yes, there was racism going on mostly in the form of careless language but I can’t tell if it’s being spotlighted here or not. At one point, camp counselor Penny says she’s half Diné but it seems that she’s only ever been introduced to her camp leader mother’s disparaging remarks via this hike, thanks to Charlie pointing them out, sort of like how Charlie’s mom didn’t realize there were only white kids at this camp when she dropped her daughter off and it took her daughter saying something to make her aware. So only Charlie sees racial disparity? As for my Feminism shelf, the most vocal feminist is the one who seems to be a misandrist. She may also have cancer. It’s hard to tell.
Anyway, her angry feminism is upsetting to camper Sydney, who is visibly uncomfortable every time the camp leader starts spouting her weird stories. But this could either be showing that these kids are aware of how language is used to marginalize groups OR it could just as easily be showing that these kids are too sensitive and need to stop being snowflakes. I just can’t tell what we’re aiming at here. If I was this confused, how confused will young readers be? Maybe it won't be confusing at all, maybe I am not giving younger readers enough credit.
We have this cataloged as YA but I'd put it at the very lowest end of YA, like for 13-year-olds; the dialogue and situations are pretty simple and unfaceted. I think I'd be more comfortable with giving this to the 10- to 14-year-old crowd except that the main themes in this story, so far, are mostly invisible, you have to pick up on contextual clues to get them and even then they can be easily misread. So while it seems to be a summer camp story geared toward a younger audience, there’s a lot running in the background that isn’t going to be picked up by readers not already savvy to looking deeper for information about gender identity, sexual preference, and Christian feminism.
For instance, I would not have known Charlie was queer had it not said so in the summary. She is obviously interested in the camp leader's daughter, Penny, developing a crush on the 18-year-old, but it's not uncommon for 13-year-olds to get crushes on older kids they think are cool, regardless of gender and sexual orientation. Mostly, it's Sydney, the painfully subtle character, who hints to the reader that Charlie is not-straight but Charlie never confirms this, herself, nor does Sydney ever directly say, "Hey, I think you’re a lesbian/bi/sexually interested in women or, at least, that one particular woman" so even her outing of Charlie isn't obvious if you're a reader who hasn't been introduced to this topic before.
Sydney spills her own big secret just as subtly and Charlie, who somehow recognizes the coded message Sydney's sending, understands immediately. Again, a reader new to these topics may not pick up on the one silly clue regarding Sydney's gender identity which, I imagine, would make the story more and more confusing as it goes along.
I'm not sold on this being a volume-by-volume story. This book leaves off at an awkward place with no resolution to anything, such as why Charlie is at this all-white Christian camp in the first place, the answer to which may help the reader get on board with this journey much more quickly but, no, it has to be a slowly-unfolding mystery, so vaguely unfolding. While there's no indication that this is not a single-volume tale, the webcomic is ongoing so I assume they'll collect and publish the next set of comics at some point, but, as it stands, this is not a good introduction because it's leaves off with unanswered questions and in an illogical place. I mean, for the webcomic, it's a completely normal place to leave off - at the end of Day 3. But for an actual compiled story? Not so much. I think this would work better if it were published as the complete set, once the story is finished.
The art is fine. It’s like a mix of Peanuts and the 3-tone colored pencil drawings in books from my childhood.
The author clearly loves the outdoors and creates some lovely landscapes.
Their people are more cartoonish, however, which gives the whole thing that strange Gumball juxtaposition where there's an overlay of unserious, child-like drawings against a more realistic background.
But in this case, the medium is the same, rather than illustrations over photographs, so there's a strange dichotomy going on in the eyes when looking at the pictures. Why are the people so cartoonish if the backgrounds are so realistic?
I can’t say I’m going to recommend this one to anyone. I’ll let all the awards it has received or been nominated for do that and I’ll just stand over here wondering what the fuss is about.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. Loved the illustration style and concept, overall pretty well done. It just feels like it could have been better drawn out over another 100 pages.
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Following a band of teens trying to find themselves in a place of belonging on a Christian All-Girls Backpacking trip, one hinged on the empowerment of women while conveniently forgetting the intersections of identity they find at the crossroads.
You'll be allowed to view the identities of a few teens, dealing with their own realization of how they differ from the rest in the group. More importantly, they find comfort and community in this difference.
I only wish we could have seen what waited for them at the top of Mount Sanctuary, or what waited for them back at base camp to recount with them their journey with themselves and their visions of God.
You'll be allowed to view the identities of a few teens, dealing with their own realization of how they differ from the rest in the group. More importantly, they find comfort and community in this difference.
I only wish we could have seen what waited for them at the top of Mount Sanctuary, or what waited for them back at base camp to recount with them their journey with themselves and their visions of God.