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jess_mango's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars!
Great coming of age memoir in graphic novel format. The author tells of his childhood being raised by his grandparents. His mother had addiction issues so couldn't be present in his life. The author never knew his birth father as a child. However, while the topic of drug addiction can be tough this was a book that left me feeling happy at the end. The book doesn't focus on the mom's addiction as it is from Jarrett's view point and she is mostly absent from his life.
Being from the Worcester area myself, I loved all the Worcester references (Hope Cemetery, Coney Island Hot Dog, Worcester Art Museum etc.) . The author went to high school at Holy Name in Worcester and graduated a few years after I did. I didn't go to Holy Name but I knew people from my hometown, Sutton, who did...so it is cool to me that there might only be 2 degrees of separation between the author and myself. :)
Great coming of age memoir in graphic novel format. The author tells of his childhood being raised by his grandparents. His mother had addiction issues so couldn't be present in his life. The author never knew his birth father as a child. However, while the topic of drug addiction can be tough this was a book that left me feeling happy at the end. The book doesn't focus on the mom's addiction as it is from Jarrett's view point and she is mostly absent from his life.
Being from the Worcester area myself, I loved all the Worcester references (Hope Cemetery, Coney Island Hot Dog, Worcester Art Museum etc.) . The author went to high school at Holy Name in Worcester and graduated a few years after I did. I didn't go to Holy Name but I knew people from my hometown, Sutton, who did...so it is cool to me that there might only be 2 degrees of separation between the author and myself. :)
caitlynchellew's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very unfair rating! I didn't read it in one go - it would've been a much better experience if I did!
irisdagmar's review against another edition
5.0
I cried. This was a beautiful, honest portrait of a complex family. I was deeply moved, and the artwork is amazing.
katieinca's review against another edition
5.0
4 *s for the graphic novel, 5 once you read the Author's Note at the end (I hardly cried at all until the Author's Note, and tears shed is definitely a metric by which I measure memoirs).
It's a very matter-of-fact, almost flat, style for a memoir. He doesn't talk a lot about his internal life much, he's more likely to show it in the art, or the actions he chooses to include in the story. He doesn't sugar coat the people in his family - he shows them doing and saying some ugly things. At the same time he also conveys his love for them. So the style grew on me, at least partly because it rang true as a way I've heard myself and others talk about hard things that we've lived through and come to own as part of the story that makes us who we are.
The 10yo read it in one sitting, didn't have much to say by way of a review, and apparently didn't cry at all.
It's a very matter-of-fact, almost flat, style for a memoir. He doesn't talk a lot about his internal life much, he's more likely to show it in the art, or the actions he chooses to include in the story. He doesn't sugar coat the people in his family - he shows them doing and saying some ugly things. At the same time he also conveys his love for them. So the style grew on me, at least partly because it rang true as a way I've heard myself and others talk about hard things that we've lived through and come to own as part of the story that makes us who we are.
The 10yo read it in one sitting, didn't have much to say by way of a review, and apparently didn't cry at all.
almase2020's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
It was a great story, but i dont recommend it as an audio bevause you then wouldnt get to see the art.
brooklynslibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0