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laefe's review against another edition
5.0
Ok, Jamil. Sono pronta. Voglio scoprire una volta per tutte la verità che sta dietro questo gran casino. Tornerò e mi sarà tutto chiaro!"
bryanzk's review against another edition
5.0
Different angle is important. Sometimes it's more important to know that questions are bigger than answers, then there might be chances for better answers.
sofiamarielg's review against another edition
1.0
My feelings about this book can be summed up in a syllable: meh. My main gripe with it was the size of the text, which was so small that I often found myself squinting. I never imagined that I would ever think a book would be better experienced digitally, but here we are. Unfortunately, what the book lacks in style is also missing in its substance. It was straight-up boring and had the emotional depth of watching a plastic bag blow in the wind. I hoped for something interesting, and all I got were tired eyes.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
3.0
Everyone does their graphic novel travelogue differently. That's one of the things I love about them. Some do a moment in time capture in a comic a day as they travel. Some combine short stories and collages and sketches from their trip after the fact. In [a:Glidden|2817217|Sarah Glidden|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1238446413p2/2817217.jpg]'s case, she has created a more-or-less play-by-play retelling of her trip to Israel, including her own personal struggles on the journey.
I enjoyed watching [a:Glidden|2817217|Sarah Glidden|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1238446413p2/2817217.jpg] struggle through finding perspective on the Israel vs. Palestine conflict during her journey, but something about it kept me from personally identifying or being affected emotionally. I've been to Israel (granted, about half my life ago), and I spent most of the book trying to recognize places. Of course, things have changed a bit and I wasn't very successful most of the time. I found the maps slightly confusing, since special locations were pulled out but didn't have any meaning yet. Maybe footsteps showing her route might have helped with that particular issue? Also, my own niggling annoyance was that the photo of Glidden at the beginning of the book makes her looks extremely brunette, but in her illustrations she's distinctly light brown/blondeish. Not that it should matter, but it annoyed. I really appreciated her attempt to be even handed on the debate and expose her true feelings to this extent. It really did help me get a better more well rounded perspective on the conflict.
I'm trying to put my finger on what stopped me from going over the top into loving this book. Maybe it was the anticlimactic nature of her journey itself? Maybe it was the illustration style, which felt a touch utilitarian (particularly when depicting people) to me? I really did appreciate seeing Israel through secular Jewish eyes, since my exposure has been distinctly Christian. Maybe it was the lack of cultural details? Glidden is so focused on her mission of reconciling her brain to a particular perspective on the conflict, that the joy of the journey kind of gets lost on the way. Granted, Israel is definitionally a pretty darn westernized country, so it's not a place where you get a page of weird toilets (cf. [b:Comics Trips|1672070|Comics Trips|Peter Kuper|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186642607s/1672070.jpg|2405890]). But in the earnestness, there's a loss of whimsy, excitement, and wanderlust that I really missed. Yeah, I think that's it.
I enjoyed watching [a:Glidden|2817217|Sarah Glidden|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1238446413p2/2817217.jpg] struggle through finding perspective on the Israel vs. Palestine conflict during her journey, but something about it kept me from personally identifying or being affected emotionally. I've been to Israel (granted, about half my life ago), and I spent most of the book trying to recognize places. Of course, things have changed a bit and I wasn't very successful most of the time. I found the maps slightly confusing, since special locations were pulled out but didn't have any meaning yet. Maybe footsteps showing her route might have helped with that particular issue? Also, my own niggling annoyance was that the photo of Glidden at the beginning of the book makes her looks extremely brunette, but in her illustrations she's distinctly light brown/blondeish. Not that it should matter, but it annoyed. I really appreciated her attempt to be even handed on the debate and expose her true feelings to this extent. It really did help me get a better more well rounded perspective on the conflict.
I'm trying to put my finger on what stopped me from going over the top into loving this book. Maybe it was the anticlimactic nature of her journey itself? Maybe it was the illustration style, which felt a touch utilitarian (particularly when depicting people) to me? I really did appreciate seeing Israel through secular Jewish eyes, since my exposure has been distinctly Christian. Maybe it was the lack of cultural details? Glidden is so focused on her mission of reconciling her brain to a particular perspective on the conflict, that the joy of the journey kind of gets lost on the way. Granted, Israel is definitionally a pretty darn westernized country, so it's not a place where you get a page of weird toilets (cf. [b:Comics Trips|1672070|Comics Trips|Peter Kuper|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186642607s/1672070.jpg|2405890]). But in the earnestness, there's a loss of whimsy, excitement, and wanderlust that I really missed. Yeah, I think that's it.
beths0103's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful graphic memoir about the author's birthright trip to Israel and dealing with her conflicting emotions about the political situation there.
asimilarkite's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting reading experience for me, because basically it was exactly what I went through when I went to Israel on birthright 3ish (was it really three?) years ago -- down to the fact that the author's name is Sarah (even though it's spelled wrong ;-)).
I actually wish that I had had the opportunity to read this BEFORE I went to Israel -- I think it would have put my own hesitations about my feelings about the place into perspective. The entire time I was in Israel, I did have mixed feelings -- were we being brainwashed? Did I have ANY right to be in this place? Why why why can't there just be peace?
I guess this is a review of this graphic novel and not of my own trip to Israel, but I think it's a testament to the author's skill that she PERFECTLY described what it feels like to be a liberal, secular, American Jew on a birthright trip. It made me reminiscent of my trip while also making me think again about the Israel/Palestinian conflict.
The ONE thing I wish she had gone into more detail about was her relationship with the other people on the trip (fellow birthrighters, as well as the Israeli soldiers, guides, and guards). For me, this was a huge part of the experience, and while Sarah touches on it she doesn't really go into detail. It must REALLY be a birthright thing for people who already have significant others back in the states to hook up, 'cause that happened on my trip too :)
After reading, I had to go back and look at my pictures of my own trip again. Nostalgic.
I actually wish that I had had the opportunity to read this BEFORE I went to Israel -- I think it would have put my own hesitations about my feelings about the place into perspective. The entire time I was in Israel, I did have mixed feelings -- were we being brainwashed? Did I have ANY right to be in this place? Why why why can't there just be peace?
I guess this is a review of this graphic novel and not of my own trip to Israel, but I think it's a testament to the author's skill that she PERFECTLY described what it feels like to be a liberal, secular, American Jew on a birthright trip. It made me reminiscent of my trip while also making me think again about the Israel/Palestinian conflict.
The ONE thing I wish she had gone into more detail about was her relationship with the other people on the trip (fellow birthrighters, as well as the Israeli soldiers, guides, and guards). For me, this was a huge part of the experience, and while Sarah touches on it she doesn't really go into detail. It must REALLY be a birthright thing for people who already have significant others back in the states to hook up, 'cause that happened on my trip too :)
After reading, I had to go back and look at my pictures of my own trip again. Nostalgic.
drizcoll's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I finished it a bit more confused than when I started but I think that's probably not unusual.
ivanssister's review against another edition
3.0
Travelogue of a woman's birthright trip to Israel. She may understand it, but I still don't.
haddocks_eyes's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5