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melindamaureen's review against another edition
3.0
It’s just really fun to read somebody who so earnestly loves things.
koby's review against another edition
2.0
Cute moments, but too all over the place for my tastes, and I didn't relate to much
geek_mama's review against another edition
5.0
Really fun memoir! I especially loved the colorful, energetic art
libraryanned's review
2.0
I was first put off by the messy, crowded art and then I was put even more off by the story. I actually thought the first bit about the author's childhood was mildly intriguing. Had the rest been like that it would have been three stars. But then came Dancing With the Stars and it was all over.
lindsayb's review against another edition
3.0
Those three stars go to the first half of the book. I loved the color, Ayuyang's experiences growing up as a Filipina in Pittsburgh, and how music informed it. But the second half? It was like an entirely different book. I am maybe not the audience to care about an obsession with Dancing with the Stars or motherhood, but I would have felt a little less prompted to skim if there was any real connection to the first half of the book.
nitya's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
3.75 stars
In some ways this graphic memoir worked for me, in other ways it didn't. I loved the colorful and messy art; there's a frenetic energy to it that makes you want to devour the pages. And though I am not Filipina, I related a lot to the author's feelings about school and assimilation.
The first half of the book is about Ayuyang's childhood, and the second half flashforwards to her adult life and how she handles motherhood/"having it all." I wish there was a smoother transition, because I was confused at some parts. The dancing with the stars focus was nice at first but ultimately dragged; I'm not a fan of the show so this probably will interest other people more than me.
The ending was very cute!
In some ways this graphic memoir worked for me, in other ways it didn't. I loved the colorful and messy art; there's a frenetic energy to it that makes you want to devour the pages. And though I am not Filipina, I related a lot to the author's feelings about school and assimilation.
The first half of the book is about Ayuyang's childhood, and the second half flashforwards to her adult life and how she handles motherhood/"having it all." I wish there was a smoother transition, because I was confused at some parts. The dancing with the stars focus was nice at first but ultimately dragged; I'm not a fan of the show so this probably will interest other people more than me.
The ending was very cute!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Vomit
bluepigeon's review
4.0
Got a copy of Blame This on the Boogie at the Brooklyn Book Festival this weekend and met the author at D&Q's booth.
First of all, the colors, the vibrant and chaotic scenes, the dancing, oh, the dancing... A lot of fun to read and savor, with many details tucked away in corners, fantastic dance and football (yep!) sequences.
The plot seemed uneven. Not sure how to describe it accurately, but one of the things that didn't work that well was the motherhood thing. Rina has a baby. She is into comics, she's drawing, she's working, she's publishing, and she's a mother, but we don't really see too much of this. What we see is a meltdown five years later. We're then told that in the first five years of her child's life, she had difficulty accepting being a mother, etc. So we're told this after the fact, it seems. We don't really see Rina struggle with being a mother, have doubts, rebel. There seems to be a disconnect. Similarly, though not as drastic a disconnect, Rina struggles through school, it seems, partly due to being Filipina, partly due to speech irregularities, and partly due to bullying. We see snippets of these things, but mostly we're just told she hates school and she loves summer because there is no school, but we see very little of why and how she actually hates school (In the book, Rina even says she will not even draw anything about high school because it was horrible.)
On the other hand, we get a quite detailed picture of her social-media-fueled Dancing with the Stars addiction! This part of the story is hilarious, especially because Rina is so not into it in the beginning. She is then taken in by a couple and just gets sucked into the Facebook-Twitter world of their competition.
In a way, Rina is a master of escapism, and true to her mastery, the story avoids some of the more troublesome issues and times, and indulges the escapist, dizzyingly danceful musings and episodes.
Recommended for those who love to dance, spend hours on FB, and feel guilty about choosing sleep over work.
First of all, the colors, the vibrant and chaotic scenes, the dancing, oh, the dancing... A lot of fun to read and savor, with many details tucked away in corners, fantastic dance and football (yep!) sequences.
The plot seemed uneven. Not sure how to describe it accurately, but one of the things that didn't work that well was the motherhood thing. Rina has a baby. She is into comics, she's drawing, she's working, she's publishing, and she's a mother, but we don't really see too much of this. What we see is a meltdown five years later. We're then told that in the first five years of her child's life, she had difficulty accepting being a mother, etc. So we're told this after the fact, it seems. We don't really see Rina struggle with being a mother, have doubts, rebel. There seems to be a disconnect. Similarly, though not as drastic a disconnect, Rina struggles through school, it seems, partly due to being Filipina, partly due to speech irregularities, and partly due to bullying. We see snippets of these things, but mostly we're just told she hates school and she loves summer because there is no school, but we see very little of why and how she actually hates school (In the book, Rina even says she will not even draw anything about high school because it was horrible.)
On the other hand, we get a quite detailed picture of her social-media-fueled Dancing with the Stars addiction! This part of the story is hilarious, especially because Rina is so not into it in the beginning. She is then taken in by a couple and just gets sucked into the Facebook-Twitter world of their competition.
In a way, Rina is a master of escapism, and true to her mastery, the story avoids some of the more troublesome issues and times, and indulges the escapist, dizzyingly danceful musings and episodes.
Recommended for those who love to dance, spend hours on FB, and feel guilty about choosing sleep over work.
vegancleopatra's review
1.0
I found this graphic novel extremely difficult to enjoy. It is far too busy in the drawing style and the dialogue makes it worse. Too often you do not even know what dialogue is meant to follow another as it is all terribly chaotic. Actually that would be the word for this entire graphic novel: chaotic. I found it difficult to care about the story as well but the style ruined it completely.
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