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A review by naomi_marshall_murray
Gender Queer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition by Maia Kobabe
5.0
Whilst I gave the original Gender Queer graphic novel four stars, the deluxe edition earns that fifth star!
An introspective approach to a graphic novel - I loved it! Who wants to read a memoir by someone who hasn’t even turned 30? Me!
The experiences one has in their life are not constrained by their years lived, Maia perfectly (and literally) illustrates that within the pages of this graphic novel.
The journey throughout this novel felt very physical and emotive as a reader - a real captivating story with a balance of humour and optimism.
I enjoy that this ended with a non-perfect resolve; a real one.
Sometimes people aren’t at their happily ever after, just like in real life; it’s an ongoing journey and I appreciate that Maia chose to end the novel in a truthful place.
I truly enjoyed the foreword by ND Stevenson and afterword by Maia Kobabe are much appreciated additions to this deluxe version; which also helped to ring true the fundamental necessity for this books existence. The progress pages and additions at the end were also much loved content - as the memoir is depicting the life of a gender queer person who is also an illustrator, it’s fascinating to see the stages in creation.
As a UK reader I was unaware that the original GQ graphic novel had been heavily banned in USA. In a time where we see censorship becoming more prevalent, we see an even bigger need for works such as this to exist.
In a world filled with diversity, we need more books like this, not just to show depictions of “me” and “you” but of Us.
A huge thanks to Oni Press, Maia Kobabe, Tara Lehman, Lydia Nguyen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel prior to its release, this was a highly anticipated release for me, it not only met, but excelled my expectations.
An introspective approach to a graphic novel - I loved it! Who wants to read a memoir by someone who hasn’t even turned 30? Me!
The experiences one has in their life are not constrained by their years lived, Maia perfectly (and literally) illustrates that within the pages of this graphic novel.
The journey throughout this novel felt very physical and emotive as a reader - a real captivating story with a balance of humour and optimism.
I enjoy that this ended with a non-perfect resolve; a real one.
Sometimes people aren’t at their happily ever after, just like in real life; it’s an ongoing journey and I appreciate that Maia chose to end the novel in a truthful place.
I truly enjoyed the foreword by ND Stevenson and afterword by Maia Kobabe are much appreciated additions to this deluxe version; which also helped to ring true the fundamental necessity for this books existence. The progress pages and additions at the end were also much loved content - as the memoir is depicting the life of a gender queer person who is also an illustrator, it’s fascinating to see the stages in creation.
As a UK reader I was unaware that the original GQ graphic novel had been heavily banned in USA. In a time where we see censorship becoming more prevalent, we see an even bigger need for works such as this to exist.
In a world filled with diversity, we need more books like this, not just to show depictions of “me” and “you” but of Us.
A huge thanks to Oni Press, Maia Kobabe, Tara Lehman, Lydia Nguyen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel prior to its release, this was a highly anticipated release for me, it not only met, but excelled my expectations.