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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Living with Viola by Rosena Fung
3.0
Living with Viola was cute. I liked how it depicted anxiety as a physical being haunting Livy. I argue with my anxiety in a similar way and I think this was a great way of showing people what that looks like by utilizing an entertaining yet informative format.
I did not like the art style as I found it messy and same-y. It was often difficult to tell any of Livy's family members apart because they did not have obvious character markers to distinguish them like Livy's friends do. For example, Beth is white and tall and Maddy is a person of color so it's easy to distinguish them no matter what. Livy's mother, father, and two aunts all look like the same person especially because Livy's mother has short hair. On a positive note, I enjoyed the usage of color to convey tone. Viola creating doom and gloom visually when she was particularly incensed was a wonderful way to establish Livy's headspace.
Livy is Chinese-Canadian, and much of the experiences are shaped by Rosena Fung's childhood. Livy's displacement specifically in school is compounded by her feelings of displacement as a second generation immigrant - she has mental health issues unlike her immediate family and she didn't live out of the country like her parents so feels isolated from every angle. Children of immigrants often have additional expectations placed on them culturally. It can create a lot of anxiety in general and that's not even touching if you're already predisposed genetically to an anxiety disorder.
Background aside it's fairly standard fare. Livy has anxiety she's hiding from everyone. It causes her to mistreat her new friends. Her parents get increasingly more worried. Ultimately, things reach a boiling point. She gets help. Things are resolved for the moment, but she will have a life long challenge keeping anxiety at bay. Still, it's absolutely a happy ending because knowing is half the battle.
Bottom line - Rosena Fung has written a good book and I would read another one by her.
I did not like the art style as I found it messy and same-y. It was often difficult to tell any of Livy's family members apart because they did not have obvious character markers to distinguish them like Livy's friends do. For example, Beth is white and tall and Maddy is a person of color so it's easy to distinguish them no matter what. Livy's mother, father, and two aunts all look like the same person especially because Livy's mother has short hair. On a positive note, I enjoyed the usage of color to convey tone. Viola creating doom and gloom visually when she was particularly incensed was a wonderful way to establish Livy's headspace.
Livy is Chinese-Canadian, and much of the experiences are shaped by Rosena Fung's childhood. Livy's displacement specifically in school is compounded by her feelings of displacement as a second generation immigrant - she has mental health issues unlike her immediate family and she didn't live out of the country like her parents so feels isolated from every angle. Children of immigrants often have additional expectations placed on them culturally. It can create a lot of anxiety in general and that's not even touching if you're already predisposed genetically to an anxiety disorder.
Background aside it's fairly standard fare. Livy has anxiety she's hiding from everyone. It causes her to mistreat her new friends. Her parents get increasingly more worried. Ultimately, things reach a boiling point. She gets help. Things are resolved for the moment, but she will have a life long challenge keeping anxiety at bay. Still, it's absolutely a happy ending because knowing is half the battle.
Bottom line - Rosena Fung has written a good book and I would read another one by her.