A review by displacedcactus
Ten Days in a Mad-House by Brad Ricca, Courtney Sieh, Nellie Bly

challenging dark emotional informative fast-paced
This is a graphic novel adaptation of Bly's undercover reporting on conditions at the women's asylum on Blackwell Island. If you've ever watched a horror movie where inmates at an asylum were treated cruelly, it was probably inspired in part by what Bly witnessed during her ten-day stay. Thankfully, the graphic novel takes a tasteful approach -- when the women are stripped and bathed, we are shown only suggested nudity. Women describe being beaten, but we don't see it happen. As such, this book feels appropriate for teen readers with an interest in history or journalism. I probably wouldn't give it to readers younger than that.

This is a very quick read -- I read most of it just waiting for a slightly-late doctor's appointment. You could probably read it in an hour or less in a single sitting. The black and white artwork is just detailed enough to set the scene, without being so detailed that you get lost in it.
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