Thank you Netgalley and publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!
Imagine my ecstatic surprise when I realized this was a graphic novel! I totally skipped that in the description. Not only are graphic novels quicker, but they're also just really creative/artistic. So I was very excited about this.
The beginning part of this book kinda felt like when someone's showing you all the photos in their phone gallery and explaining them all. Sweet at first but eventually gets a bit repetitive. I guess what I mean is that, despite it providing context on how they met, much of the beginning of this book lacked detail that moved the story forward. And the writing itself didn't make up for the lack of detail.
Part of what makes memoirs, especially surrounding memory and childhood, is the reflections we make that we would've never made back then. Our adult selves can find slivers of beauty and reflection that our childhood selves were not sophisticated or sentimental enough to. The book eventually certainly got there. And when it did, it was extremely heartfelt, relatable, tender, and even tense at times. The speaker/author was incredibly honest and spoke on things so many face alone out of shame. And that's very admirable. The first about half of the book though had moments that could've been expanded to point out some progression, reflection, or lesson. The trip they took together, for example, felt as if it was building to something only for us to move on very quickly. I just think the story of their friendship GROWING is just as important as how they lost each other.
While the illustration does portray the awkwardness of adolescence, there are maybe about three facial expressions: neutral, anger, worry. It just feels stiff and almost wholly reliant on the subtitles/text. I definitely think this art style could appeal to many! It's just not my favorite.
All of this to say though, this is really sweet and heartbreaking. It's an important story to tell. So many people go through these things and struggle is nothing to be ashamed of. And I think it's really important to preface that criticism to storytelling is not criticism of the story itself. This was a very beautiful exploration of someone's life and how the loss affected those who loved them. It needed to be written and I applaud the author for writing it. I wish I could give them the biggest hug.
