Details

Length: 299
Story Build: quick through 
Character development: solid with personality 
Age Recommendation: 7th grade and up 
Reasoning: some language; substance abuse  issues

Summary and Review

Like most graphic novels, I finished this rather quickly. However, I found myself studying the graphics more closely and rereading certain portions because this text is really important. 

This memoir follows the early childhood and teenage years of Jarrett, the author of this graphic novel. It begins with a brief outline of how his grandparents met and fell in love and the children they have. Why, do you ask, is this important to his upbringing? 

His grandparents raised Jarrett from a pretty young age. 

Jarrett does a wonderful job at being vulnerable, and we should be thankful for that. He opens up his world to us, which includes a drug addict mother and a pretty rough family dynamic due to a volatile relationship between his grandfather and grandmother. We get a first-hand look at what all this can do to a child. 

However, we also are able to see Jarrett persevere through these challenges by finding a love of art and connecting with friends. Middle school aged students can definitely relate to his desire to fit in and to his feelings of awkwardness about dating and sharing information with his family. 

I applaud Jarrett for sharing this with the world. Stories such as these are vital to have in our world so that our readers can see that what they experience is relatable. Substance abuse issues, dysfunctional families, and anxiety/ depression are real. Jarrett weaves these into the true tale of his family in a very honest way. 

Celebrations

 I just have to applaud Jarrett for his vulnerability. It’s hard to show the tough parts of your life to people. He just shared it all with the world in a really beautiful way. The graphic novel format allows him to make it easily accessible for our teens.

Hesitations

I really don’t have any. It was very well done.