on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 368
Started: 15 February 2024
Finished: 15 February 2024
Summary:
Set in a Boy Scout summer camp in the 90s, Mike Curato's semi-autobiographical graphic novel explores themes of bullying, spirituality, and queerness in a touching and gorgeously illustrated coming-of-age story.
Thoughts:
I read this book so fast. Like I sat down to read a few pages, and then I was most of the way through. Part of it is the graphic novel aspect; so many images and nicely flowing words are a lot faster to read than conventional text--but this was also just a very engaging book. A semi-autobiographical, YA, summer-camp-set, limited-time-scope story can only contain so much suspense, but the subtle changes in dynamics between characters kept me quite engaged. The narrator's voice felt complex, but also startlingly likable and frank, which I really liked. Plus, the way that bullying and queerness and spirituality all fit into the self-discovery of the bildungsroman was impressive. I rarely see genuine religion and spirituality in YA in a way that is enjoyable to read, but I was very impressed by the way Curato handled it: important without being preach-y. Because of the speed at which I read it, and the limited time it covered, this book felt more like a novella than a novel, and was definitely aged younger than most of the YA I read, but it was a lovely book and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more by the author in the future.