This is the book club’s first pick (of three) for the semester, and I have to admit I'm not impressed. There are really interesting ideas about parent/child relationships, gender and sexuality, growing up, setting, and identity as a product of the above; however, I never found a moment where I identified or even really empathized with Alison — it was a lot of her describing her own “tendencies,” for lack of a better word (OCD, masculinity, homosexuality) and how abnormal/deviant they are. And while I acknowledge that it can’t have been easy growing up in the environment she did, never feeling free to be herself, the narrative tone was alienating.

The art itself is great; each deliberate detail contributes to the overall story and the pictures are cohesive. It’s raw and graphic in every sense of the word, uncomfortable in thought-provoking ways, and above all it’s very self-aware.