Generally heartwarming memoir about growing up Filipino-Egyptian in Cerritos & then growing up some more in Syracuse & Washington DC. Even if Gharib hadn’t mentioned being into zines, I think I would have guessed from her cartoony art style that she was into zines. Incidentally, I didn’t remember that I’d read some of her other work in The Nib (see “The Colonial Roots of Cheese Pimiento”), because the style was so radically different. I really liked the expressive faces & the background cityscapes. It was interesting how Gharib & her family saw leaving her hometown of Cerritos as going to the white people to learn their ways. The little section about microaggressions was interesting, as were the parts about discovering the racism embedded in popular culture. Even in California, we have this Sweet Valley High image of SoCal, but it’s good to keep in mind that there’s way more places like Cerritos there. Eating noodles on your birthday sounds like a great idea; is it appropriating if I do it?