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katsmedialibrary 's review for:
This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America
by Navied Mahdavian
Navied and Emilia are two millennial liberals who move from the Bay Area to rural Idaho to forge a new life. They set up their homestead and get to know the locals who are both kind and prejudiced. They help Navied and Emilia out but not without questions about Navied's Iranian parents or slurs for other identities tossed around. Nature is beautiful (and dangerous) and the air is quiet and life is what us city folks like to call "simple." But this "simple" life is hard work both physically on the homestead and emotionally, with neighbors. Once Emilia gets pregnant, they make the decision to move back to a city so their daughter can grow up around likeminded ideals. My parents tried a similar, though less rural, approach. On September 11th, 2001, my parents picked me up at school instead of letting me take the van from the private school in the college town out to our home in the countryside. When I asked why, they said they didn't want me hearing untrue or hateful things about the day's events from the other rural kids on my "bus" and their parents. This is the choice Navied and Emilia made for their child. One of protection with the knowledge that a child's mind can't find truth and balance on its own. My tired millennial heart wishes they could've made it work. But my queer, genderqueer, and disabled body knows the fear that comes with being the only one of your kind around. Navied's story is illustrated with effective, simple images depicting their time in Idaho. The graphic novel is engaging and easy to follow. However, the factual asides felt a bit random and I wish they'd been connected to each other through a theme. I also hungered for a bit more emotional reflection from the narrator himself.
Thank you to Net Galley and Chronicle Books for the e-ARC!
Thank you to Net Galley and Chronicle Books for the e-ARC!