It's unlikely I ever would have picked up a graphic novel, particularly a young adult one, had it not appeared on my "CBC 100 novels that make you proud to be Canadian" list. The experience of reading this was not unpleasurable, but it was enough to confirm for me that I don't really like this form of storytelling very much, mainly because I am decidedly more of a verbal than a graphic learner, and I find the process of hunting through a picture for clues about context to the spoken words considerably more laborious than my well-established abilities to interpret verbal clues.

So, all that said, I found Skim an interesting enough character to keep me with her to the end of her teenage angst story, and there was (if I recall my now very distant adolescence) a fairly raw and realistic portrayal of the hyperdramatic emotional state in which a very young woman spends her schooldays. I am not sure that my generation generally experienced the heavy level of depression and confusion (including exposure to peer suicide) depicted here; maybe I was just in a lucky place and time. And I know for a fact that I was oblivious to any same-sex sexual experimentation that may have been going on around me, in a way that clearly is not possible now - and I'm presuming that's a good thing in general. Skim's sources of confusion are manifold - she's a Goth who tries to use supernatural ritual to find answers; she's racialized (Asian), although that doesn't seem to have a front row impact in this particular story; she's attracted to a female teacher; she's finding her way through the minefield of different friendships as she finds herself in or out of sympathy with the way those friends think. It's not a phase of life I willingly revisit, but I'll admit the pictures - once I had made myself put the effort in to interpret them - did an effective job of portraying it, and the progress of the story generally made sense.

I don't think I'm a snob about graphic novels; I think reading them effectively is a skill I exercise only tolerably well, and that's probably why (along with the teen subject matter), even though I read and enjoyed this, I'm unlikely to seek out more of the same.

This book is definitely a case where I can’t step back from my adult reaction enough to say fairly whether I think this is a successful book for kids. It’s a nuanced look at friendship and family and class; Gertie’s complicated feelings about the people and events in her life are compelling. But I wanted something to break free a little bit sooner, I guess. Whether a kid would feel the same way is a question I keep wondering about and not really coming up with an answer for.

Yes, I've reached the end of my journey with Jillian Tamaki. I just finished her first work with her cousin Mariko entitled Skim. One thing is for certain...Tamaki has the corner market on teenage angst. (As you can probably tell, I'm over the angst.) The story follows a girl named Kim who is your typical teen who believes she's a practicing witch. (Normal for Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer so...) You might be wondering why Kim is nicknamed Skim. Me too. The explanation given didn't make much sense to me so I'm not going to even bother telling you. In Kim's school there is a preoccupation with suicide and depression. Most of the other students believe that Kim is at risk and as a result a lot of unwanted attention is turner her way. She develops an unconventional relationship with someone (I'm vague to avoid spoilers) and her relationships with others suffer. SO MUCH ANGST. I did enjoy this one more than This One Summer but it is by no means the best graphic novel I've ever read (that honor goes to Through the Woods by Emily Carroll). If you like manga type illustrations then you might enjoy this one for the aesthetic value alone but if you're looking for a WHOA kind of book then you might want to keep looking.

Photo source: http://theliterarysisters.wordpress.com

I enjoyed SuperMutant Magic Academy so naturally I picked up another one of Jillian Tamaki's books called This One Summer which was written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian. Well, I didn't love it. I didn't hate it either. This is one of those times where I'm genuinely ambivalent. I appreciated the artwork but the story didn't really do anything for me. The entire book is drawn in shades of purple and black which lends an almost dreamlike quality to it. The main character is Rose who is spending the summer with her family in a cottage where they visit every summer. Her friend Windy is there with her mother and it seems that the majority of their interactions with one another over the years have been here in this little village community. Windy is younger than Rose and that age difference (1 1/2 years) is evident in the way they interact with one another and those around them. (This is important to the narrative.) Rose is on the cusp of puberty and therefore the maelstrom of emotions that accompany that are present on nearly every page. I think one of the reasons why I didn't necessarily love this is that the angst was never really resolved and overshadowed everything else. (I'm over angsty book for a while.) Rose's parents are struggling in their marriage, there is talk of a baby that never materialized, and a relationship between two young adults plays a significant role in the day-to-day activities of the girls. If you want to look at something that is visually appealing you can't go wrong as This One Summer is a Caldecott Medal winner. However, if you're not really into teenage angst then this is probably not the right fit.