graphic biography

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Lenni Reviews: “Merry Witches’ Life” Vol. 2, by Menota

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While Zoe is working very hard on their magic, a human finds out their secret and a writer comes to visit the town. While he claims to be doing research for a book, he’s hiding a secret of his own.

While the majority of this is slice of life and adding new characters, there’s an escalation and a bunch of lore like Zoe’s childhood and more about the ghosts hanging around Clay. There’s also more information about the magical parts of this world and while interesting, it feels like one big set up. It’s getting all the ducks in a row for perhaps something bigger? I suppose we’ll see. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Everything Is Fine, I’ll Just Work Harder: Confessions of a Former Badass” by Cara Gormally

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. Trigger warning for sexual assault.

Cara is a hard worker. She never skips a run, has plenty of projects and papers to work on, and a solid relationship with her partner. Things are going great until her rapist sends her a friend request. As she spirals, Cara returns to therapy to work through her trauma.

I love how emotions pour through the pages even with the simple art style. In fact, I think keeping the art simple works perfectly. This is one person’s deeply personal journey dealing with her rape and tells you what she wants you to know candidly and at her own comfort. Not to even attempt to judge but I get a strong feeling just from the book that this was cathartic to create and while not an easy read (I can see this triggering some for obvious reasons) I respect this book. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Murder Next Door: A Graphic Memoir” by Hugh D’Andrade

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

At 10 years old, Hugh came home from school to see his friends crying outside their home because they’d discovered the body of their murdered mother. As an adult, he still struggles with the memories and fear.

This memoir is mainly about how trauma can affect someone in the long term. It’s very honest and not at all subtle which I think is needed; especially since this is about a man dealing with childhood trauma. The best part of this? He’s actually dealing with it. He’s in therapy, looking back, analyzing, talking, considering, and really doing his best to reckon with what happened to him as a child and how it shaped the man he’s become. Speaking as a person who will go as far as to think my feelings are a burden even to my therapist, this is refreshingly unflinching. I like this. It’s insightful and I appreciate it. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hanging On By A Thread” by Noémie Honein

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature audiences.

In Beirut where it is considered taboo to discuss such things, 18-year-old Noémie is diagnosed with cancer and this book shows her treatment and recovery from her illness.

This depiction is fairly unflinching. I say ‘fairly’ because it’s not gory or anything but Noémie is very frank about infections and the like. It’s honest and harrowing but also hopeful. The book doesn’t end when her treatment ends; it continues through when you’re “cured” but the mental toll on someone going through all that lingers on and I haven’t seen many others talking about that. And the colored pencil style is beautiful. I guess a trigger warning for cancer-related health issues since that can be tough for some people. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl”, by Rachel M. Thomas

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Rachael Thomas tells the story of how it has felt to live in a fat body through her young life and her weight loss journey.

I love how the art works with the words. This is what makes graphic novel biographies so interesting to me. The medium really lends itself to evoking emotions that perhaps wouldn’t have come through with just text. Of course, I relate to a lot of this; especially what doctors will say despite not, ya know, doing any doctoring (Oh just stop snacking? Wanna know anything about what I eat before you suggest that?) and the faux concern about one’s health from strangers. It’s a personal story but very relatable and creatively told. Unfortunately, it’s not very memorable. I couldn’t mind re-reading it again but there are some parts where there’s huge chunks of text that aren’t as creative as when the art and text work together. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend” by Mieri Hiranishi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Meiri is an awkward college student with bad luck in love and desperately wants a girlfriend. When her search leads her to Ash, Meiri believe she’s finally found her dream girl only for it not to turn out like she hoped.

This is Meiri’s journey through love, loss, and healing. Told with honestly and plenty of self deprecating humor, this is a story I’m sure people of any sexuality will empathize with. Mieri draws every character but herself in a normal style, while she is much more cartoonish and has bombastic, super-deformed expressions. I found this to be very touching and I really related to her feelings. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp” by Zumrat Dawut, Anthony Del Col & Fahmida Azim

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Zumrat Dawut was arrested and sent to a detention camp for being Muslim in 2018 where she was beaten, interrogated, starved, and forcibly sterilized as part of the Chinese government’s attempt to “reeducate” Uyghr Muslims.

This is super short but gets to the point of the horrible ordeal this poor woman went through but she did make it through to tell her story and that’s important. The art is evocative yet simple; honestly portraying Zumrat’s experiences. If you want something fast and informative, this is a great start but like most graphic novels that are biographies, this is a way to get started on a subject before you dive into further research. 4 out of 5 because it does seem too short.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman’s Persecution and Ultimate Redemption after World War II” by Andre R. Frattino, Kate Kasenow & Janice Chiang

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

While visiting family in Tokyo, Iva Torgui ends up trapped there after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She is branded a Nisei – a Japanese person raised in America – and considered a possible traitor by the government. When she gets the chance to be on a propaganda show called “Zero Hour” she mixes her message, inspiring American troops instead of demoralizing them; only to end up on trial as a traitor to the US when the war is over.

Like a lot of historical graphic novels, this is a good primer for deeper research. I like the art; it’s perfect for a period piece, and the story is told pretty well but it would have been cooler to see exactly how the broadcasts undermined the propaganda. It just says it does in the text and I didn’t really get a real sense of how that was happening. Otherwise, Torgui’s story is an important one to tell. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story” by Catherine Pioli

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. Trigger warning for leukemia.

In this graphic biography in a narrative format, Catherine is diagnosed with acute leukemia and follows a course of intense treatments and testing; putting her body through hell in order to fight the disease.

This is very detailed when it comes to exactly what acute leukemia is, what the treatments are, and how it affects Catherine’s body. While the technical parts feel laggy, the clean expressive art style is perfect as it shows the side effects and full range of emotions Catherine goes through. She handles it all with real positivity, humor, and wit. Highly recommended but it’s an emotional read. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi” by Gina Siciliano

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Set in Rome in the 1600’s, this graphic novel details the life of painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

This is all pretty damn impressive if even half of what is here is over dramatized. If you’re into history – particularly art history – I think you’ll get more out of this that I did despite enjoying the book. There’s so many historical details, even quotes from cited sources, that I feel like it was written more for people who have more of a personal investment in art history. As it stands to me, I may have checked out and had to restart some parts because of just being presented with a glut of information, but I enjoyed it! 3.8 out of 5.

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