Though Ariel Schrag captures the awkwardness of teenage years very well, something about this collection felt incomplete. It simply didn't work as well as a single volume.

While this book is too mature for my students, it is a humorous graphic novel for adults. Schrag discusses what it means to connect with others and find yourself, even when you don't quite understand who you are (or who you want to be). Told in short comics the stories are funny, truthful, and eye-opening.

I’m not familiar with this author and artist outside of this book. That being said, I enjoy the memoir as graphic novel format, and I liked the author’s childhood stories the best. Some of the text mixed with the illustrations was difficult to read due to its cluttered appearance, so I found myself relying mostly on the artwork for the story’s direction. I think this book is a nice collection of diary entry-like illustrations, and I would be interested in exploring the author’s other work.

I have posted this review to Goodreads. Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC.

The need to feel like you belong is a natural part of life, right? This comical graphic memoir explores the many stages of trying to be “part of it”. Spanning a young lifetime full of typical adolescent and teen struggles, as well as young adulthood in the LGBTQ community, this book was a fun yet anxiety enducing exploration. The black and white illustrations are full of minute details that are delightfully intricate.

In general I love the whole graphic novel memoir/biography genre, so I was predisposed to enjoying this! I think my favourites were the early stories, from when the author was a child. Especially the bus mishap - I think everyone has had a similar experience at that age!

I didn't find any of the stories to be particularly riveting, but the collection is a solid one and and an enjoyable read. The art style wasn't for me, but I didn't find that it detracted from the experience (with the one exception of the teenage-reproduction comic - very hard to read!).

My full review appears on Weekend Notes. Thanks to the publisher for sharing this one. I want read Ariel Schrag's other books now.

Reading this makes me want to go find Schrag’s previous memoirs. She has a way with both language and art, and has mastered the short vignette. I would definitely recommend this to high school students and adults.

This is a pretty decent collection of Ariel Schrag's autobio comics, mostly from her preteen to teenage years - at least one of them has already appeared in another anthology. Some (one?) of the comics won't make total sense if you aren't familiar with Schrag's previous books (Awkward, Definition, Potential, and Likewise).

I realize that I am not a particularly objective judge of Schrag's work, however, since I grew up reading her autobio comics and admiring her frank confessional style (along with being amazed that there were queer women writing and drawing comics) - I do think this is a great collection and it would be a good one to start with if you are daunted by the prospect of reading her lengthier books first.