Starts slowly, builds into something real, and then ends abruptly and with no resolution.

** Trigger warning for sexual harassment and racism. **

Raised in Portland, Oregon, cartoonist Hazel Newlevant was homeschooled by their* parents (for hippie reasons, not religious ones), resulting in a somewhat sheltered childhood. When they were seventeen, they got a summer job removing English ivy and other invasive plants from the local parks and forests. The youth “No Ivy League” project immersed Newlevant in the high school experience they’d been missing (or slimmed down, summer vaca version of it, anyway). This is Newlevant’s memoir, in graphic novel format, of these formative months.

As Newlevant works alongside at-risk youths, most of them black and brown, Newlevant becomes increasingly aware of their own privilege – and, by extension, that of all the home-schooling families that make up their social circle. (The scene where Newlevant asks a friend if he knows any black home schoolers is a light bulb moment.) After a co-worker’s inappropriate comments to Newlevant result in his dismissal – never mind a similar incident, directed at a black girl, which went unpunished – Newlevant begins the long and never ending process of unpacking their own privilege.

NO IVY LEAGUE carries the promise of a powerful narrative of allyship, but it never quite reaches its potential. Perhaps this is because I read an early ARC, which I suspect wasn’t 100% finished. When some of the panels started lapsing into rough sketches instead of polished illustrations, I initially thought it intentional, as if to convey mental distress. Yet the last few pages are obviously not done, and the story ends rather abruptly, without any real resolution.

Newlevant’s parents’ admission that their decision to homeschool was a direct response to integration isn’t really followed up on; like, was there ever a confrontation or discussion about it? Likewise, the parallel video contest and #HomeschoolingSoWhite plot lines seemed certain to converge – like, maybe Newlevant uses the win of the former to help educate, protest, or raise awareness of the latter – but nope. Everything just kind of…trails off.

On the plus side: there’s some vegan rep, so yay for that!

* Newlevant’s preferred pronouns are they/them.

This graphic novel memoir explores a homeschooled teenage girl's experiences of working a summer job clearing ivy with a diverse group of workmates and facing her own white and middle class privilege, as well as relating to peers outside of her homeschooling bubble. Unfortunately I didn't feel that these themes were taken far enough and the ending felt very abrupt, leaving lots unresolved. I think this needed some expanding and development to really achieve what it was trying to.

This graphic novel starts off with an author letter, where she talks about what inspired the novel. One of the main themes is learning who you are as a person, in relation to the world around you. As always, the question here is if it's even possible to fully know yourself:

"It's incredible, believing over and over again that you've figured things out - only to stumble on new ways your place in society shields you from the truth."

It's about white privilege and the ignorance that comes with it, and how being confronted with your own ignorance can feel uncomfortable:

"It's intimidating to publish a story about my younger self doing and saying so many profoundly embarrassing and regrettable things, but I hope that it helps those who see their own shame reflected in mine resolve to move forward with compassion."

This is by no means an exaggeration: this is at times a very uncomfortable novel to read, because the main character, Hazel, is a very naïve and sheltered 17-year-old. She takes on a park maintenance summer job alongside at-risk youth. Being homeschooled, she doesn't have a lot of experience interacting with peers her own age, and her coworkers are a diverse group of people. She's quite clueless interacting with them, which is quite annoying to read at times, but also, I think, quite realistic, and important to be aware of. People don't become socially aware out of nowhere, they aren't born with an innate grasp on inequality. So it was good to see Hazel's development and increasing awareness as a sheltered white girl. I especially appreciated one of the side characters stating explicitly that he didn't want to be a part of her "journey of self-discovery".

I wasn't able to fully appreciate this novel though, because it was a bit hard to read at times since it's not yet finished. This meant that some pages were only sketches, and certain panels weren't completed yet. The ending also felt really abrupt, giving me the impression the final edition will be longer. If so, I hope it brings together both of the storylines more to make for a more well-rounded ending.

I appreciate the effort of writing a story of white privilege, however i do think a lot more could have been done with it. It barely scratches the surface of the problem. Also going into the whole idea of homeschooling kid coming out into the real world full of people they’re not used to being around...again it barely covered the start of what they could have done with it.

I really loved the artwork and characters in this book. The author really brought the personalities and dialogue of teenagers to life and you really get a sense of what the atmosphere at the summer job was like. When Hazel first gets to the job and is trying to fit in with the other kids by asking about music but not exactly knowing how to connect was very relatable. The dynamics of the friendships at the summer job felt spot on.

I feel like this book was going in the right direction but it didn't feel like we got as much from the story as we could have. There were a few times when the author could have delved deeper into the situation, especially the part about the real reason for her being home schooled. We don't actually get much of a reaction from her just a few blurbs from text books that she reads. A little inner monologue of what was going through her mind when she found out the reasons for her homeschooling would have given this a deeper and richer look at her mindset and her world. I also think that the book ends too soon. The author had these experiences during her summer but we never really see how those experiences shaped her outlook later on or what affect this summer experience had on her home life and relationships afterward.

I liked it even if I am still wondering if there is some hidden meaning that I didn't catch. The illustrations and the story go on well together but I am a little disappointed by the last pages.

Mi é piaciuta come storia, ma sto ancora cercando di capire se l'autrice non intendesse veicolare altre informazioni piú complesse che mi sono completamente sfuggite. I disegni e la trama andavano "d'accordo" ma la decisione di lasciare le ultime pagine solo schizzate tipo screenplay mi ha lasciato piuttosto perplessa.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!