Sofia Warren, a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine follows a newly elected Senator to see how our government works and how we can make it work. Spanning almost a year, she highlights how difficult it is to get governmental bodies to let go of the antiquated system while corruption is rampant everywhere across the nation and at all levels.

This was a fascinating book. I really enjoyed the author's detailed work on this. I enjoyed reading all about Senator Julia - I had never heard of her before reading this. The artwork was nice and I enjoyed the black and white that was used throughout the book. Overall, I think that this is a great read and that everyone should check it out!

Sadly, I was unable to download this book to read it. The premise sounded interesting and different from other nonfiction graphic novels I have read.

So you've won the election? What comes next? What is life like after you have fought your way to the place to make change? Do people have any idea how hard that change is to make? This thoughtful and fun look at behind the scenes blends history, storytelling, and politics in the perfect way to help you learn something new while not feeling like you're being taught.

requested because im interested in activism and enjoyed a peak into the behind the scenes work. Skimmed through several sections as it was slow and boring at times.

I enjoyed this look behind the curtains at how a freshman State Senator spends her time and is able to get legislation passed. The digital copy I downloaded from Netgalley had pages missing (the longest section was close to 50 pages), so this was a little disconcerting, but other than that it was a fascinating read.

New York State senator Julia Salazar first found herself on Brooklyn cartoonist Sofia Warren's radar in 2018 when the then 27-year-old was a Democratic Socialist running for state senate. Her grassroots campaign inspired and motivated followers, including Sofia Warren. When Salazar won the election, Sofia Warren asked the newly minted state senator if she could chronicle the first year of her tenure; Salazar accepted, and Radical was born. Radical chronicles what happens after the balloons and confetti have been cleaned up and it's time to get to work. Salazar, whose main focus was affordable housing, had a team of community organizers going up against wealthy landlords and entrenched ways of doing things: the twenty-something Socialist and her followers had their work cut out for them. Sofia Warren spent a year traveling with and speaking to Salazar and her team in order to create an honest portrait of a state senator's first year in office: traveling to and from Albany; meetings, meetings, meetings; angry public meetings, staff disagreements, gaining and losing ground, all on the way to create legislation. The beginning of the story reads similar to an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez memoir; something the author is aware of, and Radical will appeal to AOC followers and anyone interested in the inner workings of grassroots politics. Excellent for high school and college courses.

This was a really interesting book-reading about the behind the scenes in a state legislature, even if it isn't my own state, was illuminating. I think it being in a comic format helped, it was a pretty hefty read even so and taking breaks while reading it helped. Still, I really enjoyed it!

I had a hard time with this one. I'm very interested in politics and don't live in New York so I only have a brief outside view of NY politics. I was excited to learn a little more, especially in the format of a graphic novel. I liked some aspects of this, I learned some things I didn't previously know, which is always a positive.

That being said, I thought a lot of it was generally boring. I specifically liked the four to five page section where the tenants shared their specific issues with rent and landlords. I felt like this helped me become more attuned to the cause, I wish this had been sooner, because before that I didn't feel as connected to the group just talking about it.

I also had a really hard time reading the font. It was small and sort of in a handwritten style since it's a graphic novel and more of a personal memoir, but it still was more difficult for me to read and stay focused on. I think my issue with reading the font made it harder for me to enjoy and consume the material.

This was a peak behind the curtain at what it's like for a freshman politician to get established in their new role. What was particularly interesting about this memoir was seeing how the inner workings of someone in the Socialist Party.

This cartoonist's perspective on New York state politics and tenant rights organizing is clear, thoughtful, and fascinating,

A great look behind the curtain of a state senate office! This memoir was educational, at times a little more dense than necessary, and also a great call to action to get more involved in politics at the state level.

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for supplying a copy of this e-book in return for an honest review.*

Radical takes the reader on a different kind of political journey. What sets it apart is that it is set in the age of a resurgent socialist movement represented through the campaign of Democratic Socialists of America member Julia Salazar who became a New York Senator following the precedent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the national level. The graphic novel is set through the eyes of a cartoonist who moves from being apolitical to developing a growing interest and engagement in the Salazar's campaign and the growing movement that is growing around it. The graphic novel is an easy and inspiring read that doesn't shy away from the challenges that Salazar and the movement are facing as it inspires action in the streets, community organisations, and the halls of Congress. Instead, it presents a wholesome struggle that gave hope to many during the Trump years and beyond. While I would have liked to read more specifically about the DSA, the book still presents enough to make it a must-read for anyone looking for ope in today's world.

This non-fiction graphic memoir follows cartoonist Sophia Warren as she went from paying no attention to New York politics to deciding to make a comic about state senator Julia Salazar on a whim -- which lead to her spending months deeply embedded with Salazar and her staff for their first year in office.

This is extremely good! Obviously, as a Canadian, my grasp of American politics (let alone state politics) is pretty minimal, but this cut into questions that I think are pretty universally applicable: how does organization or advocacy work, how do people get mobilized on issues, what does it mean to be part of a community (and what are your responsibilities / what are you ignoring). The art is consistent and charming, and while the pages are often pretty text-heavy for word bubbles, it's all broken down into a viewpoint that filters it to be easily readable.

"Radical" is a well written, happy-hybrid of political cartoons and quirky webcomics. Warren does an amazing job telling the story of Julia Salazar's first year as a New York senator and tells it with humor, nuance, and accuracy. This graphic memoir is a great example of making politics more understandable to the population. Going in I had no context or knowledge of tenant laws or the ways bills were advocated but I was able to learn so much from this and not feel overwhelmed or confused.

My only issue (and this is one I speak about a lot) is that the text was REALLY hard to read. In my opinion, graphic novels have always been a way for people with dyslexia, reading comprehension issues, and neurodivergencies to consume media in an accessible way, by using easy to read fonts and letting the art help tell the story. When a graphic novel comes out and has a hard to read font, it feels like it's doing a disservice to the people reading it. This is a big reason why I feel I can't give it a full five stars.
THAT BEING SAID! This copy is an uncorrected ARC and it may differ from the full published work. But for now, I will issue that as a warning to readers who have a hard time with unique fonts (as I do.)

Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of Julia's story as a senator. I think this will be a great read in high school classrooms as a really fun way to learn about government, and a great addition to both teen and adult graphic novel collections!

This was a peak behind the curtain at what it's like for a freshman politician to get established in their new role. What was particularly interesting about this memoir was seeing how the inner workings of someone in the Socialist Party. Here in the USA we are very familiar with two major parties, so to get an insiders look at a party no as well known was really appealing as a reader who is interested in learning more about the realities of how both State and Federal congress function.

It was a fast read, and had a few additional books/references that influenced the people involved in the Senator's campaign and their reasons for working in the political sphere. I wrote them down to check them out and thing that anyone who may be thinking about becoming more active in politics would find this book may motivate you even more.

***Thank you to IDW Publishing, Top Shelf Productions and Netgalley for providing a free copy of the eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.

"Radical" is a unique, intimate portrayal of democracy in action. From grassroots door-knocking to insider politics, Warren shows the beautiful and ugly truths of campaigning and winning a Senate election. I found the story unique and informative, but slow at times. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in American politics, particularly left-leaning readers, to see the electoral system up close and personal.

This book has a very unique setup. It’s ostensibly a memoir, but feels more like a how-to guide for mobilization. This is written from a very relatable perspective. The way Warren shows how ordinary people can transform into major movers in politics is extremely inspiring. The inclusion of charts, graphs and clever visual metaphors make complicated processes more easy to understand. The simplistic art style is very charming and Warren does a great job at making each character visually distinct.