Hurrah! Great idea to release a 20-year-anniversary edition for one of the greatest graphic novels in history. The added, process pages and early sketches and added notes are a kind of gift to readers new and continuing,. I have taught this book many times and will again. A YA text, 624 pages, that to life it seems overwhelmingly War and Peace, but has a warmth and intimacy one might associate with a favorite book of poems. Many pages of this midwest novel are swirling images of trees and snow and blankets that in the way of all visual art speaks volumes of emotions, both anguished and sweet. I highly recommend it. First love in conflict with the conservative religion the mc was raised in. Passionate spirituality and a commitment to art.

Here's a link to my review of the first edition:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/400157178

As devastating and gutwrenching as everybody will warn you it is. I thought this'd be a much more demanding read due to the emotional intensity and the length, but I found myself breezing through it whenever I got the chance.