I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Advocate by Eddie Ahn is a graphic novel memoir from a nonprofit environmental and community activist. Eddie's family ran a liquor store in Texas after moving from South, instilling values of small kindnesses while also pressuring him to pursue the idea of children doing much better than their parents.

We start off learning about Eddie Ahn’s family history before and during the Korean War, including his grandfather studying in Seoul, far from his hometown of Kaesong. When the war broke out, this created a barrier to Ahn’s grandfather not only returning home but of ever seeing his family again.

We follow Eddie as he works at local schools to help empower his community in California to going to law school to working for and heading a nonprofit to working on a commission. He spends page time introducing us to individuals in his office, young and old, to help give faces to those who are also working towards the same goals of everyone having better lives as well as explaining how different programs work and highlighting positive experiences of community.

The use of color helps set the scene, with different eras represented by different colors: fwarmer hues often used for moments in childhood while the panels regarding Dr. Espanola Jackson, an activist Eddie worked with, are in purple, her favorite color. Eddie's time working in local schools are in green, the color of growth and nature, sharpening the duality of the work towards community and environmentalism being two sides of the same coin.

The graphic novel doesn't shy away from the realities of working at a nonprofit, from pinching pennies to difficulties in explaining your career to family to cost vs time for every decision. It shows not only Eddie’s devotion to his cause but also to show anyone who is considering nonprofit work what they might expect, even if they are a lawyer and in charge. It's really important to peel back those curtains while also uplifting the people in our community who do the work to make it better. Eddie does a wonderful job of doing so, never once feeling sorry for himself and instead conveying that he is happy in his choices even if they don't mean a bank account flush with cash or a shiny new car.

Content warning for brief depictions of racism

I would recommend this to readers looking for memoirs in graphic novel form, aspiring environmental and community activists, and fans of showcasing what graphic novels can do.

I’d never heard of Eddy Ahn before reading this. What an interesting story that transitions well between timelines in his life emphasizing work, family, and friends. He includes what it’s like to be an Asian American person living in todays society but also how that relates and doesn’t relate to his non profit work. Illustrations are also amazing!

I wish I liked this book better, but there's no real hook to get me interested in Eddie's story. The art is fine and the use of color to distinguish time periods is a nice touch.

Eddie Ahn's parents immigrated to the U.S. from Korea. Eddie himself moved to San Francisco fro Texas for college and decided to stay. He was a community activist before going to law school and starting a non profit. He's also a very skilled artist. I loved the artwork and coloring. The story though wasn't all that interesting and could have been edited down some. I'm a big admirer about what he's doing though. He's relentless, putting in countless hours to help those that he can.

This was such an interesting story about someone's experience with the system, America, and their family

However, I found the narrative to be somewhat disorganized. It jumped around quite a bit, with flashbacks popping up seemingly at random intervals, often introducing information that didn't seem to fit seamlessly. I understand that organizing one's life story for an audience you've never met can be challenging, and unfortunately, I didn't feel it was executed effectively here. There were moments where I found myself feeling bored and distracted, which feels a bit harsh to say considering the author's significant contributions to bettering the world. While I don't doubt the author's story is interesting, the delivery felt a bit scattered for my taste. Nonetheless, I appreciate that this story—and the person sharing it—is out there making a positive impact.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book. My opinions are solely my own.

I enjoyed this graphic novel memoir.  The life that the author lived is fascinating and it sounds like he has done some wonderful things.  The story was well-written and well-illustrated.

I struggled with this book. I enjoy GN memoirs in general, and I found this book because I stumbled across the artist/author/subject. He seems like a very interesting person and it's obvious that he put a lot of himself into this project.

However, the narrative itself felt very disorganized. It jumped around a lot, introducing flashbacks that seemed to fall at random times with information that didn't seem to fit there. I recognize that it can be hard to organize one's own life story in a way that will be compelling and engaging to people you've never met, and I didn't feel that it was done well here. I was bored and distracted a lot of the time, which feels like a very unkind thing to say about a person's life, especially when that person has spent so MUCH of their life trying to better the world. I don't think that the author's story is uninteresting, but it was told in a rambling way that didn't work for me. That said, I'm glad that this story (and the person telling it) is out there making the world a better place.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC. My thoughts are my own.

[Note to NetGalley/the publisher: because this book doesn't come out for a few months and has comparatively few reviews at this point, I'm going to wait to post this publicly rather than drag the rating down. I will post on Goodreads and Amazon, etc., at the time of the release date.]

I just finished this title and still putting my thoughts together. While I can’t quite put my finger on why yet, some of the artistic choices hindered the pace (it felt like 300 pages, not 200ish) of this graphic novel. But, I also appreciated the use of maps as a way of showing the role of geography on frontline communities (and as someone who studied environmental law, I appreciated how Ahn used his art to draw a direct parallel between Katrina and the disasters in CA).

Though I found the part about sudden vision loss very interesting, the rest of the story read as scattered, and self-centered without a point or plot. For a story about working for others and a life of service, it came across as whiney and dissatisfied. Trimming out some of the complaining would also bring it to a more reasonable length.

This book was really beautiful. There were so many powerful stories told throughout the novel. I love graphic novels and especially love using them in the classroom and encouraging my students to read them. I think this is a perfect example because it takes hard and sometimes boring topics and creates an engaging easier to follow story. This is something I would love to see my students study in class and would also be neat to use in collaboration with their social studies or science class as a crossover lesson!

I loved reading about eddies life work and family dynamics. He is the perfect example of giving back to the community and what it truly means to be a Good Samaritan even when it feels like your not appreciated.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of ADVOCATE by Eddie Ahn through the PW Grab A Galley giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Eddie Ahn's Advocate follows his life as he builds his career and reckons with the past that created him. Truly a remarkable graphic novel that Eddie did all by himself, and it was splendid to read. It reminds me a lot of Fun Home by Allison Bechdel, so I would only recommend this graphic novel to those who are already familiar with the genre.

I didn’t know much about Eddie Ahn before reading this graphic novel, but I learned that he is quite an impressive person. He has really been an advocate for environmental justice, and is someone we should we talking about.

The way Eddie used art to tell his story was really interesting. I especially appreciated the way he used color to indicate different periods in his life, as well as to show when his story was switching between eras. This story also felt more real than those I’ve read about other advocates; often we only see the positive impacts of the hard work people put in to the causes they care about. However, the story Ahn tells truly shines light on the difficult aspects of working as an advocate. He shows that the environmental work he did was no easy feat, leaving him tired and broke. Eddie leaves us with the question of how to balance work and time with family, as he wonders whether he should have been more available for the people in his life. This was a poignant way to end his memoir and left me reflecting on my own time spent working.

Graphic novels are at the top of my favourites genres. I was excited to get my hands on Advocate as I love the theme of family and immigration.

I enjoyed Eddie's life story. It was full of beautifully illustrated stories throughout his life. It is full of ups and downs. The illustrations were incredibly well done. Where this memoir fell short for me was the writing. I often find that with graphic memoirs there is too much being said and not enough being shown. Although the photos added to the story, they could have given more direction to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Too descriptive to my liking… it captures the author’s life from early years. and the ARC is blurry it’s really hard to read.

Advocate is a unique graphic novel that documents Eddie Ahn's childhood, education and professional growth as an environmental advocate. This book touches upon many topics including, growing up in a struggling immigrant family and the associated challenges with racism and economic inequality. Mr. Ahn works incredibly hard supporting communities at need, earning a law degree and leading a non-profit organization, Brightline Defense committed to environmental justice.

I was impressed and moved by Mr. Ahn's storry and tenacity. I would have liked more description of the specific environemntal science that Brightline worked on and how it tied to under served communities. Mr. Ahn's story is inspiring and I recommend it, especially for young adults looking for how they can make a difference in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Graphic novel, memoir of a Korean American in the nonprofit world & as an environmental justice attorney
Family history in Korea and immigration & importance documenting the journey
What it’s like working for nonprofits, with kids & through transactional relationships
Familial expectations about education, jobs and relationship with money. The value of a life of service rather than one spent only seeking monetary wealth.
Detailed drawings of San Francisco buildings & neighborhoods