Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield... A Review

I read somewhere, that you can find almost any subject covered by a graphic novel. It's a great medium to get children interested in reading and certain subject matters really lend themselves well to the medium. Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield does an outstanding job of using the medium of graphic novels to reveal the devil in anorexia and eating disorders.

The book opens with the specter Tyranny, a squiggly line drawing, yelling at Anna, a pretty young girl, about how Anna shouldn't be eating because she'll get FAT. Tyranny is literally choking Anna to get her to listen to her.

" I told you not to eat. You are TOO FAT!!"

" I've got to try."

" No, you don't! You'll RUIN you're life!"

" But how can I live and not eat?"

And the next image is a close up of Anna, eyes bulging, bone thin, tears welling in her eyes. Looking directly at the reader, and asking...

" How did I get to this place?"

You immediately feel empathy for her. You want to tell her that she doesn't need to be thin to be beautiful, to be accepted, to have self worth...

The book follows Anna from a carefree little girl with dreams of becoming a writer, thinking of the wonderful future ahead- Will she be beautiful? Who will she marry? What will her house look like someday? How many children will she have? Then puberty hits... She goes shopping with her mom for her first bra, and as she is looking in the mirror, it hits her... her body is changing, she thinks she looks fat... She starts to look at magazines with all those skinny models and decides she needs to go on a diet... She becomes obsessed with her weight... but no matter how thin she becomes, she thinks she is fat. This was the beginning of her anorexia, and a story that is dead on with what goes on in the mind and body of someone with an eating disorder.

"Pressured by media, friends, fashion trends, her workplace, and personal relationships, Anna descends into a cycle of misery that seems unending. Whenever she tries to rise from the abyss, her personal demon, Tyranny, is there to push her back down. In Tyranny, Anna has created a formidable foe, and now, finding the strength to defeat her is a matter of life or death."

I've never been anorexic, but I certainly have been on the "got to lose weight" roller coaster, and could relate to what Anna was going through. And just when you think that women are fighting back just a bit when the media criticizes "shapely" women for being fat, you read about another young girl dying senselessly from trying to be "perfect". A recent tragedy was Isabelle Caro, a French actress and model, who died Nov. 17th at the age of 28. Isabelle posed nude in 2007, in a shocking billboard ad headlined, "No Anorexia", which revealed Isabelle's ravaged 59 pound body, and this was her message to other young women struggling with themselves.

Lesley Fairfield does a great job of illustrating the seriousness of of an eating disorders, and how a girl can be her own worst critic. Tyranny is quite the witch, and as wrong as you know her logic is, she can be bewitching. The struggles that Anna has in her head should resonate with young girls struggling with the same feelings. As Anna's life begins to slowly fall apart, and she becomes ill, her mother intervenes and gets her in a program. But it's a long hard road for Anna, and recovery doesn't come without a slip or two back into some bad habits, but in the final pages, Anna conquers Tyranny and brings hope to anyone with the same struggles. .

Tyranny,

For the first time in a long time. I have a future, and I'M HAPPY! So, once and for all, I don't care about being thin!! Good-bye, and go away!

Anna.

A slim 114 page graphic novel, geared towards ages 11 and up, Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield, has an important message. If you have a young girl in your life, consider sharing a copy of Tyranny with her. Not a preachy book, more like your best friend sharing some sage advice.

*P.S. I read Tyranny as part of The Graphic Novels Challenge 2010! Click on The Graphic Novels Challenge link to see what other graphic novels I read this year!

The Impostor's Daugher by Laurie Sandell... A Graphic Memoir AND a Giveaway!

The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell...

A Coming of Age Story and A Graphic Memoir!

Giveaway Has Ended!

Congrats to Norma, Page and Carla! Thanks to EVERYONE who joined in on the fun by entering, blogging and tweeting about the giveaway!

I read The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell last year when it was first published and loved it! It was funny, honest and a feast for the eyes! I love memoirs and was intrigued by Laurie's story of growing up with a father shrouded in mystery and secrets, who told fantastic tales of adventure, and who turned out to be far from the man Laurie thought he was, and how Laurie's relationship with her father influenced her growing up and having her own "adventures". When I first opened the pages of Laurie's book I wasn't expecting it to be illustrated! What a treat! A graphic novel ... and perfect for us girls! This is not your typical graphic novel. Laurie's drawings are wonderful and have a playful quality, with bright fun colors. If you've never read a graphic novel, but you love "chic" lit, don't hesitate to pick this up! It's kind of Bridgett Jones meets the 21st century with sex, drugs and Glamour magazine. Here's what it's all about...

Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job--interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is--not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them--herself.

Read my review of The Impostor's Daughter! Check out Laurie Sandell's Website and take a look at her drawings! And Enter the Giveaway! Laurie's book The Impostor's Daughter is being released today, July 12th, in paperback! AND, courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group I have 3 paperback copies of The Impostor's Daughter to give away! Here's how to Enter...

To Enter this Giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button on the sidebar to the left! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link for another entry!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on July 25th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

*Just a note here that Laurie does write about (and illustrate) some "intimate" scenes in her memoir, and it really is geared towards us adult girls! (You will laugh out loud too!)

Memoir Mondays with Stitches by David Small... A Graphic Novel, A Memoir and A Review

A Memoir in Black & White...

Stitches, written and illustrated by David Small, is his coming-of-age story told in graphic novel form. It's David Small's memoir of growing up in a family where his mother "had her little cough", sobbed quietly "out of sight", and slammed the kitchen cabinets to communicate. His father took his frustrations out on a punching bag, and his brother on the drums... and it's the story of the operation that would remove a vocal cord and leave David practically a mute...

There aren't a lot of words in Stitches. There really isn't a lot of need for lengthy prose- David Small's black & white ink drawings tell his story perfectly... I could almost feel his grandmother dragging me up the stairs to bed without supper.. I could feel the terror as he is put through shots, enema's and radiation to cure his boyhood illnesses. His drawings are so expressive and the bird's eye views he chooses to show certain scenes in, make the story a visually treat. They are not pretty pictures, but they are meaningful.

From "sock-skating" on a freshly waxed floor in the hospital his father "the radiologist" worked to finally having the operation to remove that cyst on his neck (which he'd find out later was really cancer caused by all the radiation his father gave him), Stitches takes you on a visual adventure of emotions. You'll get to know his often times cruel & dysfunctional family and feel the pains of growing up. I was surprised how haunted I was after I finished reading Stitches. I felt such pain for David growing up virtually unloved and isolated. A sensitive child trying to find his place in the world, trying desperately to have a relationship with his mother, but being let down each time the door to that relationship cracks open a bit, except for one final moment . This was definitely not my usual read, but part of my "reading outside the box" with The Graphic Novel Reading Challenge 2010. I chose this because it had gotten so much buzz and was nominated for The National Book Award in 2009 under the young peoples literature category . Only one other graphic novel has been nominated for the The National Book Award, and that was American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang in 2006. Stitches was a moving read, and one I am glad I stepped outside of my box to read! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to step into a graphic novel for the first time. And as far as the seasoned graphic novel readers are concerned... I bet you all read this already!

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!

Memoir Mondays

Memoir Monday!

You know how much I love memoirs! And I've been busy reading some great memoirs lately! But I haven't quite finished writing my reviews (and organizing a great giveaway!) , so I thought I would highlight a few of the memoirs that I'll be reviewing soon...

Lift by Rebecca K. O'Connor... "The culmination of a ten-year career in falconry, Lift is a memoir that illustrates the journey and life lessons of a woman navigating a man’s ancient sport. Captivated by a chance meeting with a falconer’s peregrine as a child, the indelible memory eventually brings the author’s life full circle to flying a peregrine of her own. Exploring themes of predator and prey, finding tribe, forgiveness and femininity, the memoir asks universal questions through a unique backdrop. Lift illustrates the beauty and meaning the sport of falconry can add to a falconer’s life, echoing the challenges and triumphs of being human." Rebecca is a wonderful writer and her story is equally wonderful! This book is fascinating from the start and touching.

The English American by Alison Larkin... "In many ways, Pippa Dunn is very English: she eats Marmite and toast, knows how to make a proper cup of tea, went to a posh English boarding school, finds it entirely familiar to discuss the crossword rather than exchange any cross words over dinner with her proper English family. But Pippa--creative, disheveled, and impulsive to the core--has always felt different from her perfectly poised, smartly coiffed sister and steady, practical parents, whose pastimes include Scottish dancing, gardening, and watching cricket. When Pippa learns at age twenty-eight that her birth parents are from the American South, she feels that lifelong questions have been answered and she finds that “culture clash” has layers of meaning she’d never imagined." Alison Larkin is funny! This book is great! She's even made her "story" into a one woman show too! This tuesday The English American will be released in paperback too!

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel... "This autobiography deals with her childhood with a closeted gay father, who was an English teacher and proprietor of the local funeral parlor. Fun Home refers both to the funeral parlor and the family's meticulously restored gothic revival house, filled with gilt and lace, where he liked to imagine himself a 19th-century aristocrat. Bechdel's talent for intimacy and banter gains gravitas when used to describe a family in which a man's secrets make his wife a tired husk and overshadow his daughter's burgeoning womanhood and homosexuality." This memoir is a graphic novel. (I've been reading a lot of those lately too) The drawings are wonderful! (Alison is a cartoonist after all!) The story may be a bit out of the box for some, but it is a coming of age story that is funny and bittersweet.

Hope I whetted your appetite for some great reading! Stay tuned for the reviews (and the giveaway!)... In the meantime, share what you're reading! Any good memoirs I should be putting on my shelf? What do you think of graphic memoirs? Have you read any yet?

Happy Monday! And happy reading...

Suzanne

The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell...A Review!

The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell
An illustrated Memoir & Coming of Age Story.....

Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job--interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is--not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them--herself.

What Did I think? Even before I opened the book I thought the story was intriguing. What was the mystery behind this man that spun all these amazing believable tales? And what did Laurie eventually find out about her father and herself? Then I opened the book... It was not what I was expecting... it was illustrated... it was a graphic novel! (Laurie prefers graphic memoir)... I was intrigued even more!

One of the fun parts of this book is that it is a graphic novel! I had no idea when I received the review copy until I opened it up, but just glancing thru it turned into reading a few pages... then a few more... and I just kept reading! It hooked me! I could not put it down. Very colorful, funny, well written and a great read! For anyone not familiar with graphic novels a great starting point! And a very happy surprise for me!

We follow Laurie from a little girl growing up with her father's mysterious ways- stopping the mail anytime HE was going away, phone calls asking for her 'father' in many different aliases, his going away for months at a time with no notice and returning home just as mysteriously, and the stories!...CIA? Secret Service? Not by a mile... A fascinating story about Laurie's relationship with her father, but also a wonderful story about Laurie herself as she uncovers the layers of lies she's lived with all her life and how it changes her... A modern day detective story that shows us the honest quirky things that make up a family. We meet Laurie's sisters, mother, boyfriends plus as she searches out the truth. The drawings are great! We see Laurie's & her families expressions as we read the story. Never read a graphic novel before? Do Not let that stop you! This book is great! Want to see some of Laurie's art from the book? Learn a little more about Laurie? Here a link to Laurie's website. You can also find a link there to the original Esquire story Laurie wrote about her father that lead to this book!

Currently Laurie Sandell is a contributing editor at Glamour, where she writes cover stories, features, and personal essays. She has also written for Esquire, GQ, New York, and In Style, among other publications. In her twenties, she spent four years traveling around the world, having unsavory experiences she later justified as “material.”