Welcome to Litsy!

“They all have perfect skin and clothes and talk about sports nonstop. We‘re not the same.”

This book would be great for middle schoolers or students experiencing puberty who can relate to the main character and not feel alone in the struggles of growing up.

Graphica
Published 2021
This book is about a boy in 8th grade who is facing many common struggles. He takes a medication for his acne that makes him feel different, and he struggles with feeling different from his friends. The colors in the pictures are more muted and neutral. The gutters are a little bit larger than in other novels, making the panels seem more separate.

This is a book that will stick with me for a while. I was introduced to several new-to-me concepts that are interesting to consider:
Terms like chrononormativity and frigidity
That asexuals are often assumed homosexual (if you're not in a hetero relationship, you must be hiding a same-sex one), because lack of desire is not valid. This thinking has been applied posthumously to both Langston Hughes and Octavia E. Butler, among others. ⤵️

This book is a great coming of age graphic novel that can be used for middle aged students to show they are not alone

“Acne. My mom says I have it now, but I won‘t when I‘m older.”

This graphic novel is about a middle grade child exploring new things about their body as they go through puberty. This story is extremely relatable and very easy to read.

Cute

"According to one study, 69.4 percent of the asexual participants report having their identity challenged, and the vast majority of those challenges came in the form of infantilization, with phrases like 'you are a late bloomer' or 'you just haven't met the right person.' The denial of self-governance... is informed by the perceived adult superiority and the dehumanization of children already present and normalized in our society."

I don‘t laugh out loud at books but this one kept me doing so. Highly entertaining and I‘m always pleased to see asexual rep, which we need more of in fiction!

Still waiting in line for Somewhere Beyond the Sea, but I may go ahead and check out the sequel to this one on Hoopla in the meantime.

#AuthorAMonth