Telgemeier has created an utterly charming graphic memoir of tooth trauma, first crushes and fickle friends, sweetly reminiscent of Judy Blume’s work. Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when Fella’s family figures out how to come together in a new way
While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry.
Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.ĭooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. The detailed, original and somewhat mysterious nature of Carlos’s idiosyncrasies adds a real spark to this now familiar tale of bullying. Emerson’s ability to write realistic dialogue and his understanding of the dynamics of middle-school cliques and their inherent power struggles are evident here. In the aftermath, she finds herself deeply regretting her decision. It is only after he completely melts down during the presentation that, in anger, she decides to go through with it. While she agrees that Carlos’s insistence that he is in contact with aliens and his incessant body scratching are annoying, she begins to see him in much more nuanced ways after they are paired up to work on a school assignment together. Thoughtful Trina is unsure whether she wants to take part.
Bizarre, friendless Carlos is targeted by a group of classmates in this intriguing novel depicting the planning and execution of a cruel prank, told by the most dubious participant in the plan.
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