Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin

320 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn't mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito.

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

256 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

All Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there's one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp.

Vera is sure she's found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the "cool girl" drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

El Deafo by Cece Bell

 El Deafo by Cece Bell-233 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a really good graphic memoir about the author's childhood grappling with her deafness. She got Meningitis at age 4 and it caused her to go deaf. This happened in the 1970s. She had to wear hearing aids behind her ear at home, but a phonic ear at school. Bell was somewhat embarrassed at the time and scared that the other kids would make fun of her for being different. She made (and lost and regained) some friends across her childhood. Bell created an alter ego for herself called El Deafo to help gain confidence in herself and come to grips with her deafness. This is a powerful story about growing up deaf and what it means to different people. I highly recommend reading this if you haven't. 

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

 Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel-232 pages

I wanted to read this book both because it counts for the monthly challenge and because it has been challenged/banned. I wanted to read it for myself and see why people might want to challenge it's inclusion on the shelves. It's a memoir of the author's childhood and early adulthood. She discovers that she's a lesbian and that her father was gay/bisexual while she's off at college. She realizes that she was always different and wasn't a "girly" girl. There are some depictions/images of naked women, but never in the context of sexual intercourse. At its heart, this is simply Alison Bechdel's recollections of her childhood and early adulthood and grappling with puberty and family issues. Her father also ran the "fun home" which was a funeral home. I liked reading this book. 

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka-314 pages

Krosoczka was the closing keynote speaker at the MLA Annual Conference that I recently had the pleasure of attending. I enjoyed hearing from him and seeing him draw. This book about his early life and upbringing was discussed heavily. I saw it on the shelf and decided to read it for this month's blog challenge. Krosoczka had a difficult childhood/upbringing. His mother was addicted to heroin and his father wasn't in the picture at all and wanted nothing to do with him. He was raised by his grandparents, Joe and Shirley, who he came to view as his parents. He loved his mother and had a relationship with her as best as he could in the circumstances. This graphic memoir/biography details his life up through high school graduation. He meets his biological father for the first time at age 17 and finds out he has a half brother and sister. This is a good read that is at times heartbreaking. His grandparents' personalities really stand out in this story. It is a story about family and what that means. Not everyone has a mother and father raising them.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei-204 pages

This is the story of the Japanese-American internment camps. Specifically, it is the story of George Takei and his family's experience in two different camps during World War II. It is an unthinkable, awful disgrace that American citizens were incarcerated and ripped from their homes simply for their looks. It is awful what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor, but those who were incarcerated did not have anything to do with Pearl Harbor. Takei recalls his experiences as a young child in these internment camps and the events surrounding the incarceration. He was shielded by his parents from much of the most egregious, but still witnessed many atrocities. Takei's mother was one of thousands all but forced to renounce American citizenship to protect family, which would not be remedied until many were nearly deported to Japan. I saw Mr. Takei on stage at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. and heard him tell of the publishing of this necessary work. Hearing him talk of these atrocities intrigued me and I have been eager to read this work ever since. It is not a disappointment. I would recommend this to anyone, especially as a reminder that no one is perfect and as an essential window to an awful, embarrassing moment in American and World history.