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This was a surreal and emotionally weighty story. It didn't shy away from heavy lifting when it comes to trauma and identity... and instead faced their complexity head on. I couldn't read stories like this all the time, but this type of work is a keystone element of pushing for more dialogue about the difficult topics of sexuality and assault.

Apparently I need to be listening... I went into a bookstore with no specific intentions today, and walked out with two titles that share the same word. I didn't realize until I got home.
Okay universe... what do you have to say? 🤔

Two lesbians who barely know each other are on a road trip through Texas, carrying lots of emotional baggage plus one possibly-magical cat. This graphic novel doesn‘t deliver quite the same powerful impact as Tillie Walden‘s memoir Spinning, or her SF masterpiece On a Sunbeam, but it‘s a worthwhile trip all the same. Walden‘s art is fluid and her moody colours match the tone of the narrative. #LGBTQ #graphicnovel #comics

Bea: like, how would I even know if they were… like me…
[see panel above]
Lou: Or just go up, say hi, my name is so and so. I fuck women. What‘s your name?
Bea: LOU!
Lou: Come on, Bea, I‘m kidding. You just have to get to know someone.
Bea: Ughhh. You‘re crazy.
Lou: I may be crazy but I‘ve had three girlfriends. Which for rural Texas is a miracle.

I‘ve enjoyed books by this author before, and knew things would get weird and also have amazing artwork. This is the story of Bea running away from home, happening upon Lou who is also running from her own set of problems. The art and coloring intensified as they got closer to talking and dealing with their issues in a strange climactic event. It‘s probably worth another read, but I still won‘t get it all I bet. #bookspinbingo

I started this one during my lunch break and finished it tonight. I really like Tillie Walden‘s graphic novels. I have another of hers waiting to be read. Maybe when I‘m stuck home this weekend I‘ll read it.

Casually using some of my green pals as a backdrop to a book I'm super excited about. They're just hanging out waiting for the sun and being general delights, anyway, might as well. Happy Monday, folks!

I love the artwork and while the story can be a little confusing it works.

A graphic novel about a car trip that gets pretty trippy. Very pretty art.

My review of this graphic novel can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC0xOf4hLbE

Enjoy!

Just read this graphic novel. It was really good 📚💕

I'm sitting here at the zoo with fries and Tillie Walden and the sun is about to go down so I should put my hoodie on but also I don't want to put this down.

Today I ventured to an adorable independent bookstore called Un Unlikely Story (opened by the guy who wrote the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Jeff Kinney) and picked up the tagged graphic novel and this adorable notebook. If you‘re ever in Plainville, MA I highly recommend it.

Two almost strangers, both running away from their problems, met on the road out of town. Together they form a bond, confront some deep trauma, and encounter a maybe-magical lost cat, who is being hunted by the Office of Road Inquiry that start out creepily stalking and turn into monsters as the trip turns into a chase. This magical realism/surreal road trip shows how important it is to face your demons or they will pursue you gaining strength.

And more library haul #graphicnovel

A surprisingly surreal story about running away. Are You Listening reminds me a little of Alice Isn‘t Dead, in it‘s sense of space and the fragile connections between characters. Plus, there‘s a cat.

This graphic novel had a lot of weird/creepy/fantastical elements like a road trip to a town in West Texas that doesn‘t exist on a map, a maybe magical cat, and some seriously eerie law enforcement, but it all gets grounded by the underlying friendship between Lou and Bea. Both are running from their pasts for their own reasons, and it was a nail biting, slightly surreal journey to the end.

Are you listening? Was the queer magical road trip novel I didn‘t know I needed BUT I NEEDED IT! Tillie Walden is always spectacular, but I don‘t know there is something so special about this one. It blew my mind in the black and white arc I read and I cannot wait to get my hands on a full color copy this fall!