Welcome to Litsy!

2 ⭐Charlie is a girl who is not one for being out with nature. However, she is going to be spending a week in a nature hiking camp communing with God. This is a trip not just about God, but about feminism and the place of women within their spirituality and in their community. I should also mention that Charlie is the only black girl in the group. This book does have an Eisenhower Honor and a Stonewall Honor.

Giving this a pick because it‘s inclusive, examines LGBTQ and BIPOC fit in Jesus-following-religion life, captures the essence of backpacking, and is beautifully illustrated! Unfortunately, I thought we‘d get more resolution to the friendship development, some insight on the conclusions the characters reach on their spiritual/social journey, some confrontation of the ritual… a return to the crow or feather idea… but it just ends suddenly. #LGBTQ

Yes, all the time! #Nature #Hiking #Comic #LGBTQ

I grew up hiking and backpacking with my family and this book is really making me want to hit the trail. #Hiking #Comic #LGBTQ

I have a few reviews to catch up on, but instead, here are some beautiful panels from the graphic novel I‘m reading right now. #Hiking #GraphicNovel #Comic #LGBTQ

I REALLY need there to be a sequel to this. I like Charlie, thirteen and queer and black and faith-questioning, stuck at a white, Christian, “angry white feminist” backpacking camp SO much. There are some great messages about language and intersectionality and fitting in, plus some wonderful friendships. It leaves of very abruptly, though, which is frustrating.

Impulse pull from the library shelves was a win. Love Charlie and Sydney and their growing friendship. Love the glimpses of how harmful white feminism is. Love the beautiful penciled coloring. Oh but geez...please tell me there's a sequel coming soon. Guess I should look into the webcomic?

Charlie is less than thrilled to be on a hiking trip in the wilderness for a week. She‘s a queer person of color with an all-white Christian group, what could possibly go wrong?

Charlie finds allies in her group, and hope in the strength of friendship as she questions her faith.

#crossculturalstories 71 of 100 read
#LGBTQIA

I don‘t love graphic novels. I don‘t love YA. I don‘t love books that end abruptly and require a sequel to finish the story. This just wasn‘t for me. Full, fleshed out review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2018/10/review-as-crow-flies-by-melanie-gillman....

There better be more to this story.

Really glad I thought to pick up my library holds this morning when I felt a migraine coming on. I had plans for the day that I‘m frustrated I won‘t be able to accomplish, but at least I can dig into these and enjoy my “garden” for a while before I must retreat to a darker room. Starting with the tagged title and really enjoying it.

Take a note, internet, lol.

I cant believe my library had this book, it feels like the fundraising to get it published was pretty recent. Lucky me!

The illustrations were great and even though I don‘t relate to the Christian aspects of the story, the outsider and questioning feelings are pretty universal.

The author is nonbinary too!

#lgbtq #queerbooks #nonbinary #transbooks

On a big graphic/comics kick this week -- here are a few of the MG/YA ones I've read so far.
(If only I had taken a picture with This One Summer too, to lean even harder into the summer theme. Well, summer, and faerie realm/1910s San Fran...)

It‘s a dreary, rainy day. But I‘ve got tator tots in the oven and a pile of graphic novels next to me. 👩‍🍳📚

Strong characterization and beautiful artwork done entirely in coloured pencils make this a standout. Gillman also knows how to let her visuals carry the narrative. I very much look forward to the next volume.
Add this to the gorgeous stack of summer camp stories in #graphicnovel format that feature #queer girls (tagged in comments below).
#lgbtq #trans

Cartoonist Melanie Gillman does a great job showing us the inner life of a queer Black 13-year-old at an otherwise all-white Christian summer camp. Charlie agonizes over a response to her camp counsellor who uses “whitening” in a metaphor about purity of soul.

Okay! I‘ve got roughly 1 week before #freakyfriday starts & I just finished a book. Now I just have to decide what to read in the meantime...

Completely impressive line work (all colored pencils 😲). The scenery was beautiful and the characters felt real, but the ending felt a little up in the air for me.

AMAZING graphic novel. AMAZING. Queer black girl questioning God goes on an all-(white) girls Christian camping trip. Great characters, great dialogue, great development!! Amazing. So glad I discovered this at the library today.

I sat down to read a few pages and ended up devouring it in one sitting. It tackles issues of religion, race, gender, and feminism in such a relatable way. I‘ll post a few pictures of my favorite panels tomorrow.

Quick warning to those who are unaware, as I was: it ended quite abruptly but I learned it is a webcomic put to paper and there is more to come.

This was awarded a Stonewall honor, I believe.

Update: I am enjoying the heck out of this friendship #currentlyreading #queerbooks

Parents LISTENING?!?? Now there‘s something you don‘t get much in books starring teens! #currentlyreading #queerbooks

😍💖 I adored the artwork in this graphic novel. The story was sweet and realistic, and my only real complaint is that the story ended too soon

Today‘s #libraryhaul is a real beauty! Can‘t wait to dive into this one tonight. #bookdate #queerbooks

“Kale chips? That‘s not a thing.”
“...yes it is!”
“No way. That‘s just something people talk about in jokes.”
“My parents make them all the time!”
“But kale‘s just a type of leaves, right? Nobody eats leaf chips.”
@surlyspice

Heck of a #MountTBR but I'm super excited because these are all entrants for the Excellence In Graphic Literature Awards for the Middle Grade category. So much reading, but for a good reason! #TeachersofLitsy #EXGL2018 #PopClassroom #ComicBooks #GraphicNovels #LitsyReadingChallenge2018 #LitsyAtoZ #LRC

This stunning graphic novel follows 13-year-old Charlie to an all-white Christian girls' hiking retreat. She's black, queer, and questioning her beliefs, though, and the whole thing feels like a mistake. This story does such a good job poking holes in traditional feminism and its well-meaning but exclusionary rhetoric. The art, all in colored pencils, is beautiful as well. So, so good.

Happy #HumpDayPost #MinDea
1. It‘s a gn about a black queer teen at an all girl white Christian camp. 2. quality chocolate 🍫 3. Apparently Xennial. I was good being the butt of X. 4. Essie nail polish 💅🏻 in a rose 🌹 color. 5. Run errands. Film hopefully.

I read the first 2/3 of this as a web comic but finally bought the book today! I have really loved the recent wave of church camp books, and I'm dazzled by what Mel Gillman does with coloured pencils.

Brought this home for my partner, but ended up stealing it before she got to it 😜. Charlie, a queer person of color, attends a female-only Christian (and mostly-white) camp right when she is questioning her own beliefs. So far it‘s beautifully written and drawn and the expansive landscapes make me wish for warmer days.
#queerbooks #yagraphicnovels

A wonderful teen graphic novel. I love the use of colored pencils in the artwork. The story is about a queer Black teen who winds up at a Christian camp of all white girls. This GN does a great job of critiquing mainstream white feminism and how it so often excludes women of color and queer people. I recommend giving it a read!

Yep, sounds about right.