Everything is Flammable

I liked the second half much better than the first, although I am not sure if that's due to the subjects discussed, getting to know Bell, or a mixture.

Bell lives in New York City, while her mother lives in Ukiah, CA with a population under 20,000. Her mother's home is lost in a fire and much of the story is about recovering from that.

Very slice of life, although one that has been doing work to overcome traumas. I appreciated the female familial relationships (daughter, mother, grandmother), interesting and meaningful friends, the open talk of mental health and honest feelings, covering the use and frustrations of bureaucratic aide in both states, the commentary on glamour. I also related to Bell not driving and have also ridden Amtrak trains and buses and BART; she mentioned ‘the crazies' on BART and have to wonder how it compares to the NYC metro.

Someone on the back of this book describes it as a “raw nerve” and could not agree more. I found myself getting anxious while reading this and had to put it down. That's not to say it's not awesome and interesting, it totally is! Bell's mom lives off-grid and this is the story of how she rebuilds after a fire. I had a hard time with the treatment of the animals in the book, Ghost Cats especially kind of ripped my heart out and stomped it into the floor. I will never understand animal cruelty.

I want to read more of Bell's work.
That said, I have one big negative about the book and it has everything to do with the construction of it. The panels were too small. There were times when I found myself removing my glasses and squinting at the print. They should have made the panels larger or the book itself larger or something.