The Times I Knew I Was Gay
Ratings24
Average rating3.7
For the Read Harder Challenge, #6: Read a nonfiction YA comic. I tend not to appreciate comics all that much, but there are things I really liked about this one: the simple line drawings, the fittingly complex details, and the fact that she loved Willow from Buffy.
A bittersweet, fluffy tale of one young woman's tentative exploration of her sexuality through her teen and college years. Or “uni” years, cuz she's British. I loved the voice and art of this: it was sweet and charming. No one was super mean. The protagonist was nervous/anxious, but this was an altogether upbeat, optimistic story of eventual self-acceptance and love. In some ways, it reminded me of Raina Telgemeier's portrayal of the coming of age of young women - the insecurities, the nerdiness. Really nice.
Ohhh this one was very dear.
???The Times I Knew I Was Gay??? by Eleanor Crewes tells??? well, kind of what it says on the tin. It gives us Ellie???s journey (so far) as she comes out, comes of age, becomes. It???s about how a struggle with one thing in yourself can be the insidious seed for more struggles with yourself. How difficult a place to be your own headspace is if you???re so vehemently denying something you don???t even know what you???re denying.
I found this really heartwarming. Heart wrenching as well at parts. There???s a huge focus on process, and needing to process. At some point - after having come out to her friends once already - she???s turning the thought over again in her mind, time and time again, and she says, ???It wasn???t such an epiphany as last time ... it was more like small moments of clarity. Like I had to test the words, allow them to settle inside me before speaking them aloud to anyone.??? As someone who needs about a week to process any minor decision this is an extremely recognisable feeling. I especially also really like the focus on transitional places in this graphic memoir about change - this particular moments on the London Underground.
I really liked how we get both the narrator Ellie and the narrated Ellie???s thoughts - we see how they differ, and how she reflects on herself at the time. It???s one of the thing that makes autographies such as this very appealing to me, the aspect of direct revisiting through the author???s own art. Ellie switches to her present-day self at significant moments, rethinking her own thoughts out loud (or, on page), taking us with her in her thought processes as they develop and have developed.
Overall I think this is an accomplished, well narrated and wonderfully drawn, but most of all a hopeful book.
I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a sucker for the graphic novel memoir about figuring out your identity, especially when it's about a regular person. It's just so interesting! I like her art style and her humor.