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livlamentloathe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Nonfiction books, even graphic novels, don’t always catch me fully but I sat and read this beginning to end with very few breaks of distraction. I identified with Sarah’s feelings of being left out and feeling crazy and inhuman compared with your peers. I cannot fully comprehend the struggle of being non-white with white parents in a racist small town, but I felt for them as they grew into a teenage. I envy the way they let their interests be big and obvious!
Ironically, I was mocked for liking anime in middle school too. I hid this interest so deeply that I didn’t talk about it publicly again until I graduated college and the world (including my own private world) became more accepting. I’m even jealous of today’s teens growing up in an age where anime and manga are massively popular. When I was bullied for my interests, I shut them down and hid them away. Sarah’s ability to cosplay boldly was brave as heck.
This was a great read from a perspective I’m not familiar with. I encourage anyone who’s ever felt different or “Othered” by society to read this!
Ironically, I was mocked for liking anime in middle school too. I hid this interest so deeply that I didn’t talk about it publicly again until I graduated college and the world (including my own private world) became more accepting. I’m even jealous of today’s teens growing up in an age where anime and manga are massively popular. When I was bullied for my interests, I shut them down and hid them away. Sarah’s ability to cosplay boldly was brave as heck.
This was a great read from a perspective I’m not familiar with. I encourage anyone who’s ever felt different or “Othered” by society to read this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Bullying, Dysphoria, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Transphobia, Cancer, Abandonment, Ableism, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Body horror, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment
lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Ableism, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Racism
Moderate: Dysphoria, Mental illness, and Cancer
Minor: Transphobia
asparagusisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley, the FierceReads team, and the author for sending me an e-arc of this book to read and review.
Monstrous is a graphic novel/memoir detailing Sarah's childhood as she overcame racism and bullying, while learning more about her anxiety, her passion for art and anime, and being adopted into a family of a difference race than hers.
I highly recommend grabbing tissues because the bullying Sarah endured and pain she felt was real, raw, and had me tearing up. Given the honesty and context of the story, I can see many readers reading this and appreciating it for what it's doing discussing both being a trans-racial adoptee but what it's like to constantly feel and be treated as different, as other. Even though some aspects of the story are harsh and hard to swallow, there were moments to breath and felt gentler, as if speaking to younger Sarah or a younger reader. I enjoyed this story and I am excited to see what this author creates in the future.
More thoughts to come
Monstrous is a graphic novel/memoir detailing Sarah's childhood as she overcame racism and bullying, while learning more about her anxiety, her passion for art and anime, and being adopted into a family of a difference race than hers.
I highly recommend grabbing tissues because the bullying Sarah endured and pain she felt was real, raw, and had me tearing up. Given the honesty and context of the story, I can see many readers reading this and appreciating it for what it's doing discussing both being a trans-racial adoptee but what it's like to constantly feel and be treated as different, as other. Even though some aspects of the story are harsh and hard to swallow, there were moments to breath and felt gentler, as if speaking to younger Sarah or a younger reader. I enjoyed this story and I am excited to see what this author creates in the future.
More thoughts to come
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Bullying, Xenophobia, Cancer, Gaslighting, Racism, and Homophobia
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