supernumeraryemily's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
This is a reflective book about a young person learning about abortion, her family, her body, and herself. I can’t wait to read more from this young author! The topics she writes about—questioning the way that culture shapes our beliefs, imagining the childhood sadness of her parent, exploring awkwardness about puberty and bodies changing—are important, and I hope she keeps writing. She includes lots of fascinating details that beautifully convey the strangeness of being a child, and I would have loved more exploration of the sometimes unexpected or isolating feelings she felt and the nuances of her experience of growing up as a girl.
I enjoyed the book, and wish it hadn’t wrapped up so nicely at the end! I understand the policial importance of the narrative shift toward collective action (as a comms professional myself) and know that this is a useful tool for Shout Your Abortion. However, I feel that Murphy’s stories would be better told, and more impactful for the reader, without a typical neat and happy ending. Murphy demonstrates throughout the book that life is all about growing and learning and changing, and I wish its ending had also communicated this lesson.
Small note: I found the all-caps lettering difficult to read in large chunks of text.
I enjoyed the book, and wish it hadn’t wrapped up so nicely at the end! I understand the policial importance of the narrative shift toward collective action (as a comms professional myself) and know that this is a useful tool for Shout Your Abortion. However, I feel that Murphy’s stories would be better told, and more impactful for the reader, without a typical neat and happy ending. Murphy demonstrates throughout the book that life is all about growing and learning and changing, and I wish its ending had also communicated this lesson.
Small note: I found the all-caps lettering difficult to read in large chunks of text.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
serena704's review
inspiring
fast-paced
3.0
I enjoyed this. At times it felt a bit disjointed but I loved the overall message of not judging people for having abortions.
m_loves_books's review
5.0
I liked the way Beezus expressed (chaptured) her emotions. It seems very realistic. Also you see her growth throughout the book
huichola's review
informative
fast-paced
2.75
I had really high hopes for this graphic novel but it ultimately didn't deliver. The chapters and the story did not feel cohesive and I found the storytelling very lacking. I expected there to be more of an illustrated narrative, but the meat of the storytelling was done in paragraph form that was supposed to complement the graphic aspects. I feel like this story could've gone so much deeper, but it glossed over the points which I think could've made this a strong piece -- and at the same time it went too deep into pieces I felt should've been more of a minimal focus.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion