Monday, March 7, 2011

Graphic Novel Monday: REVIEW: A Mess of Everything, by Miss Lasko-Gross

A Mess of Everything, by Miss Lasko-Gross. Published 2009 by Fantagraphics.

A Mess of Everything is Miss Lasko-Gross's follow-up to her 2007 book Escape from Special, a memoir of her middle-school years. Her next book covers early high school as she navigates rebellion, her friends' problems and her own attempts to do the right thing and be herself even when it means being unpopular.

But Melissa is no goody-goody, even if she's a smart, privileged teen from an affluent Massachusetts suburb with liberal politics. She makes mistakes, does the wrong thing as often as the right one, and has to swallow her pride more than once. She struggles with identity, friendship and her relationship with her parents. Particularly troubling is her friend Terry, who seems to have an eating disorder that her own mother is ignoring. In this case, growing up might mean learning to let go and letting her friend make her own mistakes- in other words, admitting that, even though as a child herself, Melissa may not be in a position to help her troubled friend, that doesn't mean the story has to end badly.

I love her storytelling but I also love her edgy and expressive artwork. But it's the story and the characterizations that make this book sing for me. I enjoyed watching her navigate her way through her teen years, with all its melodrama and craziness, and it was rewarding to see how she finds her way and her people in the end. A Mess of Everything is a great read for anyone who's going through or has gone through the mess of teenagerhood and came out okay in the end.

RATING: Buy
Mess of Everything
by Miss Lasko Gross
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FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

7 comments:

Zibilee said...

Graphic Novel Monday is back! I love this! I do think this book sounds particularly interesting in light of the fact that the protagonist is dealing with not only her issues, but her friend's issues too. Great review Marie!

Kathleen said...

I guess even I can relate to making a mess of everything as a teenager even though it has been quite some time since I was that age. This book sounds wonderful and I love the illustrations, based on that lovely cover art.

bermudaonion said...

Both this and Escape from Special sound great!

Anonymous said...

I've been trying to avoid the large volume of memoir-graphic novels but I think I shall have a look at this one, as well as the earlier.

thanks for the review.

~L

Athira said...

I haven't heard of either this or Escape from Social. Both sound so good! I need to add them to my list!

ImageNations said...

Now that you have made me buy a Persephone book, perhaps the next would be a Graphic Novel.I love the way you seem to enjoy them. I would give it a try.

Anonymous said...

The book sounds interesting due to your great review.