Be That Way
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- USD 13.99
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- USD 13.99
Descripción editorial
Seventeen-year-old Christine keeps a journal of an eventful year in her life in mid-90s, while juggling troubled friendships and looking for love.
It’s January 1, 1996, and high school junior Christine wants more than anything to be that cool girl everyone notices, like her gorgeous best friend, Landry. She usually hates New Year's resolutions, but this year she vows to be that shiny kind of girl—and record it all in her diary through prose, illustration, and comics.
When Landry drops her, Christine is surprised to discover just how much she doesn’t miss her and her drama. But a misguided kiss with film-obsessed Paul, her only other close friend, also causes a rift, and she finds herself facing a long, lonely summer.
With nothing to lose, Christine finds a new sense of courage. She gets a job at her neighborhood video store, experiments with her art, and becomes romantically entangled with her next-door neighbor Whit, who’s either the coolest guy ever or a total jerk. In spite of all this, she doesn’t quite feel shiny—until a shocking betrayal shows her the value of the words and drawings she hides in her diary, and she finally understands that she doesn’t need to be cool to be noticed—she only needs to be herself.
Eisner-award winning author and illustrator, Hope Larson, has created a powerful coming-of-age story set in a time before the Internet that explores themes of betrayal, first love, self-expression, and the power of art.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Evoking a teen's private journal complete with comics, drawings, and 1990s ephemera, Larson (All My Friends) chronicles a year in the life of an artsy 11th grader figuring out who she wants to be. On Jan. 3, 1996, Christine resolves to become "shiny" like her "incandescent" bestie Landry, who is attending a different school for the first time. To be more like Landry, Christine believes she must be more outgoing and find a boyfriend, goals she balances alongside getting her first job, saving for a car, and growing more confident in her writing and art. As her friendship with Landry wanes and new relationships take its place—such as those with film-loving new best friend Paul and a budding romance with the boy next door—Christine is forced to consider whether she wants to continue embodying Landry's persona or create an identity that's all her own. Pre-internet cultural references may elude contemporary teens, but specificity of time, place, and character render a vibrant, lived-in narrative. Elaborately designed pencil sketches feature beside cartoon renditions of key players in Christine's life, crafting an empowering story that hits the right balance of big events and daily minutiae. Ages 14–up.
