Graphic Novel Review – Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Memoir
Length: 516 pages
Publisher: Oni Press
Release Date: October 3, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1941302415
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Xmas Gift
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Like most kids, Katie was a picky eater. She’d sit at the table in silent protest, hide uneaten toast in her bedroom, listen to parental threats that she’d have to eat it for breakfast. But in any life, a set of circumstances can collide, and normal behavior can soon shade into something sinister, something deadly.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed a copy of this on ebook from my library.
Thoughts: This was a very well done memoir from Green about growing up as a kid and spiraling into a an eating disorder.
The book starts when Katie is young and having power struggles over food with her parents; I laughed at some of this because I remember the whole “You will sit there until you eat this” thing my parents used to do as well (ugh, cream of mushroom soup and I have an eternal struggle). Then she starts to struggle more and more with her appearance as the people around constantly comment (both good and bad) on it. Katie is super smart and works very hard; she wants to be perfect at everything. But with the pressures around her, she can’t seem to figure out how to be perfect at anything. The only complete control she has is around what she eats and if she stops eating anything she’s doing perfect at that in her mind.
This is a tough read because there are vast portions of this book I think all women (and probably some men) can relate to. The constant discussion and judging around women’s looks, a high achiever’s struggles to be perfect for everyone…these are things a lot of people struggle with. I can totally understand a young teen’s desire to try and control something in her life. Katie doesn’t have a bad home life, she does deal with some bullying at school but she has friends. She makes it clear in this book that this is a mental struggle for her and it’s an exhausting one. While the book is a positive one, the story doesn’t hide the fact that this is a life long struggle for her.
The graphic novel is beautifully drawn and the story is easy to follow. The way Katie portrays and brings to life images of her feelings and struggles is increidbly well done. I really enjoy the art style and it’s made even more engaging as you find out making this art is part of what pulled Katie out of her spiral with anorexia and binging. This also addresses some sexual abuse that she faced with one of her therapists as well, it’s not graphic, but definitely there so a heads up on that.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. It’s not a comfortable read and made me feel very sad at points, but it is an honest and hopeful look at Katie’s struggles with anorexia and trying to live with this mental disorder. If you are struggling with this yourself or have an interest in learning more about it this is an incredibly well done graphic novel to do that with. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Green’s future graphic novels.
