MariNaomi

As I said in another recent review of a totally different book, I think the press coverage has done a decent job of summarizing what this is and why it's so cool. So I'll try to be more specific about a couple of other things. First, this would absolutely be within the realm of "comics" even if it never had anything that looked like a cartoon character or a word balloon, but I really love how the more familiarly comicky elements are sprinkled throughout; the format choices never feel show more arbitrary, the book establishes each of the kinds of space/text relationships and representational/non-representational images early on that it'll be using, and then whenever one of those returns it's because that's the clearest way to get across the idea at that moment. It's simultaneously efficient (in the pared-down drawing style, and the way visual shorthand like the red/green floral stuff allows for instant identification of characters whose outward appearance changes a lot over time) and generous (if two pages of semi-abstract imagery will get across a feeling more directly than a block of text on half a page, then two pages we shall have). Second, the fact that the author finds out significant new information partway through the writing process is a startling effect—and it makes for an obvious hook to get anyone interested in the book—but in another way I feel like it's secondary to everything else; that is, if they had never found that out and the rest of the book was about just coming to terms with that lack of closure, or if they had reconnected with Jodie and it turned out that there really wasn't any good explanation at all, that would just be how life happened to go and the book would still be special. Given what did happen though, I think the presentation of that process, and of the mixed feelings about it, is really strong and interesting. I'm about the same age as Mari, and I'm curious how this reads to someone who's much younger, because at the end I was struck by how well it had captured the feeling of realizing how much distance you've covered, and feeling like a wiser or at least different person, while at the same time feeling like you still have one foot in all those old unbearable and essential moments. show less

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for violence against women, including stalking and rape.)

What began as a casual acquaintance eventually blossomed into a best friendship - one that ended seemingly without warning. Mari and Jodie were friends from ages 14 to 28, at which point Jodie abruptly disappeared from Mari's life, leaving Mari to wonder what she did wrong. It would be more than a decade before she learned the truth behind Jodie's show more exodus, first from mutual contacts and, finally, from her ex-best friend herself.

I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME is a sort of excavation - of Mari's friendship with Jodie; the fragile and fleeting nature of memories; coming of age as a biracial, bisexual feminist in the '90s; and building (and losing) relationships and trust - through prose, letters, journal entries, and mixed media collages. It's got a distinct Gen X vibe to it that I love.

The mystery of Jodie's departure is, at least to this outsider, so mundane as to be anticlimactic (Of course that was it. OF COURSE.), but the journey leading there is interesting, in a voyeuristic kind of way.

That said, I worry that I missed out on some of the nuances of the story. The ARC I received from the publisher was incredibly pixelated; the (charmingly) typewritten index cards proved difficult to read, and anything handwritten - such as Jodie's notes - were plain impossible. The difficult reading experience likely dampened my overall enthusiasm for the book. So, grain of salt. show less

I wish I could explain why I loved this memoir, but anything I say won't do it justice. So, simply, yes

MariNaomi captures the voice of a woman, confused by years of emotional, if not practically useful, memories regarding her acquaintance turned best friend turned nemesis turned ghost... As well as how those memories are another nemesis.

The format of "archaeologist notebook turned graphic novel" was a beautiful exploration of how experiences are formed, forgotten, and reformed in our minds.

A bunch of unlikable teens deal with typical coming of age stuff while vague supernatural elements sort of intrude around the edges of the story. Each chapter switches perspective and, in an interesting choice, comes with a change of art style by the creator.

I wanted to like this, but the characters and their actions just really irked me. Probably because they were fairly accurate depictions of teens, and I'm a cranky old man who more than anything just wants them to stay off my lawn.