Özge Samancı

Özge Samancı was born in 1975 in Izmir, Turkey. Her memoir begins with her six-year-old self using binoculars to see her sister waving from school across the street. "School," Özge says, "was the place where you could wave to your mother and your sister, who were watching you with binoculars. I wanted to be on the other side of the binoculars." Her whole childhood was spent thus, trying to keep up with her smart and accomplished sister, who always seemed one step ahead, and to be in the show more limelight of her parent's approval. Always slightly off-kilter from the expectations of her family, teachers, and Ataturk (whose hagiographic presence in Turkey during the '80s was ubiquitous), Özge struggled to find her own path and dare to disappoint these expectations.

The tone of the book, as well as the drawings, are funny and sweetly expressive. I was reminded of [Ramona the Brave], but life in Turkey was not as saccharine as American suburbia. I learned a bit about Turkey's ban on imports, educational practices, and political tensions, but without any explicit lessons. [Dare to Disappoint] was a fun book to read, and I enjoyed following Özge into college. She is currently an artist and assistant professor at Northwestern University in Chicago. show less

Really, 4.5 stars. I really loved this. I loved reading about a childhood in Turkey (a place I'm kind of shamefully ignorant about). I loved reading about the author's struggle to please her parents and her self, the struggle to balance happiness and being true to oneself with real concerns about livelihood and financial safety.

I really wish there was more! I want to know what happened next, and next, and then next.

I really liked her artistic style, too. Big fan of her color palette. I show more particularly liked the use of some of the mixed media, like stamps - it created a kind of zine-like, intimate, kid-in-their-bedroom feel which I loved. show less

Probably one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever seen--not that it's over-the-top like the Book of Kells or something, but because the artwork isn't bound by panels, is primarily black and white except for occasional splashes of color, and, mostly, because of Samanci's collage-like pages, which incorporate (images of) real objects and papers. It's also, of course, a fascinating account of life in Turkey and its education system. And Samanci's struggle to please her parents and show more find a dream to pursue are so relatable to me. I'm so happy that she found a career that (I hope) she enjoys, and a little bit jealous that she did find it in the end.

I'll be keeping and treasuring this one. show less

As a child, Ozge Samanci was drawn to the sea. Her early hero being Jacques Cousteau. Her father wanted her to be an engineer and pushed her hard. Set on the Aegean coast, in Turkey this wonderful graphic memoir, details Ozge early life struggling against the system to become who she wanted to be, not what society demanded. Funny, warm and insightful. Ozge now teaches at Northwestern in Chicago.