Carol Tyler

I really need to start reading the back covers of graphic novels I scoop up at the library. If I did I would have known that instead of reflecting on Beatlemania in a general way, the author was literally adapting her 7th and 8th grade diary pages. Sure, the Beatles are front and center in her mind, but we are also subjected to every other boring ass thought that goes through a 13-year-old's head. Giant blocks of text and a slow, meandering progression toward the Beatles concert that serves show more as a finale make this a chore to read.

I also didn't like the order in which text blocks and full-page cartoons were placed. Frequently, the image came first, but made no sense until the following text block was read. Other times, the image came a couple pages after being mentioned in the text blocks. And basically, looking at the images just made me wish Tyler had delivered a full-on graphic novel instead of this tedious hybrid.

What did I like? Well, it was sort of fun reading through the Top 40 lists of pop singles that are included several times. I made a game of trying to see how many songs I could remember. And the red-inked recounting of a Beatles concert actually had some energy and sent the book out on a high note, even if it made for an abrupt ending that left all other plot lines dangling.

This is a hugely disappointing follow-up to Tyler's engaging [b:You'll Never Know: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir|25620790|You'll Never Know The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father A Daughter's Memoir|Carol Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450616391s/25620790.jpg|45433187]. Please read that before you attempt this. show less

The second in a planned three-volume series, this is a title that I've found myself recommending until I'm blue in the face but haven't had many people take me up on it. It's probably my pitch for the book, because I could never blame Tyler's fabulous retelling of how she dug reminiscences of World War II from a very reluctant and prickly father. Presented in scrapbook form, the story isn't limited to her father alone and includes tales of her family as she grew up, her mother's devastation show more after losing her first child, and her own struggles with her teenage daughter and estranged husband. Maybe it's won over the critics, but I would like to see this be embraced more by the reading public who shouldn't pass it by. show less

Carol Tyler recounts her extended period of grief and depression following the deaths of several people close to her.

Unfortunately, the storytelling here is scattered and near incoherent at times, jumbled with random thoughts, digressions, hallucinations and dreams. She lets us in her head, sure, but it's not a place I want to be. I've been following Tyler's work since the 1980s, but after her disappointing book on Beatlemania and now this, it may be time to stop.

She does note in the show more introduction that this is the first of a two-part work, so maybe it will all come together in the second half . . . ?

Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com. show less

I enjoyed this as much as the first, maybe even more. I really like Tyler's illustrations, they telegraph her emotions in a way that matters more to me than the technical aspects of the craft. I like the way she weaves the current story into her dad's backstory, and the way she is able to make the exigencies of life both universal and personal. I'm looking forward to the next installment.