Lost Soul, Be at Peace

Gr 8 Up—Picking up a year and a half after the events of her graphic memoir, Honor Girl, Thrash once again chronicles her adolescence, this time injecting her narrative with a dose of the supernatural. Growing up in Atlanta, 16-year-old Maggie feels invisible. She came out as a lesbian at the beginning of the school year, with barely any reaction from classmates, and though she is depressed, her stern father and her oblivious socialite mother are unaware of her anguish. Only her cat makes her smile, but her pet's disappearance sends her deeper into turmoil. Tommy, a ghost only she can see, enters the scene, and the two try to uncover his connection to Maggie and her family. Meanwhile, she bonds with her father as she witnesses the harsh realities he confronts in his work as a judge. The author/illustrator looks back on her teen years with a pitch-perfect blend of caustic humor, melancholy, and tenderness, depicting her younger self's frustration with her wealthy, ignorant cohorts and her growing understanding of her own privilege. Her linework is slightly unpolished, but her manga-esque illustrations brim with emotion; her use of color is particularly inspired.