Blankets

Author: Craig Thompson
Year Published:2003
Publisher:Top Shelf Productions
Cost: $29.23
Other Bibliographic Information:
ISBN:1-89183-043-0
ISBN13:978-1-89183-043-3
Word Count:16,215
Reading Level:3.8
Interest Level:9+

Plot Summary:

This graphic novel by Craig Thompson chronicles the episodes between author's adolescence and young adulthood. Thompson introduces us to the harsh Wisconsin winter that sets the stage for his childhood, growing up alongside his younger brother Phil. Thompson's childhood is rife with struggle and turmoil that takes shape in the form of a sexually abusive babysitter, a strained relationship with both of his parents, and a constant questioning of his own spirituality. At Bible Camp, Thompson meets Raina, another teen outcast. They find companionship in each other and develop a relationship. Thompson discovers his own sexuality and falls in love with Raina. The autobiography ends with Thompson's decision to follow his own path in life.

Issues for Being Challenged: Explicit graphic illustration of sex.

Evaluation
This was one of the first graphic novel I’ve ever read, and I enjoyed it, for the most part. Some parts were more “graphic” than I’d expected, but overall, the book was still good. I enjoyed the story and the graphics were great. The religious storyline was pretty interesting as well as it pertains to everyone deep need of connecting to something greater than themselves.


Reader's Annotation:
Have you ever thought about your first love? Or questioned your faith? See it all intertwine in this well- written and illustrated graphic novel.

Author Website: http://lambiek.net/artists/t/thompson_c.htm

Reviews Excerpts:

ALA Booklist

Thompson's graphic novel debut, Goodbye Chunky Rice (1999), was a delicate parable of loss that garnered deserved acclaim. The eagerly awaited, autobiographical follow-up to it is more ambitious, more accomplished, and more accessible. Thompson recalls growing up in a religious family in rural Wisconsin, particularly his affectionate tussles with his younger brother, with whom he shared a bed and the titular blankets. A few years later, he experiences the painful intensity of first love with Raina, a girl from Michigan he meets at a regional church camp. When the pair are separated, his loss of faith in his love for Raina presages his later loss of religious faith. The blanket motif reappears throughout the work, forthrightly as the handmade quilt Raina gives him, and more subtly as the blank sheets of paper he confronts as a budding artist. Eschewing the usual alt-comics cynicism, Thompson's evocation of high-school romance manages to be both romanticized and clear-eyed. His visual mastery shows in fluid line work, assured compositions, and powerful use of solid black areas and negative space. Weighing in at nearly 600 pages, this is a genuine graphic novel, with a universal appeal that suits it for any collection.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Thompson's Good-bye, Chunkie Rice (Top Shelf, 1999) offered readers well-realized but fantastic characters in a tale that nicely combined sentiment with adventure. This second, much longer work shares the acuity for character development and dynamic sensitivity that makes the author so compulsively readable. In Blankets, however, realism reigns supreme in both the story arc and in the humanity of its characters. Thompson himself is the protagonist, and this is his tale of growing up, falling in love (and realizing the physical and moral complications that can imply), discovering the texture and limits of his faith, and arriving at a point from which he can look back at those experiences. The snowy Midwest, peopled by overweight parents, hairy youths, and lovingly depicted younger siblings-including a respectfully and realistically treated minor character with Down syndrome-is energetically realized in Thompson's expressive lines and inking. Much of the story occurs when Craig and his brother Phil are young boys and includes images of such boyish pranks as peeing on one another. Older high school students who have reached an age when nostalgia is possible will warm to Thompson's own wistfulness. This is a big graphic novel, in concept and successful execution.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.