Freshman Year

This debut graphic novel memoir begins with Mai’s high school graduation. What follows is an immersive, stream-of-consciousness-style recounting of her experiences during her first year of college at the University of Minnesota, which demonstrates how frenetic and all-consuming freshman year can be. Throughout recollections of juggling coursework, relationships with her family and friends new and old, and the matter of what to do with her English degree post-graduation, Mai includes small observations about the life she perceives as being behind her; returning home for Thanksgiving break, the college student wonders, “Has this house always smelled like this?” Humorous inserts—such as an illuminated manuscript-inspired spread depicting “Ye Olde Shittee Midwesterne Wintre”—and anxiety-ridden monologues result in a balanced human portrait of a young artist wobbling her way through the mundane (dental cleanings) and the monumental (a breakup with her high school boyfriend). Back matter includes an epilogue noting the open-ended resolution and an author’s note describing the story as lightly fictionalized truth (“Whittling down one year into a single narrative is complicated, especially if that period was... well, all over the place.”) Ages 14–up. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Feb.)