Damian Alexander

Leans more on the side of "essay with pictures" than "graphic novel." Simple enough to be an easy read for a grade schooler, even though it's about a seventh grader. The art style is a bit of an acquired taste. The time skips make it stand out; otherwise it probably would have dragged quite a bit.

DNF. Okay so I'm not the demographic for this book since it's meant for like middle schoolers but it was just so boring. I only made it about 60 pages in, which was quite the feat.

When Damian wants to fit into his new school, will he keep a big secret to himself so that he won't be judged as the weird new kid or will he accept the fact that it is okay to have these silly little crushes on boys and not just girls.

The story flows well and deals with important issues in a relatable way so this would lend itself to bibliotherapy for youngsters navigating gender expectations and sexuality. The artwork is a big letdown for me; the author wantd it to be reminiscent of the cartoons he grew up watching but frankly said cartoons had pretty shitty production values and I don't think recreating them was a good call.