My Never Ending List

With over 500 pages, this graphic novel packs a powerful punch. This memoir begins as Katie is a small child and she begins to have negative feelings about food. These feelings are just the beginning as Katie begins to experience some OCD behaviors that will carry over into her adult life.

 

While her peers were anxious to grow up, Katie didn’t want to. She wasn’t interested in fashion and boys; Katie’s main concern was to be the perfect student. I loved that she tried to get advice from her parents as she matured when she approached them to talk to them about her concerns. What upset me sometimes was the response her parents would give her, they seemed too extreme, either too carefree or too strict in their attitude towards her issues. Times change and it was now in Katie’s life that she began to consume large amounts of food and her views started to change. She started to be concerned about her body image and she became curious about boys, but she felt herself unworthy of their attention. As the bullying continues, Katie begins to use food as her coping mechanism. Her self-esteem suffers and her thoughts scared me. Just when I think that Katie is going to find healing, the novel takes off and Katie is out of control. She becomes a victim of sexual abuse which just adds more fire to the issues Katie is trying to control. Food becomes a bigger issue and I loved the illustrations that portrayed this portion of her life. I appreciated Katie’s honesty in this novel as I could feel the emotions she was experiencing in the writing and in the illustrations. I really enjoyed this graphic novel although the subject matter was a difficult one.

 

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.