Constellations

March 1, 2023
A tale of gender and addiction. Claire Dunroe lives in the crumbling industrial city of Troy, New York. The androgynous White teen often butts up against the question of what gender they are, and Claire's working-class Irish Catholic family is not one to deal with issues of gender-based bullying or violence with sensitivity or support. With good friend Greg, Claire discovers that beer is a great way to dull the pain and starts drinking regularly. One particular bender--inspired by a girl who kisses Claire and then spirals into gay panic, followed by severe bullying at school--leads to Claire's getting picked up by the police and then sent by a judge to a teen rehab facility. This is a brutal story with glimmers of hope shining through, complemented by harsh art, tangled lines, and blunt facial expressions. While this story may be cathartic for those who can relate to the subject matter or appreciated by readers seeking narratives dealing with trauma, overstuffed text boxes often devolve into melodramatic exposition or lengthy dialogue scenes in which Charlie, the main addiction counselor, lectures the audience both on and off the page about addiction and recovery. The author's afterword gives a heartfelt explanation of how this not-quite-memoir dovetails with their life. Successfully delves into issues but never quite coalesces into an engaging story. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from March 13, 2023
In the 1980s, high schooler Claire doesn’t know exactly who they are or where they fit in their Irish Catholic family and the surrounding Troy, N.Y., community (“Having a girlfriend isn’t the part that feels the most wrong. It’s the being a girl part”). The conflict between conforming to their family’s pressure that they “act like a normal girl” and their own discomfort with their gender identity throws them into a spiral that they try to mitigate with increased alcohol consumption. Claire falls further into alcohol dependency when classmates begin bullying them for kissing a girl, and a subsequent spiral results in them being placed in a juvenile recovery program. Loosely lined art by Glasheen (A Radical Shift of Gravity), rendered in soft watercolors, lends a sense of nostalgia to Claire’s tale, varied panel shapes contain a youthful verve, and overflowing text fittingly captures Claire’s feelings of overwhelm. This solo debut—a fictionalized, somewhat autobiographical accounting, as indicated in an author’s note—explores its protagonist’s struggles to be a part of their family and community while learning to accept themself, potently reflecting on themes of addiction, healing, and identity. Ages 14–up. Agent: Anjali Singh, Ayesha Pande Literary.

Starred review from May 1, 2023

Gr 10 Up-Glasheen draws from personal experience to create the story of Claire, a teen struggling with their identity in 1980s New York. Claire is constantly asked whether they are a girl or boy. The frequent questions and hostility from some of the adults and family members in their life leads them to cope with alcohol abuse. Eventually their alcohol abuse becomes so severe that they are sent to inpatient treatment for substance abuse. While in treatment, Claire meets a variety of teens struggling with their own addictions and begins to gain a better understanding of their identity and possible romantic interests. Claire's counselor, Charlie, is a strong positive role model who helps Claire through their journey of recovery. Substance abuse and its consequences are not shied away from, and later pages show what happens to some of the characters in the book. Claire's narration of the story is featured in watercolor illustrations enhanced with surreal notebook drawings that both mirror their journaling and provide additional insight into their thoughts. Emotions are drawn with exaggerated expressions so that readers can see the depth of Claire's feelings. VERDICT A tale of gender identity and recovery that will resonate with readers and leave them thinking long after the final page. A first purchase for all young adult library collections.-Ashley Leffel

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Starred review from April 15, 2023
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* In this harrowing yet hopeful debut, Claire cannot catch a break when it comes to their identity--they consistently receive harassment and are asked the tasteless query ""You 'sposed to be a boy or a girl?"" in their washed-out hometown of Troy, New York. Pile on the departure of a best friend, adults who never got over their high-school-bully phase, and a family history of alcoholism, and you get Claire's bender, resulting in court-ordered addiction rehabilitation. The work is awash with subdued watercolor shading and playful, manga-like personification of big pubescent emotions. The doodled notes taken during group sessions on college-ruled pages blend and rip with the reality of the panels. These thoughtful artistic choices pair well with an excellent, illustriously lyrical approach to gender-expansive identity, peppered with introspection on how it feels to be "neither" or "both," bound to provide a little euphoria to anyone who feels similarly outside of those "two boxes." Glasheen's narrative, heavily inspired by their own journey with gender and alcoholism, directly addresses addiction and how it damages the patients and their relationships, including with each other. Guided by the "constellation" of values gained through sobriety and the challenges of being a small-town teenager in the 1980s, Claire's story is a multifaceted must-have for young adult readers looking to better grasp the intersection of addiction and identity.

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