Blankets

This graphic novel or "illustrated novel" is nothing like the crap that my stalker D reads ... this one is actually good. Beautifully drawn and tenderly told, it is the loosely fictional memoir of Thompson growing up as part of a Christian family in the American Midwest. Alienated in school, he seeks solace at his church, and while attending a Christian camp during winter break he meets Raina, who shares his combination of spirituality and angst. After months of written correspondence, Craig goes to stay with Raina's family for a couple weeks and their teen relationship is brought to a new level. While they do not have sex they get mighty close, which results in a few pages of images of them rolling around together ... but while it isn't really that nasty at all, from a librarian's perspective those images are probably enough to keep it out of YA and have it shelved in Adult fiction. Raina loves Craig but not with quite the same devotion, and the relationship ends. Set during a number of blustery Wisconsin winters, Blankets does a great job of capturing both the soft and fierce nature of snow and ties it closely to human emotions. Craig's eventual loss of faith is not sudden and very believable despite his upbringing, as he gradually uncovers more of the Bible and of himself. I cannot imagine this coming of age story being told any other way than in illustrated format, and Thompson should be given much credit for his creation.