Reviews

Awkward and Definition: The High School Comic Chronicles of Ariel Schrag by Ariel Schrag

harrietj's review against another edition

3.75

Perfect example of what it is, confessional, real. But not for me, overall. Hard to rate.

vlphildreth's review against another edition

I find these books particularly interesting for a few reasons. I also kept a diary throughout middle- and high-school, though I never drew comics, so I can relate to Ariel's need to maintain records. Her obsessions with people and music and everything are so painfully reminiscent of the teenage years of myself and my friends. What I find interesting in a kind of outside-in way is all of the casual alcohol and drug use. I didn't do any of that in high school, so it's almost like reading the diary of one of the popular kids. It's fun getting to see her style change, even when she draws certain characters or has certain experiences.

kcadd44's review against another edition

4.0

NOT what I normally read. But I was happy to take this detour :)

PS I don't miss high school, not one little bit.

cassiahf's review

medium-paced

2.5

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

4.0

Ariel Schrag may have had more booze, weed, and sexual encounters by age 16 than I did by the end of college, but not much actually *happens* in these books. This picturesque picaresque is literally "High School Girl's Illustrated Diary, good parts version", and there's precious little by way of through line. But Schrag tells even the most debauched tale with such charming unselfconsciousness (the benefit of being a high schooler writing about high school, rather than an adult looking back on it), and her stories are deeply emotionally relatable, even if your experience of adolescence in no way resembled hers. The lifelong friendships that fizzled in a month. The celebrity obsessions that seemed like the most important things in the entire world. The hormonal powder keg of a rapidly changing body that might betray you at any second. If you went to high school in America, especially in the mid '90s, you'll recognize yourself in Schrag's work--in ways that are always honest, even if not always pleasant.

The real gift of this two-book collection is watching the growth of Schrag's artistic talent. Going from the end of "Awkward" to the beginning of "Definition" is like jumping to a completely different artist, and subtle improvements continue to appear throughout "Definition". Peeking ahead a bit, I see the trend continues in "Potential" and "Likewise". It makes these books not only a story of a girl surviving high school but a metastory about the evolution of an artist.

marineko's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

3.5

sydmae's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed this autobiographical novel by Ariel Schrag! She is engaging and fast-paced, quickly jumping from one moment in her life to the next.

ursulamonarch's review against another edition

3.0

This is such an impressive and honest work. As someone with distant memories of high school, it feels true to life, and as a parent with small kids, it makes me shudder. It's great to have high school documented so well. But it's also difficult to read - literally- due to the squashed text and graphics, and there's a lot of obsessions that seem heartfelt but not interesting. The author seems to evolve a lot just during this collection, so I look forward to the next.

emilyjbridges's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this in theory and medium-liked it in practice, but a lot of it was about going to concerts in 1995, and that is not a topic that particularly interests me.

teelight's review

4.0

It's hard to knock the art work for these to books since Ariel Schrag made them when she was in high school. Awkward is... pretty awkward. But Definition makes the book well worth the money.