Literally Graphic reviewed Are you listening? by Tillie Walden
Yes
3 stars
Cataloged in the young adult/teen section, I would describe the genre as contemporary dreamscape low key horror if that makes any sense.
Content notes for teen runaway, being hunted, and cat in danger.
Keywords that came to mind reading this comic were Texas, vehicle, sunset colour scheme, escape, highways, pit stops, breakdowns, found family, loss, and menace.
Not dissimilar to other Walden books I've read the art sucks you right in and the vibes carry you through, but by the end you are left scratching your head a little bit about what exactly happened. But in an ok way.
Unlike the two other fiction graphic novels I've read by Walden, Are You Listening had the strongest sense of place. Both literally, but also thematically. I've never been to Texas, but it did feel heavily tied to Walden's experience growing up there.
That said, it still felt like Walden pushed at …
Cataloged in the young adult/teen section, I would describe the genre as contemporary dreamscape low key horror if that makes any sense.
Content notes for teen runaway, being hunted, and cat in danger.
Keywords that came to mind reading this comic were Texas, vehicle, sunset colour scheme, escape, highways, pit stops, breakdowns, found family, loss, and menace.
Not dissimilar to other Walden books I've read the art sucks you right in and the vibes carry you through, but by the end you are left scratching your head a little bit about what exactly happened. But in an ok way.
Unlike the two other fiction graphic novels I've read by Walden, Are You Listening had the strongest sense of place. Both literally, but also thematically. I've never been to Texas, but it did feel heavily tied to Walden's experience growing up there.
That said, it still felt like Walden pushed at the walls of what we expect to happen IRL. Very dreamlike, particularly in the horror elements, but also in the way it sometimes felt like something was skipped just a little bit. Particularly in the way we transition from scene to scene. Simlar to some of my dreams, where I suddenly I find myself in different places and while dream logic says this makes sense - something in the back of my mind is like but how did I get here?
Of course this also didn't feel completely dissimilar to my first read through of the low low woods. Another great queer horror read.
Representation similarly felt rather unnamed and ambiguous on pretty much all counts of sexuality, gender, and ability/disability. Race perhaps felt like the least touched on aspect of life, and class I suppose plays a fairly key role in that Bea and Lou clearly have to get creative and try to hold together because of not having all that much.
Overall, thinking about reviewing this graphic novel, I would say I enjoyed it but I could also sympathies a lot with the very confused reviews over on the goodreads. There is a lot to recommend this particular graphic novel and definitly pick it up if you think it sounds or looks interesting, but I will probably join the seeming consensus and rate this a good three out of five stars.
