Available:*
Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Teen Fiction Book Paperback | 120791001800562 | GRAPHIC T KIM | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
What would you do if versions of yourself at 6,29 and 70 became a part of your already awkward high school life? Grace Kwon is about to find out the hard way after she breaks a haunted pinata on her 18th birthday and her "other selves" appear. But it just may be the dark secret she's kept hidden about her younger sister, Lily, that stands between Grace and her past, present, and future.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Grace Kwon's friends throw her a surprise 18th birthday party with a picnic in the park. There they meet a strange vendor who refuses to sell them ice cream, but sells them a pig-shaped pi-ata instead. When it finally breaks after falling on Grace's head, she learns that it's empty. Later that night, when she returns to the park, she meets a little girl, a young woman, and an old woman who look familiar. It turns out that all of them are named Grace Kwon, and that they all share the same birthday. Now Grace must deal not only with the philosophical concept of encountering her past and future selves, but also with the day-to-day chaos that they create. Between the child stealing snacks, the senior citizen smoking cigarettes, and the young woman hitting on Grace's drama teacher, the teen naturally becomes confused and exhausted. The black-and-white pictures are simply drawn, but manage to convey all the emotional highs and lows of this story. The title refers to a subplot so small that readers might not recognize the reference until they've finished the book and taken some time to digest it. When they make the connection to the title, that moment of epiphany will come as a welcome surprise. This unique story is a strong addition to most collections.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(High School) In Eisner Award-winner Kim's (Same Difference and Other Stories) latest graphic novel, Grace Kwon is blithely celebrating her eighteenth birthday when a mysterious pi+ata precipitates the arrival of three unexpected visitors: herself at ages six, twenty-nine, and seventy. While trying to keep her inexplicable alter egos a secret, Grace must also deal with a funding-threatened school play, a Valentine's Day dance, and some tangled romantic possibilities -- and resolve each of her selves' principal issues (self-esteem, loneliness, uselessness) in order to return her life to normal. Though occasionally overburdened with message, Good as Lily is strongest when it eschews sentiment for a brisker treatment of secrets, crushes, and general awkwardness, as well as hilarious and telling scenes of bickering between the four Graces. The black-and-white, minimally textured illustrations in this Christmas Carol-esque narrative are notable for the sense of comedic timing embedded in the panel pacing, as when a particularly frustrated swing at the pi+ata is followed by multiple panels of dialogue against a black backdrop (""I'm bliiiiind!!"") before Hamm pulls back for a shot of Grace wearing the pi+ata's smiling pig head. Grace herself is a sympathetic character at all ages, with a tendency toward slapstick misadventure that keeps the rest of the cast -- and the audience -- on its toes. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* On her eighteenth birthday, Korean American Grace suddenly finds herself surrounded by three very corporeal essences of herself : as a small child, as a 30-year-old woman, and as a cranky old fart. Each of these incarnations is at an emotional precipice, which teenage Grace helps resolve, allowing the other self to quietly disappear. Kim and Hamm take on a huge task here, mingling snatches of teenage Grace's everyday life with parents and peers with the troubles caused by her other selves. But they pull it off nicely. Kim's pacing and plotting are excellent, and Hamm's black, white, and gray artwork is lively, witty, and full of appropriate comedy and melodrama. The interplay between the selves is complex but easy to follow: very young Grace and very old Grace don't have the same taste in television programs; 30-year-old Grace is a more appropriate love interest for drama teacher Mr. Levon than is teenage Grace (who has a crush on him). Both insightful and fun, the tale, part fantasy, part romance, part growing-up story, will hook a wide variety of readers (not only graphic-novel fans) as it tracks the course of a character's evolution at crucial junctures in her life.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2007 Booklist