My favourite read this semester was the first one I read off the reading list and the one I immediately grabbed off the pile when the class book order arrived at my home, and that was Stitches. Sure it had the appeal of being a graphic novel but I was not expecting such a deep and fluid story. I had never read a graphic novel that was to be taken as a true story, but I found stitches a compelling read though I felt slightly removed from the story because of the medium. Graphic novels are usually tales of complete fabrication in the reading I do so it was a little bit of a challenge to me to grasp the story in the concept of being real without exaggeration to a large extent. That did not however take away form a captivating read, with strong art which conveyed immense emotions in the characters portrayed in the book.
I would like to also add that Karma was a runner up, and I didn’t think I would like that book at all. So that one wins the award for runner up a biggest surprise in the reading list. I really enjoyed the exposure to a verse novel that I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. Stitches if I had come across on the shelf I would have naturally gravitated to, Karma I wouldn’t have given a second look and it was nice to get the exposure to something completely different from my normal reading and that I wouldn't have picked up on my own.
Getting back to Stitches there are a number of types of people I would suggest the book to. Fans of independent comics, graphic novel readers in general, memoir readers who might be interested in the alternative format, and readers with low literacy levels looking for more sophisticated story line or content, written or conveyed in a way that is easy to read.
While these are the people I would suggest give the book a read, I’m a little lost at how to pitch the book. Words like dark and disturbing come to mind naturally based on the story and at but the captivating nature of the book and detailed effective conveyance of body language in the story are hard to sum up in a marketing pitch for the book. The best I can come up with is "Stitches is a deeply personal story of a boy’s upbringing that expresses the fears, voids and sense of helplessness that lack of communication can bring within a family unit." While that may suffice for adult readers I doubt that teens would find that as captivating a summary, but since Stitches was written for adults I find myself having an even more challenging time defining the work in terms that would appeal to teens. One thing I do lack is recommendation skills for reading material.
I would like to also add that Karma was a runner up, and I didn’t think I would like that book at all. So that one wins the award for runner up a biggest surprise in the reading list. I really enjoyed the exposure to a verse novel that I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. Stitches if I had come across on the shelf I would have naturally gravitated to, Karma I wouldn’t have given a second look and it was nice to get the exposure to something completely different from my normal reading and that I wouldn't have picked up on my own.
Getting back to Stitches there are a number of types of people I would suggest the book to. Fans of independent comics, graphic novel readers in general, memoir readers who might be interested in the alternative format, and readers with low literacy levels looking for more sophisticated story line or content, written or conveyed in a way that is easy to read.
While these are the people I would suggest give the book a read, I’m a little lost at how to pitch the book. Words like dark and disturbing come to mind naturally based on the story and at but the captivating nature of the book and detailed effective conveyance of body language in the story are hard to sum up in a marketing pitch for the book. The best I can come up with is "Stitches is a deeply personal story of a boy’s upbringing that expresses the fears, voids and sense of helplessness that lack of communication can bring within a family unit." While that may suffice for adult readers I doubt that teens would find that as captivating a summary, but since Stitches was written for adults I find myself having an even more challenging time defining the work in terms that would appeal to teens. One thing I do lack is recommendation skills for reading material.
