I thoroughly enjoyed reading Thompson’s Blankets. It is a beautifully drawn coming of age story with elements of religion, faith, sexuality, and family. It is a good addition to a YA collection for these reasons as well as the surging popularity of graphic novels.
I think Blankets is a good addition to a YA collection, because there is just so much going on in the book. If any book "mined emotional depths and examined the experience of becoming", it is this book. Thompson's drawings quickly draw the reader in to Craig's experience of childhood, sharing a bed with his brother, bullying by kids at school, his father's temper, being molested by a babysitter and not being able to protect his brother from the same fate. There is very little to be nostalgic about. We see broken connections between Craig and his parents, and between Craig and his brother though the guild he feels about not having protected him. Thompson sums up this lack depicting Craig and Phil's competition to walk on the crust of the snow, " . . . but I knew I wasn't competing against him, but against myself--against my own clumsy humanity that had lost synchronization with the earth"(p. 134).
Craig tries two different ways to fill the void within him left by the lack of safety and connection in his childhood: religion and Raina. What is lovely about the depiction of Craig's relationship with Raina is that we get to see his idealized vision of her as well as Raina as a person in her own right, in the context of her own complicated family life. In the end though, neither Raina nor the religion he had learned as a child and studied as a young man could fill the void. He moves to the city, though he does maintain contact with his family, and seems to have a better relationship with his brother. His experiences in the city, some of which fill a need (the public library) and some of which only seem to increase his loneliness and hunger for the truth. He returns in the end to what he has loved all along, which was drawing, "how satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement - - no matter how temporary"(pp. 581-582).
This is a good addition to a YA collection because of Thompson's unique voice and style. It may not appeal to all teens, but a good number will find a friend in the tortured-artist protagonist, and his quest for answers and for love.
On a side note, I was also drawn in by the snow imagery, which seemed familiar and to make sense to me. I wonder if this book would appeal as much to those who no snowy experiences to draw on.
I think Blankets is a good addition to a YA collection, because there is just so much going on in the book. If any book "mined emotional depths and examined the experience of becoming", it is this book. Thompson's drawings quickly draw the reader in to Craig's experience of childhood, sharing a bed with his brother, bullying by kids at school, his father's temper, being molested by a babysitter and not being able to protect his brother from the same fate. There is very little to be nostalgic about. We see broken connections between Craig and his parents, and between Craig and his brother though the guild he feels about not having protected him. Thompson sums up this lack depicting Craig and Phil's competition to walk on the crust of the snow, " . . . but I knew I wasn't competing against him, but against myself--against my own clumsy humanity that had lost synchronization with the earth"(p. 134).
Craig tries two different ways to fill the void within him left by the lack of safety and connection in his childhood: religion and Raina. What is lovely about the depiction of Craig's relationship with Raina is that we get to see his idealized vision of her as well as Raina as a person in her own right, in the context of her own complicated family life. In the end though, neither Raina nor the religion he had learned as a child and studied as a young man could fill the void. He moves to the city, though he does maintain contact with his family, and seems to have a better relationship with his brother. His experiences in the city, some of which fill a need (the public library) and some of which only seem to increase his loneliness and hunger for the truth. He returns in the end to what he has loved all along, which was drawing, "how satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement - - no matter how temporary"(pp. 581-582).
This is a good addition to a YA collection because of Thompson's unique voice and style. It may not appeal to all teens, but a good number will find a friend in the tortured-artist protagonist, and his quest for answers and for love.
On a side note, I was also drawn in by the snow imagery, which seemed familiar and to make sense to me. I wonder if this book would appeal as much to those who no snowy experiences to draw on.
Possible problems this book might encounter:
There are those who feel that some of the drawings are pornographic. This is a case where the novel should be properly shelved in a teen or YA area if one is available, and it should be clearly labelled as such. I would go so far as to suggest signs in the graphic novels section stating “not all comics are for kids” to prevent the unwary from exposing their children to something they were not ready for. Unfortunately, I think some parents will still have a problem with the book’s depiction of sexuality and of religion. References
Thompson, C. (2015). Blankets. Drawn & Quarterly: Montreal.
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