February 1, 2024
Grades 10-12 Joshua answers her title question, ""How do I draw these memories?,"" with an intriguing hybrid collage layered with prose, interviews, photographs, vibrant multimedia illustrations, and graphic panels. Her ingenious presentation is not unlike memories--recalled in snippets, requiring multiple viewpoints for verification, puzzle pieces needing to be fit back together. Born in Brooklyn, Joshua was the baby to older brothers Jordan and Jeremy. The family moved to Savannah where her earliest memories begin--waiting for watermelon seeds to grow, dancing to Aaliyah with a friend, choosing candy at Chu's gas station. Moments of easy joy don't last, however: Her father dies. The family relocates to New Jersey to live with Joshua's maternal grandparents. Her mother's bipolar disorder reemerges, requiring hospitalizations. Joshua's coming-of-age is defined by uprooting and loss, but she manages to hold on to her artistic dreams, eventually returning to New York to attend Pratt Institute. Despite difficulties and tragedies, Joshua creates a vulnerable, revealing homage to her extended family: "The love I was raised with is the love I carry with me today."
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March 1, 2024
An illustrator unpacks memories of her upbringing through short stories, photographs, and drawings. Opening with her earliest memories from Savannah, Georgia, Joshua leads readers through her life growing up with a mother who had bipolar disorder. Following a nonlinear track, the author presents a story about family, faith, and self-discovery, using excerpts from conversations with her family members, including her mother, brothers, and grandparents, alongside the memories she's held on to. Through sharing elements of her life--such as her few memories of her father, who passed away early in her life, and her family's migration between Georgia and Willingboro, New Jersey--Joshua's goal seems to be to piece together not just memories but an understanding of how her family influenced the person and artist she would become. Colorful drawings interspersed with the text illuminate exchanges between Joshua and her brothers, giving breadth to the work's presentation. The author includes some rough and emotionally difficult scenes among the brief stories, which vary in length from a few paragraphs to several pages. The individual entries sometimes end abruptly with no resolution before jumping to the next one. Since the narrative isn't presented in chronological order, it can be difficult to stay connected to the book, although the bursts of artwork and family photos help to reengage readers. A deep and sometimes confusing dive into memories through diverse media. (production notes) (Graphic memoir. 15-18)
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May 1, 2024
Gr 8 Up-Joshua's graphic memoir traces her journey from childhood to adulthood in the wake of her mother's mental illness. Her fond childhood recollections of being surrounded by a loving Black family sit alongside her growing understanding of her mother's bipolar disorder and its destabilizing effects. Despite having to move back and forth between Savannah, GA, and Willingboro, NJ, she and her two older brothers thrive under the care of their devoted maternal and paternal grandparents. Her talent for art emerged early and was a steadying constant throughout her life. Joshua, now an award-winning illustrator, employs a variety of visual tools to bring the memoir to life. Brightly colored illustrations unconstrained by panels, black and white cartoons, and most charmingly, loads of family pictures and ephemera all work well to evoke emotions around the events she discusses. The memories shared by her mother, grandparents, and brothers, often presented in blocks of text, are at turns funny, joyful, and heartbreaking. This visually engaging memoir stands apart from others by focusing on the joy in Joshua's loving Black family without downplaying the challenges they faced. VERDICT With its unique visual style, this moving graphic memoir of a Black artist and her family will appeal to readers looking for a fresh take on the memoir genre.-Carla Riemer
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