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"Schor's pull-no-punches graphic memoir debut depicts her attempts as a young woman to recover from trauma, with striking illustrations that toggle between realism and fragmented, color-saturated dreamscapes. As a Jewish child in Moldova in the late 1980s, Karina begins life as an outsider, but moving with her parents to Israel as "communism was crumbling" only lands her in a place where everything is "exciting, unique... and out of reach" for her impoverished, culture-shocked family. An acquaintance of her father's sexually assaults her, setting off years of discomfort in her body and self-destructive behavior, including an eating disorder. Karina tells her parents about the assault soon after it occurs, and they send her to therapy, but taking the "right" actions doesn't save her from shame-based anxiety as she grows up. After a series of bad, druggy boyfriends contributes to her own drug abuse, Karina is scared into sobriety by an STD. But even going to college and pursuing art don't bring her peace. For comfort, she hangs on to her father's words: "Nothing hurts forever." The plot itself is tragically familiar, but what stands out is the gorgeously grim-yet-colorful art (an image where she's manipulating her own face into smiling by putting her fingers in her eye sockets is especially chilling), and Schor's avoidance of pat confessional-as-healing tropes. This is all the more powerful for its realistic acknowledgement of life's darkness."-- Publishers weekly,
About the author
Karina Shor is an illustrator, a cartoonist, and a teaching artist. Karina has illustrated many children’s books under the name Alina Gorban, but this is her debut as an author. She grew up in a small town outside of Tel Aviv, Israel, after she immigrated from the former Soviet Union. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and now lives between Brooklyn, New York and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Summary
Starred Review from Foreword Reviews. “The book conveys emotions in a deep, visceral way . . . an outstanding memoir about the difficulties of overcoming abuse.”
A breathtaking and gut-wrenchingly real graphic memoir of the struggles of an adolescent girl processing the trauma of childhood sexual assault.
An immigrant at the age of six, she arrived in a strange new world. Karina was labeled "different" immediately, and a desire to be invisible was born. The "different" label expanded to "weird" and "freak", terms that she fervently embraced. By taking society's critique, owning it, and taking pride in it, she gained power over it. In a life overshadowed by fear, Karina wanted control. If something was going to ruin her life it would be her and her alone.
Foreword
Major review attention
National media
Online/social media promotion
Academic marketing
Buzz mailings to mental health organizations
Potential strategic partnerships: Graphic Medicine
Promotion through the author’s Instagram and Twitter accounts: @chick_flick_unlimited
Bookseller/Library promotions:
- Blad giveaways to librarians and educators who attend the NY Public Library Programming at NYComicCon, and the Brooklyn Book Festival.
- Graphic novel panels at ComicCon@Home and at ALA Annual.
