Overview
By turns funny, poignant, melancholic, and life-affirming, Jennifer's Journal: The Life of a SubUrban Girl is a graphic memoir that chronicles the life of a quirky, petite, freckled-faced African American illustrator and artist. The journal depicts Jennifer's struggles with work, depression, sex and sexuality, and religion while poking fun at the stereotypes she encounters along the way. Featuring a host of colorful characters—from grumpy family members to gossipy schoolmates to New York City archetypes like the nosy neighbor or the guy selling raw oxtails at the Laundromat—it is an entertaining and humorous look at life with awkward insights from Jennifer's close friends as well as from her imaginary companions: the meditative Miss Buddha Bear, her nemesis Mean Mama, and the rest of her tyrannical friends. Each of these characters shape Jennifer's ability to maintain peace of mind while battling the insane stereotypes around race, class, and gender contained in mainstream and popular culture. It's a story that will resonate with anyone who grew up feeling like an outsider.Reviews
"A solid choice for older teens and new adults." —Martha Cornog, libraryjournal.comAuthor Biography
Jennifer Crute is a comic book author and illustrator whose work has been featured in BITCH magazine as well as at the Limner Gallery, the Medialia Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and the Ocean Hill Arts Sanctuary. She is featured in a Current TV segment about women in comics called "KAPOW! The New Comic Book Heroines" and was nominated for a Glyph Comic Award for Best Rising Star. She has lectured at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, Miami University, and Skidmore College. She lives in Brooklyn.
