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Spinning
A graphic memoir that will be really relatable to anyone who had a childhood passion that ended up getting a little ruined for them. It’s about Tillie Walden’s childhood and teen years as a figure skater, discovering her identity, and hiding from the desire to become an artist. It’s one of those graphic novels that just flows easily along and no matter how long it was I could just read it forever. It could be an encyclopedia length account of her entire life from birth to death, and I’d be engaged the whole way. All of Tillie’s work is great, but this is her longest book. —Brenna
About the Book
Publisher’s description:
Tillie Walden’s Eisner Award winning graphic memoir Spinning captures what it’s like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know.
It was the same every morning. Wake up, grab the ice skates, and head to the rink while the world was still dark.
Weekends were spent in glitter and tights at competitions. Perform. Smile. And do it again.
She was good. She won. And she hated it.
For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden’s life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. Skating was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she’d outgrown her passion—and she finally needed to find her own voice.
This title has Common Core connections.
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