One in a Million

January 12, 2024

Gr 10 Up-Lordon's graphic novel memoir of her journey through debilitating physical symptoms and medical trauma will help readers reflect on what someone may be going through every day behind the scenes. Apart from trying to live as a regular teen and navigate school, grades, and friends, Lordon must also diagnose her mounting symptoms-fatigue, headaches, and weight gain. Readers can visualize the grueling path Lordon takes through her pain and health management. The simple but evocative illustrations, which were sometimes created as part of the author's healing process, give a strong sense of the hardship that she endured in her formative years. Lordon is relatable, especially to anyone who has dealt with chronic pain and the grappling of all the emotions that are in its wake-depression, anxiety, loneliness, guilt, shame, and frustration. Fortunately, Lordon, with the support of her family and friends, holds true to herself, showcasing her strength, resilience, and persistence. The content, although easily accessible, contains mature themes and some illustrations are graphic depictions of Lordon's experiences. The preface makes readers aware of what follows and offers context to the pacing and structure of the novel, which reads similarly to a diary. VERDICT A poignant and honest depiction of the struggles of a teen suffering chronic illness. This would be a good read for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Guts and Christina Diaz Gonzalez's Invisible.-Cat Miserendino

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2023
In this graphic memoir, Lordon recounts what it was like to go from being an active, thriving high school junior to struggling when her life took a terrifying turn. Claire began experiencing weight gain, brain fog, headaches, and exhaustion, turning what should have been an exciting new phase of life into a series of doctor visits that resulted in a shocking diagnosis of Cushing's disease. In this account drawn from her diary entries, readers are thrust into the heart of her mysterious health journey, feeling each moment alongside her. Refreshingly pushing back against tropes that often appear in these types of stories, Claire is not required to be heroic in the face of her declining health or to find meaning in it; she expresses all the frustration of a typical high school student. She values her hobbies and time with caring friends even as she drifts away from or is not allowed to do things that bring her joy. Claire's family is supportive but not smothering, providing companionship that buoys her, and her love of sports and art carries her through. Where Lordon succeeds most is in making her losses, compounded by disorientation, feel both frightening and ordinary. The visual format is the ideal medium for depicting her emotional state: Simple, expressive character designs and backgrounds in white and shades of purple help soften even intense situations. Interspersed are grayscale sections vividly depicting how her symptoms felt. Informative and full of relatable honesty. (content warning, resources, photos) (Graphic memoir. 14-18)

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September 4, 2023
This affecting graphic memoir by Lordon (Lorenzo, the Pizza-Loving Lobster), pulled from her adolescent diary entries, organically conveys the impact of a mysterious chronic illness on her life as a white teen living in Utah. As an athletic student in good academic standing, Lordon experiences sudden weight gain, loss of energy, and painful headaches. She is soon diagnosed with Cushing’s disease, a disorder in which her body produces too much cortisol, and learns that it’s likely being caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland, which is treatable with surgery. But the disease—and the feelings of isolation it causes—negatively impacts her mental health. The purple-gray hues of the overarching narrative are punctuated by metaphorical b&w portrayals of her symptoms: depression is shown as a giant weight that plunges her down a dark hole, while insomnia is visualized as cogs springing loose and bursting out of her brain. Though Lordon’s health concerns aren’t resolved as easily as she initially hoped, depictions of her experience managing her illness are filled with mirth and positivity as she finds solace in her art and friendships, making this a resonant story of resilience. Ages 14–up.