Review: Short and Skinny by Mark Tatulli

New from syndicated comic strip artist Mark Tatulli comes a full-color middle grade graphic novel that centers on Mark's own experience in the summer after seventh grade.

As a middle schooler, Mark finds himself on the smaller side of the physical spectrum--being short AND skinny has really wreaked havoc on his confidence. So to end his bullying woes and get the girl--or at least the confidence to talk to the girl--he starts to explore bulking up by way of the miracle cures in the backs of his comics. But his obsession with beefing up is soon derailed by a new obsession: Star Wars, the hottest thing to hit the summer of 1977. As he explores his creative outlets as well as his cures to body image woes, Mark sets out to make his own stamp on the film that he loves.

Mark Tatulli's graphic novel debut is a humorous and heartfelt take on body-image, finding a creative outlet, and spending a summer in the 70's.

Review: this was the first graphic novel I have read all of, I normally struggle with them and so I think a graphic memoir was a great place for me to start. I was endeared to the setting, time wise, straight away and loved the fact that not only is this a memoir but takes place when Mark is in middle school in the 70s, what a great period in recent history. 

I also loved the illustrations in this novel. I actually liked the black and white that was used, especially for the more dramatic pages when there is a lot of dark in the story and on the page, as well as the illustrations of the Star Wars parody, they looked great in black and white so I am VERY curious to see how this one looks when it is out in full colour. 

I really liked Mark's story, being short and skinny but finding something he loved to do and was good at. He goes through everything we all do as teenagers, but this is also a fab example of male body positivity in a novel-so great to see. I love the fact that he calls himself short and skinny and we see what that does to him and the reaction of his classmates and yet he doesn't let that stop him from winning friends and trying something a lot of people wouldn't go to the effort to. 

I will definitely be seeking out more from this author and publisher because I really enjoyed this and will certainly be looking for more graphic memoirs in the future!

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