A Man With An Agenda

This graphic memoir has gotten a lot of attention since well before its release, and for very good reasons. Jarret Krosoczka is a prominent author and illustrator of the kind of silly books that entice even the most reluctant reader to get excited about reading. This book is a radical departure, covering the ground of his troubled childhood and relationship with his opioid addicted mother. 

For most of Krosoczka's childhood his mother was in prison and he was raised instead by his maternal grandparents. His father was completely out of the picture, too. This is an honest look at his relationship with his family, growing up in sometimes difficult situations, discovering his talents, and, of course, accepting the truth and moving on.

Real life doesn't make for tidy narratives, but I still felt some problems with the transitions from scene to scene and from era to era of his childhood. I think there could have been some restructuring of certain sequences and some better narrative bridges. A lot of things, such as him getting roughed up by a kid after staying out to late, just happened with no clear reason for it being included other than that, well, it probably happened in real life.

Still, this will be a valuable book to many out there who are dealing with similar situations and haven't seen their story on a page yet. There is also a great deal about compassion and how to let go of harmful elements of the past that all of us can stand lessons in.