What I'm Reading

I recently picked up from the library (oh I love that place) the graphic novel A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tolstikova.

I read an interview with Dasha online recently and wanted to check out her work. It does not disappoint! This book is gorgeous and moving. As the title suggests, it’s Dasha’s own story (maybe a bit dramaticized, I’m not sure) of the year she was 12 and how she lived with her grandparents (in Russia) when her mom went to America for a year to study.

The art is beautiful - stylized, sweet, and full of texture with a limited color palette (which gives such mood and feeling). Dasha handlettered parts of the text - something that I love to see in illustration.

I won’t give anything away about the story itself, so you can check it out yourself and enjoy.