Monstrous - by Sarah Myer (Paperback)

About the Book

Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode.

Book Synopsis

Monstrous is a poignant, award-winning graphic memoir about a Korean-American teen who turns to fandom and art-making to survive racing bullying.

Sarah has always struggled to fit in. Born in South Korea and adopted at birth by a white couple, she grows up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors. People whisper in the supermarket. Classmates bully her. She struggles to contain her anger in these moments--but through it all, she has her art. A compulsive drawer from childhood, she fills page after page with what she can't say out loud. When she discovers anime, her hobby deepens into obsession, offering escape and identity.

Though drawing and cosplay give her a way to step outside her reality, connection remains elusive. As she enters high school, the bullying intensifies--louder, meaner, more isolating than ever. Sarah's bottled rage begins to threaten everything she's built to keep herself together.

What follows is a raw, visually arresting journey through anger, imagination, and survival, as Sarah learns that the same forces that isolate her might also be the key to finding her voice.

Review Quotes

Nominated for the L.A. Times Book Prize and Eisner Award in the teen categories
Winner of the International Literacy Association Young Adult Nonfiction Award

Included in best-of-the-year lists from YALSA, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Booklist, the Boston Globe, the New York Public Library, the Beat, and more!

"Heartfelt... Misfit readers will take solace in this just as Myer took comfort from Sailor Moon." --Boston Globe

"For fans of Jarrett Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo and Robin Ha's Almost American Girl, this coming-of-age memoir will appeal to youth who are struggling with their identity." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Immersive and engrossing: a beautifully depicted emotional journey." --Kirkus, starred review

"Her powerful memoir is an empathic gift, presented in full technicolor with never-static panels, showcasing raw energy." --Booklist, starred review

"This is a fierce graphic memoir with grit and honesty." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Those who stick with the unflinching depictions of the bullying Myer endured will be rewarded with an engaging--and ultimately hopeful--narrative of a young artist developing their own true identity." --Horn Book Magazine, starred review

"Those wrestling with feelings of disconnect from their communities will find validation in this confessional read." --Publishers Weekly

"The author writes frankly and honestly about the overt racism they dealt with daily and their struggle with their non-binary identity... an alternate title for Monstrous could be Fandom Saved My Life." --the Beat

"We all have a monster within us, but as Sarah shows us in their story, the best way to fight the monster is with love for each other, and most importantly, ourselves." --Good Comics for Kids

About the Author

Comic artist, writer, and colorist Sarah Myer (they/them) is an Eisner and L.A. Times Book Prize-nominated author of the graphic memoir Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story (First Second). Sarah is the illustrator and cover artist of several issues of the comic series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, and was previously the colorist of TMNT vs Street Fighter and TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures comics, as well as a variant cover artist of TMNT Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen. Sarah's other work includes their independent webcomic Cheer Up, Michael!, Hello Kitty & Friends Coloring Book, the Ringo Award-nominated anthology Votes for Women: The Battle for the 19th Amendment, for which they wrote and illustrated the installment "Asian American Exclusion," and the graphic novel Maker Comics: Create a Costume!. An avid convention attendee since 1999, Sarah has constructed and worn over fifty cosplay costumes and enjoys cooking, weight-lifting, and spending time with their cat Loki when they are not creating comics. Sarah can be found at sarahmyer.net and on Instagram @smyercomics