Justine

When you apply to Net Galley, it asks “what appeals to you about this book?” “Author? Cover? Title? I check all to cover my bases. Justine is not a Net Galley read, and I understand “Author” refers to previous works, nevertheless “Forsyth Harmon” is a beautiful name.And the cover, adorned with blurbs from Alexander Chee, whose How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is one of my All-time favorite reads, and Melissa Febos, whose Body Work I have on audio – one, because it’s narrated by Febos, and two, I don’t do audio books, Justine can’t miss. There are also illustrations which waft and further immerse you; often a salve when the novel cuts.Amazing is the author who can make the reader experience a range of emotions in 134 pages. It’s almost as if they’re not trying.As if they know that what they have to say is going to hit.And hit hard.It’s the mid-1990s on Long Island – never ‘in,’ always ‘on,’ like the time itself, and lonely Ali lives with her Days of Our Lives watching grandmother, and her cat, Marlena (ifkyk).Ali develops a crush on Justine, the checkout girl at the local Stop and Shop.“And so I secured a place for myself in Justine’s glittering vicinity.”“Most girls would’ve highlighted hair that color, made it blonder…… but Justine went dark.”Harmon’s ability to hit cultural references that enamor and enhance are sublime – the fat-free yogurt, the obsession with weight, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Jil Sander, Vogue magazine; the list goes on and goes in, and while I reminisce about Calista Flockhart, I forget about interiority and its implications, and accept what’s in front of Ali and her relationship with Justine.Yes, there are boys, and although Chris and Ryan are on the periphery, their actions are integral to the telling.I fell in love with Harmon not because she threw in Mobb Deep or a juxtaposition between Billy Joel and Mariah Carey, she also threw in Black Rob, Black Sheep, Marcus Garvey, Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli), and a hilarious passage rendering its origin.“What you need is one of my custom-made educational mixtapes.”Justine is (almost) as much an ode to Long Island hip-hop (Eric B (although it’s spelled “Erik” in the book – which may have been done purposely) and Rakim (he’s the one from Long Island (Wyandanch), Eric B, from Queens), De La (De La Soul), EPMD, and PE – all ‘Strong’ Island stalwarts, as much as it is a coming-of-age obsession laced in cool.I couldn't believe my luck.

I've read this book twice now. It's like a movie you watch multiple times and each time you find a detail you missed before. Beautifully written with so much detail you can hear the sounds through the words, feel the emotions throughout the story and you just can't help but pause to look at the illustrations wondering, how did she capture that so perfectly? I found myself in the heart of the character and the end left me wanting to know more, hoping there will be a second book with Justine's POV.

An honest coming of age story with a sensitive and insightful look into female adolescent, body image issues, friendship, eating disorders, and self loathing.Harmon’s literary style is efficient and precise, communicating volumes with simple two or three word interplays between characters. She frequently captures interesting human behaviors brilliantly and in the most entertaining way, like when the main character Ali, who struggles with self loathing, is introduced to and rejected by Ryan, a boy she actually considers very unattractive. And Ali, in this moment, thinks to herself “He hated me, and I hated myself, which created an unexpected point of agreement between us”. Wow!Beyond the deeper issues in the book, Harmon entertains as she portrays the somewhat comical tendencies of adolescents to obsessively focus on the minutiae. It will remind you of your own silly obsessions as a teen.Her illustrations are exquisite and it’s clear that the balance and placement of every graphic, asterisk, and text was deliberate and executed with perfection and grace.She gives many shout-outs to Long Island with the inclusion of numerous factual locations, local bands, and showcases some of the stereotypes that have come to define Long Island for better or worse. I’m sure this book will skyrocket in popularity, and as it does all Long Islanders will celebrate with her. Bravo Harmon...what a fantastic debut!

JUSTINE is a subtle, indelible portrait of longing and repression, of desire to both move beyond the self and to deny it. With deceptively smooth prose, moving swiftly over reservoirs of empathy, Harmon gives us an unflinchingly close view of adolescent obsession. Ali is a kind of apprentice of desire, testing its waters without formulating the central question: Does she want to be Justine, or does she want to be with her?Harmon carefully attends to the physicality of everyday objects, things like junk-food wrappers or discarded socks that often slip below the threshold of our attention. It's the mark of a real artist to make the ordinary strange, and that's just what Harmon does, with her lovingly rendered black-and-white line drawings: a crumpled bag of Lay's, a cash register, a six-pack of domestic lager. (Song lyrics, often the Smiths or Morrissey, are woven into the images—there's nothing more evocatively teenaged!)The illustrated novel is a perfect form for opening up questions in the reader, and I found myself, as I pored over these images, wondering why there aren't more of its kind. I can't wait to read more from Harmon.Required reading for anyone interested in the possibilities of image and text—or anyone who's experienced an electrifying crush.

A quick and easy read, very alternative and artistic, the story just did not seem interest me. It would probably only take an hour for me to read and yet it took me about three days as I just couldn’t keep my attention on the story