Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler is a YA memoir about the author’s struggles as a teenager to find his place in his conservative religious family. This is an absolutely stunning book. Every page is so vivid and realistic, it’s almost like the author actually had his teenaged self write this book. Even though I am not white, male, Christian, or gay, (and let’s face it, I’m definitely not a teenager anymore) I found this book so heartfelt, engaging, and most of all relatable.

I visited Hub Comics in Union Square this past week and bought two graphic novels: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. Having enjoyed several graphic novel memoirs in the past (Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegelman, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming), I thought I would give this one a try, especially since the movie version has won many film awards. I was not disappointed. The books are