Trigger warnings: Racism, particularly the use of the n-word as well as racism towards Mexicans, talk of suicide, death
Synopsis: Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazines iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge. Full-color illustrations throughout.
Review: My Favorite Thing is Monsters was a very entertaining experience. I will say, it's got a lot in it, so I wouldn't recommend it for people who don't read many graphic novels. We follow Karen who lives in an apartment with her mom and brother. The story is told mostly from Karen's perspective and we are led to believe the artwork in the story is hers. For most people, she draws them like normal humans, though some aspects like lips and breasts seem exaggerated. For herself, she draws a monster which I really appreciated. I was the kind of kid that most others avoided because they thought I would give them some kind of disease. I was very often treated like I was subhuman, so seeing Karen's self-reflection in her art hit me in a very personal place.
The story in this graphic novel is pretty complex. A woman dies from a gunshot wound in Karen's apartment. It is ruled a suicide, but Karen believes it was murder so she sets out to find who did it. We come to know more of Karen's life and the lives of those around her. There are also moments where we find out more about Anka, the woman who died. We learn about her time in Germany during Nazi rule and how this changed her life. The mystery aspect was quite well done, but it was surprisingly difficult to keep Karen's story and Anka's story separate. That's my only major criticism of the overall story. The characters were all fascinating and Emil included bits of the racism that occurred during this time, but none of it felt overbearing. The art was my absolute favorite part of the book. Most of the drawings are done in black and white, but there are pops of color throughout which helped to emphasize certain scenes. It was very well placed.
Interesting story with incredible artwork.
4 howls
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