Tillie Walden’s routine consists of waking up at the crack of dawn, going to synchronized skate practice, going to school, going to figure skating practice after school, then going home and doing her homework before sleeping. The next day, it happens all over again. On the weekends, she competes. The routine is familiar. Comforting. During an uncertain time in her life, Tillie clings to it with all she has. Her family has just moved from New Jersey to Texas. She transfers to an all-girls private school, but still has problems with bullies and grades. She also falls in love with her first girlfriend. When everything is changing – family, friends, feelings, even skating – what will Tillie hold onto, and what will she find the strength to let go of?

I’ve been waiting for this GN for a while after reading a great review in a publisher’s journal at work. There was a picture of the cover accompanying the review, and I was immediately drawn to it – purple/yellow is my favorite color combination. I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint. It completely sucks you in and keeps you in your seat until the very end. Tillie’s story of change feels just like yours – that period in middle school when everything is changing, and you don’t know what to hold onto and what to let go of. I was not an ice skater, but her stories of the cliques of the other girls in her groups resonated with me.

The art is sparse and two-dimensional – there is often an object or figure in one panel, the background either a block of white or deep purple. Yellow is used sparingly, to highlight only important or dramatic parts of the story. Lots of negative space portrays Tillie’s feelings of loneliness and emptiness better than her words could. A beautifully rendered graphic memoir.

– Kathleen

Walden, Tillie. Spinning. 2017.