Gaytheist Coming out of my Orthodox childhood

Mann (Thoughts from Iceland) partners with co-artist Gatts for an emotionally fraught graphic memoir of coming out in his "insular, strictly regulated" Orthodox Jewish household in 1990s Long Island. Crushes on his classmates at his yeshiva prodded Mann to realize he's gay. Despite the harsh homophobic teachings of his temple (where AIDS is characterized as a "divine punishment"), in the ninth grade he cautiously comes out to a rabbi, who offers quiet support and maintains his secret. He later tells his parents, who react less well, and who send him to a therapist. As he grows older and closer to peers (in and out of his religious community), he continues to wrestle with his identity and faith. He catches out his parents' hypocrisy, as when his mother consults a psychic to confirm her belief that he will grow out of this phase ("You'll believe what this witch says instead of your own son?"). Orthodox practices are neatly unpacked, though the narrative focus on Mann's adolescent inner turmoil occasionally results in scenes that skim over family tensions and plot points. The art is gentle and naturalistic, with crisp lines and often gradient, color wash backgrounds that soften even the starkest moments. Younger adults navigating their own coming out within religious communities will find resonance. (Feb.)

The animated evolution of a queer boy from his strict religious upbringing to a liberated adolescence. Tokyo-based couple Mann and Gatts integrate their illustrative and authorial talents in this debut graphic memoir vividly detailing Mann's coming-of-age while cloaking his burgeoning homosexual feelings. The author earnestly portrays his Orthodox Jewish indoctrination and his family's adherence to doctrine; he grew up in an environment in which everything consumed or acted upon had a pious blessing and kosher-strict rules. Throughout his childhood, his devout parents, despite the "odd gaps" in their own religious upbringings, corrected any kind of deviation from their insular expectations. These divergences included Mann's simmering boyhood crushes on his male classmates, but the consensus between friends, teachers, and parents was to abandon these feelings because homosexuality was considered a religious "abomination." Eventually, Mann came to the mature realization that in order to be happy and find a boyfriend, he would need to reject Orthodox teachings and live life on his own terms. But that meant keeping his feelings closeted, and he had to hide his feelings and actions from his family and friends. When he did eventually come out, no one understood or accepted it, and they insisted on interventions. The author recounts a boyhood incident involving his father's indifference to an accidental near-drowning, which taught him that "trusting my parents could be dangerous." This sentiment returned when he came out to his parents in early adolescence. When Mann finds love in the memoir's final pages, it's a well-deserved, significant moment. Awash in dark blue and brown hues, the illustrations are comprised of crisply rendered line drawings made more distinctive with effectively detailed coloration. Both Mann and Gatts contribute to vividly drawn pages of personal history elaborating on Mann's journey toward the embracement of his queer identity. A vital, emotionally immersive self-portrait. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.