An emotionally soaring graphic novel of friendship and grief by the Eisner Award-winning creator of Spinning traces the intimate healing bond between two young women on the run in the wake of wrenching betrayal, sexual assault and loss. Simultaneous. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)
Are You Listening? is an intimate and emotionally soaring story about friendship, grief, and healing from Eisner Award winner Tillie Walden. - (McMillan Palgrave)
The graphic novel Are You Listening? is an intimate and emotionally soaring story about friendship, grief, and healing from Eisner Award winner Tillie Walden.
Bea is on the run. And then, she runs into Lou.
This chance encounter sends them on a journey through West Texas, where strange things follow them wherever they go. The landscape morphs into an unsettling world, a mysterious cat joins them, and they are haunted by a group of threatening men. To stay safe, Bea and Lou must trust each other as they are driven to confront buried truths. The two women share their stories of loss and heartbreak—and a startling revelation about sexual assault—culminating in an exquisite example of human connection.
This magical realistic adventure from the celebrated comics creator of Spinning and On a Sunbeam will stay with readers long after the final gorgeously illustrated page.
2020 Eisner Award Winner, Best Graphic Album--New
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2019
A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019
An O Magazine Best LGBTQ Book of 2019
One of The Comics Beat's Best Comics of 2019
A Lambda Literary Award Finalist
A Harvey Award nominee, Best Book of the Year
- (
McMillan Palgrave)
Tillie Walden is a cartoonist and illustrator from Austin, Texas. She is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies and is the creator of many award-winning graphic novels. Her accolades include an Eisner Award for Spinning, three Eisner nominations, and two Ignatz Awards. She currently lives in Los Angeles. - (McMillan Palgrave)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Bea, 18, and Lou, 27, are both on the run in Texas, though in very different ways, and a chance meeting at a gas station brings their paths together in ways that help them both. At first, there's tension between the two young women, but when they rescue a cat and set out to return it home, to a town they can't find on the map, they gradually begin to trust each other. Walden (On a Sunbeam, 2018) is up to her usual visual tricks in her latest, with intriguingly layered, intricately detailed images in rich, warm, sunset colors that lack concrete realism but cultivate powerful atmosphere. As the days of the road trip muddle together, her panel borders melt, shatter, and blend together, disrupting the sense of time passing, and when odd events begin to trickle in—like the pair of empty-eyed road inspectors unusually curious about the cat, and roads that appear or disappear in a flash—that disrupted sense of reality takes on ever more meaning. For all its fantasy trappings, there's a moving story of recovery and resilience here, as well: Bea in particular is searching for a safe place to call home, and the visual metaphor of building a road when you need one is particularly resonant. This artful, introspective graphic novel will likely be a hit with fans of weird fiction and could be a good crossover pick for new adults, too. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.