Collection
Publication
Oni Press (2019), Edition: Reprint, 216 pages
Description
When 17-year-old Hazel takes a summer job clearing ivy from the forest in Portland, Oregon, the only plan is to earn some extra cash to put toward concert tickets. Homeschooled, affluent, and sheltered, Hazel soon finds that working side by side with at-risk teens leaves no room for comforting illusions of equality and understanding. This uncomfortable and compelling memoir is an important story of a teen's awakening to the racial insularity of the upper class, the power of white privilege, and the hidden history of segregation in Portland.
User reviews
LibraryThing member pomo58
No Ivy League is Hazel Newlevant's memoir about first coming to the realization that her life growing up was sheltered and privileged.
The broad point of the memoir is that we are rarely, if ever, fully aware of just how different things are for other people. This is true even for those who went to
While this topic is broad and has far more nuance than any single book, fiction or nonfiction, popular or academic, can cover, Newlevant is not trying to present an analysis of the problem from every perspective, they are presenting one person's coming-of-age/realization. Don't expect academic analysis or comprehensive coverage of every nuance. That is not what the book is meant to do, nor would any memoir from any person. To expect that or criticize the memoir for that is both misguided and likely more for posturing than to actually contribute anything to the solution. This is a memoir written with the hope, I am guessing, of showing how easy it is to be blind to other people's plights and how easy it can be to step outside that comfort zone if one chooses.
One of the interesting aspects of the graphic memoir for me was the contrast between what passes for everyday "poking fun" in some settings and how it can be perceived in other settings. We become accustomed to what has long been the "norm" and let things slide way too often. Sexist, racist, heterosexist, and any "othering" of people, especially at the level of teenagers and younger, will not change over night. Unfortunately, that realization makes some people fall into two equally irrational camps. One is the group who continue to let things slide and never speak up because they figure nothing will change immediately so nothing will change at all. Second are the ones who ignore the fact that behavior, especially group behavior, can't change immediately and requires time and attention to change. These people are oblivious to nuance and insist that any error, any misspoken word, any ill-conceived act is a definitive condemnation of the person doing or saying it. Some people are truly hateful and know exactly what they are saying and doing. But many many more are not aware of the backstory, so to speak, of their words and actions. Attacking rather than enlightening these people becomes counter-productive and, for the self-righteous who are more concerned with how they look rather than making progress, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that builds their false sense of moral superiority even higher. memoirs like this allows us to see that not everyone who might have advantages is even aware of it. It also lets us see that some of those will want to make a change, both personally and in their life.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes memoirs about coming-of-age and/or coming to a realization about how the world is currently (mis)functioning.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
The broad point of the memoir is that we are rarely, if ever, fully aware of just how different things are for other people. This is true even for those who went to
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diverse public schools. More specifically, in this case, it is white privilege as well as class privilege, especially where they overlap and reinforce each other.While this topic is broad and has far more nuance than any single book, fiction or nonfiction, popular or academic, can cover, Newlevant is not trying to present an analysis of the problem from every perspective, they are presenting one person's coming-of-age/realization. Don't expect academic analysis or comprehensive coverage of every nuance. That is not what the book is meant to do, nor would any memoir from any person. To expect that or criticize the memoir for that is both misguided and likely more for posturing than to actually contribute anything to the solution. This is a memoir written with the hope, I am guessing, of showing how easy it is to be blind to other people's plights and how easy it can be to step outside that comfort zone if one chooses.
One of the interesting aspects of the graphic memoir for me was the contrast between what passes for everyday "poking fun" in some settings and how it can be perceived in other settings. We become accustomed to what has long been the "norm" and let things slide way too often. Sexist, racist, heterosexist, and any "othering" of people, especially at the level of teenagers and younger, will not change over night. Unfortunately, that realization makes some people fall into two equally irrational camps. One is the group who continue to let things slide and never speak up because they figure nothing will change immediately so nothing will change at all. Second are the ones who ignore the fact that behavior, especially group behavior, can't change immediately and requires time and attention to change. These people are oblivious to nuance and insist that any error, any misspoken word, any ill-conceived act is a definitive condemnation of the person doing or saying it. Some people are truly hateful and know exactly what they are saying and doing. But many many more are not aware of the backstory, so to speak, of their words and actions. Attacking rather than enlightening these people becomes counter-productive and, for the self-righteous who are more concerned with how they look rather than making progress, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that builds their false sense of moral superiority even higher. memoirs like this allows us to see that not everyone who might have advantages is even aware of it. It also lets us see that some of those will want to make a change, both personally and in their life.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes memoirs about coming-of-age and/or coming to a realization about how the world is currently (mis)functioning.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member MaowangVater
In her graphic memoir cartoonist Newlevant chronicles her summer job clearing invasive English ivy from the forest around Portland Oregon. She’s seventeen and about to enter community college. Her work crew of fellow teens is much more diverse than the friends she knows who have also been
Since I read an advance reader copy the art is not final, nor is it in color yet, so it's too soon to comment on the art. Final inks and colors will appear in the edition scheduled for publication in August 2019. The story is both poignant and powerful.
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homeschooled. As she writes in her introductory note to the reader “It was a multi-car pileup of race, class, gender, and teen hormones.” And if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, it’s also an intriguing reflection on the currently trendy topic of white fragility and self-reflection.Since I read an advance reader copy the art is not final, nor is it in color yet, so it's too soon to comment on the art. Final inks and colors will appear in the edition scheduled for publication in August 2019. The story is both poignant and powerful.
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LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan
I went into this story blind. Based on the notes from the author at the beginning of the story I was expecting something amazing, or something deeply personal like Gender Queer, or March. Instead this was a mash of ideas all leading up to some big conflict reveal to have it peter out worse than a
August 6
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bug out of gas. Hazel is homeschooled. She is working on winning a homeschool contest, and gets a summer job helping to remove ivy from parks. While there she is sexually harassed and puts a stop to it. But then feels guilty the guy lost his job. A job he needs because he is an at-risk-youth of color. Then she finds out that she is homeschooled because her mother had problems with integration bussing in her own childhood. This book skips from theme to theme but never really takes time to develop either. It is a memoir, and while it took the author 10 years to create, we don’t really get to see that creation, or the lessons behind the actions. August 6
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
A large part of this graphic memoir is about homeschooling, and I must be up front and admit that I have a knee-jerk negative reaction whenever I'm confronted with that subject. I hear homeschooling, and my first thought is of parents who are religious fundamentalists like in the recent book
Frankly, the first half of the book is pretty dull as Newlevant slowly establishes her homogenous homeschool friends and the many diverse coworkers at her summer job weeding invasive ivy out of a large Portland, Oregon, municipal park. There's pretty standard coming-of-age stuff like crushes and social anxiety, but in the second half there is some sexual harassment that topples dominoes leading to Newlevant having to confront her white privilege and one of the reasons behind her parents' decision to homeschool. This turn elevated the book from ho-hum to worthwhile for me.
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Educated or weirdos like in Glass Castle. This book adds a couple new wrinkles that do not help improve my opinion.Frankly, the first half of the book is pretty dull as Newlevant slowly establishes her homogenous homeschool friends and the many diverse coworkers at her summer job weeding invasive ivy out of a large Portland, Oregon, municipal park. There's pretty standard coming-of-age stuff like crushes and social anxiety, but in the second half there is some sexual harassment that topples dominoes leading to Newlevant having to confront her white privilege and one of the reasons behind her parents' decision to homeschool. This turn elevated the book from ho-hum to worthwhile for me.
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LibraryThing member Jonez
2.5
I liked the artwork and appreciated the vision the author of this graphic novel had in exploring both a fish out of water scenario, as well as race and diversity. However, it came up short. In the end, I don't see how there is much to take away from this. A homeschooled girl spends one summer
I liked the artwork and appreciated the vision the author of this graphic novel had in exploring both a fish out of water scenario, as well as race and diversity. However, it came up short. In the end, I don't see how there is much to take away from this. A homeschooled girl spends one summer
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with an ethnically diverse crowd of students, with whom she barely socializes with, she reads some books on integration in the north, barely explores ethnic food, and has surface-level conversations with everyone. It serves the purpose in showcasing how awkward the experience was for her, a little about what life is like for a homeschooler, and it barely scratches the surface on learning what life is like for anyone else in that particular scenario. Show Less
LibraryThing member bell7
When Hazel was a homeschooled high schooler, they joined a "No Ivy" League for a summer job cleaning invasive ivy off trees in a local park. They writes this graphic novel memoir looking back at a more naive self and what they learned that summer working with a diverse group of people. Black and
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white watercolor and ink illustrations and an honest expression of what they learned over the summer - working with people they hadn't known before and struggling to fit in, as well as coming to terms with why they were homeschooled - this is an insightful expression of one person's experience that many high schoolers will relate to. Show Less
LibraryThing member JesseTheK
Gorgeous watercolors, dynamic panel structure. Coming of age as white homeschooled teen discovers what life in Portland is like for the other 95%
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Definitely taps into the uncomfortable reality of being a teen, especially a sheltered teen venturing out into the world. Based on her life experience.
I did not really enjoy it, but am not the targeted audience, and can't really point to why not. I think the art and the storytelling are solid,
I did not really enjoy it, but am not the targeted audience, and can't really point to why not. I think the art and the storytelling are solid,
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just not my cup of tea. Show Less
Language
ISBN
1549303058 / 9781549303050