blankets has been on my to read list for a very long time. however, when i saw it on time's 100 best young adult books, i decided to finally check it out.
i really wish that i had read this when it first came out in 2003. i identified with craig and would have enjoyed reading this closer to when i went through a similar experience. blanket is an semi-autobiographical graphic novel about thompson's experience growing up in a religious household and his first love. what i identified with was craig's questioning of his faith and the church leaders insistence on following christian path. my questioning of my religion, as i discussed before was due to the church views on homosexuality and how i thought it was unfair that families were separated unless they were sealed in the temple. for craig it was contradiction in the bible and the realization that though the bible may be the word of god it had been filtered through men. also reading his pastor advise him against going to art school due to the possibility of exposure to nude models and the risk of becoming a homosexual, reminded me of an conversation i had once with a girl i went to church with. (i may have shared this before in another post, so i apologize for being redundant. a girl i went to church camp asked me where i was going to school, and i told her ucla. she then asked me what i was going to do. i explained study history. but she asked again, but you go to byu to get married, how are you going to get married. i think i just smiled as a response. though i will say that i am grateful for being raised mormon. as child growing up, we did not fear god, but saw jesus as a loving savior, and were not made to be scared of hell as i saw with craig.
but college was an eye opening experience for me, like craig. i wasn't born in a completely rural area like him, but being exposed to the big city of los angeles, allowed me to realize that there was more out in the world.
the story of his first love was sweet and like should happen with all first loves, he grew as a person. he was able to see the world for as it was and not for what he was told it was. i think the greatest thing was that he reconnected with his brother after seeing how close raina was with her siblings. it was nice to see them become friends in the end. (i should also note know it was really difficult to read about his brother's molestation as a child. craig should have done something, but easier said then done because he was a child himself, but still sickening to read.)
i also found it disheartening to read about raina's adoptive siblings. i think it was wonderful that her parents decided to adopt two children with disabilities, however, their reasoning behind it seemed unsound. they adopted the ben and laura as a thank you to god for blessing them with two children. a beautiful gesture, but neither one were equipped to take care of them. and in the end, resulted in their divorce and the responsibility becoming that of raina. i might sound insensitive, but you should adopt to truly help a child not to prove a point about how blessed you are.
but a wonderful coming of age story and beautiful illustrations. i also loved that the library was a tool in helping craig discover the world and who he was. definitely a top young adult book!
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