a + e 4ever [Paperback]

Ilike Merey (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2011

Asher Machnik is a teenage boy cursed with a beautiful androgynous face. Guys punch him, girls slag him and by high school he's developed an intense fear of being touched. Art remains his only escape from an otherwise emotionally empty life. Eulalie Mason is the lonely, tough-talking dyke from school who befriends Ash. The only one to see and accept all of his sides as a loner, a fellow artist and a best friend, she's starting to wonder if ash is ever going to see all of her.... a + e 4EVER is a graphic novel set in that ambiguous crossroads where love and friendship, boy and girl, straight and gay meet. It goes where few books have ventured, into genderqueer life, where affections aren't black and white.

An honoree for the 2012 Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Merey's soulful story shows just how tenuous our understanding of identity, friendship, and romance can be. Although the work appears sketchy at first glance, every line is clear and every word is clarifying. These are authentic teens with attitudes, sound tracks, and sexual curiosity."  --Booklist (Starred Review)

''Merey's soulful story shows just how tenuous our understanding of identity, friendship, and romance can be. Although the work appears sketchy at first glance, every line is clear and every word is clarifying. These are authentic teens with attitudes, sound tracks, and sexual curiosity.'' --Booklist (Starred Review)

''And so this is a story powered by yearning. Though the book describes itself as a genderqueer tale, it shares with yaoi (boy love manga) a searing energy of unrequited love, a passion that unfulfilled is more gripping to readers than the actual coupling of characters could ever be.

Besides the story, readers should note the creative way this book employs both its art and typography to help tell the tale. The style of the art fluctuates, from abrasive hen scratches to smooth washes of black ink, from manga-esque vignettes to art tableau frames.'' --Lambda Literary Foundation

''This Stonewall Honor Book, drawn with deceptively sketchy art, tells the soulful story of the intense relationship between a shy, bisexual pretty boy and a lesbian with the appetite of a trucker.'' --Ian Chipman, for Booklist's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth: 2012

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Lethe Press (September 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590213904
• ISBN-13: 978-1590213902
• Product Dimensions: 0.4 x 8.2 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than i could have ever expected. November 4, 2011

By Jeffery A. Boyd

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a fantastic perspective on a very curious relationship, the book is illustrated wonderfully in a very unique style.
- Found myself not wanting to put the book away and go straight through
- You get into the story very much, pulls you closer and makes you right in the moment
-- Highly suggested for those who loved "Blankets"
-- Highly suggested to those who have a more alternative point of view
-- special note the cover picture is slightly deceiving, the book is set in a high school period.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Enormous December 15, 2011

By Elizabeth Rabbit

Format:Paperback

Merey's book is a visual and emotional wonder, and enormously powerful. The tiny text and detailed artwork delivers a huge punch to the heart. The characters are so human and raw you can taste and smell and feel them. The artwork is impressive and passionate and painful.
Asher and Eulalie are people you can feel. You both hate and love the things they do and say, but are rooting for them all the while. The book is impressive in its scope and depth; blending issues of gender, age, sexuality, passion, and most of all the various ways we love, and challenges definitions and descriptions of all. One of the most appealing aspects of the book is it's refusal to adhere to labels and conventions of queer identity. It is so satisfying to watch characters be painfully human. I loved this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious Read September 19, 2012

By Natalie Carter

Format:Paperback

Okay, I'll be honest with you. I don't normally feel like I have the time or the brain capacity for graphic novels. Normally, I just don't care. But someone sent me a copy of this one, and I tossed it in my bag at the last minute before I went on book tour. I am so grateful I did. It became like a security blanket to me on my trip. I loved the way it felt in my hands, and once I opened the cover, I couldn't put it down. There is so much going on. It's one of those books you want to read again when you're finished, because you get scared you might have missed something. It is rich, beautifully illustrated, and the story is captivating. I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I would highly HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has lived even just a day in the life of the pride world. Or to anyone who is curious. It's almost like an instruction manual. Well done. Very well done.