Keshni Kashyap

Tina, an Indian-American teen living in southern California, is assigned a class project to keep an existential journal--a "Who Am I?" sort of deal. In her diary (with the salutation "Dear Mr. Jean-Paul Sartre", the dead philosopher), she first answers this question at the surface level; she's 15, the youngest of 3 children, a student at Yarborough Academy. But over the course of a semester, we see her define her personal truths as she experiences being ditched by her best friend, getting the lead in the school play, and seeking her first kiss and maybe boyfriend. Though I found the story arc of this graphic novel to be rather predictable, I love that it features a teenage girl of color as its main protagonist. Tina's cultural heritage is embedded throughout the book, but ultimately she's a "normal" teenage girl trying to figure out who she is and what she wants.… (meer)