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Between Gears

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 51 ratings · 15 reviews

This honest, autobiographical account of a college senior's life will transport you to the land of Jell-O shots, term papers, job interviews, road trips, and sanguine optimism in the face of uncertainty and change. This trade paperback of Between Gears collects the comic in its entirety, with 30-pages of new material!

Paperback, 304 pages

Published May 2012 by Image Comics

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Sep 20, 2012 BAYA Librarian rated it 4 of 5 stars

This utterly charming graphic novel memoir is perfect for high school students wondering what college might be like as well as aspiring artists of any genre, and lovers of graphic novel memoirs.

In 2009/2010 Natalie Nourigat chronicled her senior year at University of Oregon by drawing a one page comic for every day of her academic year. The title “Between Gears” refers to the sense of being in between two important stages of life. During the course of the year Natalie stresses about completing c...more This utterly charming graphic novel memoir is perfect for high school students wondering what college might be like as well as aspiring artists of any genre, and lovers of graphic novel memoirs.

In 2009/2010 Natalie Nourigat chronicled her senior year at University of Oregon by drawing a one page comic for every day of her academic year. The title “Between Gears” refers to the sense of being in between two important stages of life. During the course of the year Natalie stresses about completing college and what to do with her life after graduation – all while balancing a full social life as well as her life as a graphic novel artist.

Nourigat’s style is dynamic and fun. The visual narration varies between “literal” depictions of her day and a more exaggerated, manga-influenced style. For example, Nourigat often will use a kind of mini cartoonish version of herself to show an expression of emotion like embarrassment or shyness or excitement. She also throws in little hearts and tears and other manga-like embellishments to show how a character is feeling. At the end of the book. Nourigat provides a whole bonus section that explains her artistic process and how she approached developing this graphic novel memoir of her Senior year. Her nuts-and-bolts explanations of her process will be valuable to aspiring graphic novelists.

Nourigat is sure to provide inspiration to high school students about how to get the most out of college: on top of being a “regular” college student, she also has duties as a sorority sister, she’s an Etsy vendor, a freelance artist AND someone who has made the commitment of doing a page of art a day for this very book. She seeks career and enrichment opportunities through friends and online contacts, and lets herself be open to all possibilities. Sometimes she becomes overwhelmed by just how many choices she has and fears that if she makes the “wrong” choice she is closing certain doors forever, and what if she makes the wrong choice? And what if people (whose opinion she respects) are telling her to do one thing but her gut is telling her something else? I think we go through many stages in our lives when we feel that we are “between gears” and this book gives a lot of comfort and inspiration about being in that phase. It’s a frightening place to be in life, but also so very exciting. Nourigat captures this perfectly.(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

I don't think there's any way for me to describe Natalie Nourigat's Between Gears in a way that conveys how much I enjoyed it.

Nourigat took on the ambitious project of creating a page-a-day graphic novel diary of her senior year at the University of Oregon. The ambitiousness of the project comes through the story of this year, as you learn that she has a thesis to write in addition to jobs to apply for, commissions to finish, and cons to attend--which involves lots of preparation in creating an...more I don't think there's any way for me to describe Natalie Nourigat's Between Gears in a way that conveys how much I enjoyed it.

Nourigat took on the ambitious project of creating a page-a-day graphic novel diary of her senior year at the University of Oregon. The ambitiousness of the project comes through the story of this year, as you learn that she has a thesis to write in addition to jobs to apply for, commissions to finish, and cons to attend--which involves lots of preparation in creating and printing artwork, minicomics, and so on. And then there's life--a necessary tonsillectomy, family visits, relationships with friends and her sorority to maintain, dating, college classes, ridiculous neighbors you only find in campustown, some dating, alley cats, partying, TV shows, movies, music, and her intense appreciation for fashion and shopping. Some entries are fun--drunk Natalie or Natalie being harassed by her responsible side are particularly amusing. Other entries are deep and emotional--one that comes to mind presents three gray, still images and the simple line, "Why do I feel this way?"

I was not an art student in college. I was not a woman in college, not part of any Greek organization, and not particularly social and into parties. But I found this story highly-relatable and authentically reminiscent of my senior year in college--on a basic level, being a college student can be a universal experience. Compound this feeling of connection by the little window Nourigat gives you into her personal life, and I challenge you not to fall in love with her a little bit.

And this says nothing about her artwork. Her style is fun and flexible, veering from realism to chibi depending on the tone she wants to create and this harmonizes brilliantly with whatever context she depicts. At times, her work brings to mind Craig Thompson, Kazu Kibuishi, and occasionally Adrian Tomine. At other times, I feel like I'm reading a well-drawn manga. But the style is uniquely hers, and recognizably so.

While I honestly feel that anyone could pick this up and enjoy it, I think readers between 14 and 35 would get the most out of it. This diary was composed in 2010, and Nourigat makes pop culture references that may be out of reach to older readers--heck, I wouldn't be able to identify the Pokemon theme song if my younger brother hadn't watched it growing up. To younger readers, those not yet Freshman in high school, college may seem to be a distant daydream, and they may be uninterested in classes, papers and the like. High schoolers and college students will appreciate this glimpse into Senior year, and those who've graduate in the last decade-and-a-half will enjoy reliving the experience in someone else's shoes.(less)

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May 05, 2012 lucy by the sea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-comics

I'll start by saying that the drawing is really cool. Natalie Nourigat is one talented lady. The composition and view and settings are all really well done. I like the sophisticated self portraits and the cute manga ish cartoony pics. The art is why I am giving this 2 stars and why I kept reading. At times I really wanted to put this book down (forcefully). I guess I didn't actively dislike the persona the author choose to present but I didn't like her either. The woman in this graphic novel (an...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Sara (LitHacker.com) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Verdict: Utterly charming graphic novel memoir.

Perfect for: High school students wondering what college might be like; college students wondering what other college students’ life is like; aspiring artists of any genre; lovers of comix memoirs; post-college peeps looking for a little nostalgia. So….pretty much everyone?

Summary: In 2009/2010 Natalie Nourigat chronicled her senior year at University of Oregon by drawing a one page comic for every day of her academic year. The title “Between Gears”...more

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May 08, 2012 Andrew Shuping rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

One of the things that appeals to me about webcomics, is that it’s given a rise to a great number of autobiographical comic artists. These comic artists tend to be primarily young writers and artists, and webcomics allow them a chance to share the highlight of their day or those split-second funny moments with the rest of the world. It also has other benefits, such as allowing the writer/artist to perfect deadlines, improve their storytelling and artwork…but I digress. This increase I think has...more One of the things that appeals to me about webcomics, is that it’s given a rise to a great number of autobiographical comic artists. These comic artists tend to be primarily young writers and artists, and webcomics allow them a chance to share the highlight of their day or those split-second funny moments with the rest of the world. It also has other benefits, such as allowing the writer/artist to perfect deadlines, improve their storytelling and artwork…but I digress. This increase I think has helped develop and nurture young writers/artists and introduce them to the world (and allow them to get published), such as Natalie Nourigat, the creator of this work. Natalie shares with readers a day by day account of her senior year in college–her adventures in finishing homework, of sorority life, of finding those quiet moments in hectic time, of wondering what life will be like after college. It’s these types of moments that are easy for anyone to relate to.

While a number of the comics share the seemingly trivial aspects of the day, Natalie allows us to take a close look at who she is, what drives her and makes her who she is, and at times giving us deeply personal glimpses into her life as a young woman just about to enter the real world. And to me that’s the best thing about this work. She doesn’t try to hide those moments that others might be embarrassed about or hide the genuine love that she feels for her family and friends. It’s like she’s got a video camera with her and we get to follow her along everywhere that she goes. And yes there are days where it feels like nothing has happened or that the moment she shared with us is less than interesting, but that’s what makes this such a great work. She bares her life to us. It inspires me to create an autobiographical webcomic…not that my day would be interesting as Natalie’s but…still.

Natalie’s artwork is deceptively simple, easily capturing the bare essence of the characters in a few simple lines and bringing to life the world around her. And the great thing about her doing a daily comic is that we get to see her art and style progress as she learns more about her craft and how to quickly capture those moments without spending days upon days trying to catch every detail. When she first starts the comic the artwork definitely has a more anime style to it in how the characters are drawn and move, and she uses thicker brush strokes to capture everything. But by the end of the book she’s progressed to a slightly more realistic style and thinner brush strokes. Don’t get me wrong, I like the artwork all throughout the book, but seeing the progression gives a great indication of the time and effort Natalie put into honing her craft (and an example that others can follow.) Overall the images are engaging and draw you in so that you can be a part of her life.

This is definitely a book that I’m purchasing for my shelves and I would recommend it to any fan of autobiographical comics. And while you can read all of the entries online (http://betweengears.smackjeeves.com/), do yourself a favor and buy the book so that you can see the details even better.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Stephanie Cover2CoverBlog rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-review

Background: “This honest, autobiographical account of a college senior’s life will transport you to the land of Jell-O shots, term papers, job interviews, road trips, and sanguine optimism in the face of uncertainty and change.” From the author/ book. I think that this sums it up very well.

Review: Between Gears is amazing! I loved it. It follows Natalie aka Tally, a college senior who chronicles her daily life. I loved the illustrations and as the character grows and changes we also see the same...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Anthony Mathenia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Natalie Nourigat's "Between the Gears" chronicles her senior year in college. Originally published as a daily web comic, it is now available in print through Image. Nourigat is an accomplished artist and her characters are very expressive. The style is fluid from day to day, but it mostly has a manga look. It is ambitious project and worthy of respect. I can certainly appreciate the wherewithal it took to commit to draw it each day.

While I like the art, I wish Nourigat had something more to say...more Natalie Nourigat's "Between the Gears" chronicles her senior year in college. Originally published as a daily web comic, it is now available in print through Image. Nourigat is an accomplished artist and her characters are very expressive. The style is fluid from day to day, but it mostly has a manga look. It is ambitious project and worthy of respect. I can certainly appreciate the wherewithal it took to commit to draw it each day.

While I like the art, I wish Nourigat had something more to say with it. The daily episodes often dwell on the mundane aspects of her life, such as drawing, working on college assignments, and hanging out with sorority girlfriends. There is briefly a boyfriend for a few pages before a breakup that carries no emotional resonance on the page. Throughout the year, there are some cute moments, but they rarely rise to the level of humorous. At one point it was so boring that I shamefully hoped that Nourigat was developing an oxycontin addiction after a tonsillectomy; if nothing else, to interject some needed drama into the lackluster story.

As an online journal it may work, but as a collected book meant to be taken as a whole, it is pretty flat. An issue may be that Nourigat hasn't really dared to live. One episode in the collection is particularly telling. Nourigat is obsessed with Japanese culture and is going to college as a Japanese major where she practices Japanese, takes classes on Japanese directors, and draws manga-influenced comics. She manages to get accepted to the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. It should be a no-brainer decision to go and live in Japan for a year, but she turns it down. Instead she graduates and returns home to live with her parents, before setting out into a new home with an adopted cat. The spine of the graphic novel says volume 1, hinting that there might be others to follow. Hopefully, Nourigat will put in on hold until she actually has something interesting going on her life and a real story to tell.

As a side note: there is a major printing error in this edition where the entry for May 11th is missing and replaced by May 21st, which appears twice.(less)

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Oct 14, 2012 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This volume took me a long time to get through, but it was a rewarding experience, and gave me a lot to think about. Here are some things that have been rattling around in my brain as I've moved through this graphic diary over the past couple weeks:

1. Our daily lives are pretty boring. There were times when I just wasn't terribly interested in the daily life of Ms. Nourigat, particularly sitting down and reading about a couple weeks or months of it at a time. That sounds like a bad thing, but it...more This volume took me a long time to get through, but it was a rewarding experience, and gave me a lot to think about. Here are some things that have been rattling around in my brain as I've moved through this graphic diary over the past couple weeks:

1. Our daily lives are pretty boring. There were times when I just wasn't terribly interested in the daily life of Ms. Nourigat, particularly sitting down and reading about a couple weeks or months of it at a time. That sounds like a bad thing, but it's not. There's a tough balance between trying to be an interesting person and just the slow, routine work of being a person in the world and scraping away at your goals. It felt very personal getting to see the ebbs and flows in her life and thinking about how universal that is.

2. People have many identities. I think often in life we play a lot of different roles depending on the situation we're in, and most people who know us only see a single side of that. This book was fascinating in that way, because it let you see, as an outsider, Tally functioning in a lot of different realms, as a lot of different people: a focused student, an up-and-coming artist, a nerdy Japanese enthusiast, a nervous almost-graduate, a sorority girl, a daughter and sister, etc. She was all of those people, but was also at a point in her life when she had to make a lot of choices about which identities were most important.

3. The end of college is a crazy time. This book was unique and perhaps particularly ambitious in tackling the last year of college. There were a lot of moments when Tally's stress of being unsure what she was going to do after graduation (and particularly her talks with her parents) brought me back to my own similar experiences and made me want to scratch my skin off. There's no way to put into words the combined terror and relief/excitement that you feel during that time, and this book showed it on every page instead of having to try to explain it.

4. Getting personal is a bold move. There were a lot of parts in the book where I felt like Nourigat was holding back. She would give something the barest mention, and I wanted to know more, but it was clear that some topics were going to stay out of the story. I kept thinking that she wasn't giving us a "good story" by being stingy with the juicy details. But then I remembered that this is her life, and it's ultimately up to her to decide what she wants to share with the world or not.

It's a rare thing to get a glimpse into someone's daily life like this. I certainly wouldn't want to have to look at myself this closely, and I'm grateful that Natalie Nourigat was willing to go there. Just seeing the progression in her artwork over the year made this a worthwhile read.(less)

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Jan 27, 2013 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's embarrassing, but the thing that sold me this book was not so much the stellar recommendations I had for it, but simply because it was a graphic novel without all-caps text. No lie.

That being said, it's cute. I really appreciate the spirit of the thing. But it failed to really capture my interest. I won't say too much about the art, because I don't feel particularly qualified as a judge, but the story wasn't especially engaging for me. On the one hand, I respect Nourigat's privacy and the...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Leah Webber rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another book from Stumptown Comics Fest, where this author had a booth. A wonderful page-a-day look into what life is like at the University of Oregon for a senior in college. Every day holds little snippets of her hopes, dreams, and challenges. Men. Thesis. Cheap rental apartments. Good movies. Evil spiders. Midterms. When faced with several awesome-sounding futures, which would *you* choose?

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Feb 08, 2013 Anthony rated it 2 of 5 stars

This didn't really feel like more than the sum of its parts for me. Criticizing it for being a paperback blog feels a bit unfair, because that's what it is, but now that it's marketed as a graphic novel, I expect a bit more richness.

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Feb 17, 2013 Neil Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, graphic-novels

A visual autobiography of charm, wit, and finding the humanity and meaning in the minutiae, much like "American Splendor", which is high praise. Nourigat is one to watch.

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Jan 05, 2013 Candice M (tinylibrarian) added it

Shelves: booklist-reviews, comics, ya

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Sep 11, 2012 Sharm Alagaratnam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Loved the style and the art, storyline a little thin. The diary did grow on me though!

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Feb 17, 2013 Sarah Menezes rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had forgotten that I had actually followed this artist on Smack Jeeves previously and had actually read some of this while she was writing it when I first saw this on good reads, and only realized it when I flipped through the pages. Because it was written journal/diary style, it's not a straight up "story", but it's very relate-able and art style is really great.

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