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96th out of 218 books
—
396 voters
How I Made It to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story
by
Tracy White
How do you know if you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown? For seventeen-year-old Stacy Black, it all begins with the smashing of a window. After putting her fist through the glass, she checks into a mental hospital. Stacy hates it there but despite herself slowly realizes she has to face the reasons for her depression to stop from self-destructing. Based on the author...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
June 8th 2010
by Roaring Brook Press
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How I Made it To Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White
As previously stated, realistic fiction is my jam and one of the sub-topics I read a lot in realistic fiction is psych ward business. It started when I first read Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern (Which I highly recccomend) in middle school, and I was really fascinated with this new idea that you could be so depressed that you had to go to a hospital.
A couple years later I was put in a hospital program for the first time and I obsessive...more
As previously stated, realistic fiction is my jam and one of the sub-topics I read a lot in realistic fiction is psych ward business. It started when I first read Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern (Which I highly recccomend) in middle school, and I was really fascinated with this new idea that you could be so depressed that you had to go to a hospital.
A couple years later I was put in a hospital program for the first time and I obsessive...more
When I first started to read this graphic novel, I wasn’t that into it. As I kept reading, I wanted to learn more about Stacy Black. She is a seventeen year old teenager who has a nervous breakdown and ends up smashing a window. From the way the graphic novel portrayed it, I almost thought she jumped out the window, but then she was alive in the next panel. Stacy checks herself into a mental hospital in hopes to get help for her problems. She struggles and has been struggling with body issues an...more
From the cover and the art style of this book, on first glance I thought it was going to be a ya graphic novel along the lines of Ariel Schrag's chronicles of being a teenager, but it is actually a fairly dark, honest account of Tracy White's long stay in a mental hospital as an adolescent. I feel like there has been a recent rash of movies and books talking about mental illness in teenagers and I think it is a really difficult topic to take on candidly without it becoming too cliched, too overw...more
In the juvenile section of our local library, there is a large card holder. The cards each depict a different graphic novel that the library owns. There is no description to the book so it's a case of judging a book by it's cover or title. Such is the case with this book, my son picked it out because the title sounded funny. I got the book first and was immediately shocked by the fact that this was not a humorous book at all. It's a great book and I look forward to hearing his reaction to it.
The...more
The...more
How I Made It to Eighteen is the dramatic story of Stacy Black’s account of her stay in a mental institution. The author uses graphics and multiple perspectives to tell the story that she claims is mostly based on the true event of her own mental breakdown and struggles with bulimia.
Personally, I did not particularly care for this novel, though I can see its value for students who struggle with depression or bulimia. I found the protagonist to be overly whiney, and, for that reason, it was hard...more
Personally, I did not particularly care for this novel, though I can see its value for students who struggle with depression or bulimia. I found the protagonist to be overly whiney, and, for that reason, it was hard...more
How I made it to 18 chronicles Stacy Black’s journey to happiness after she checks herself into a mental institute for putting her fist through a glass window just to feel something real. She is unsure of why she feels so depressed all the time, and honestly can’t remember how to be happy; all that she is sure of is that she wants to be happy. Slowly she unveils her personal issues with depression, lack of self esteem, drug abuse, and bulimia, and tries to get at the root of her problems – the “...more
Stacy Black checks herself into Golden Meadows Hospital in an attempt to feel happy again, after putting her fist through a window at her apartment. This graphic novel follows Stacy's time at the hospital, as she adjusts to psychotherapy, deals with her issues, and comes to grip with her bulimia, even as she advises a fellow patient against it. The book flashes back effectively to moments from Stacy's past, which set her on her current path.
This is a pretty straight-forward story, but that's no...more
This is a pretty straight-forward story, but that's no...more
Reason for Reading: This is a Cybils '10 nominee and required reading for me as a graphic novels panelist.
This is the author's memoir of when she had a nervous breakdown when she was 17 and checked herself into a mental institution. She admits freely to taking artistic licence with the truth for the sake of the story but as the title states it is mostly true. Told from the point of view of Stacy Black, 17yo high school graduate with no intentions of going to college she has moved out on her own...more
This is the author's memoir of when she had a nervous breakdown when she was 17 and checked herself into a mental institution. She admits freely to taking artistic licence with the truth for the sake of the story but as the title states it is mostly true. Told from the point of view of Stacy Black, 17yo high school graduate with no intentions of going to college she has moved out on her own...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Stacy Black is seventeen years old when she puts her fist through her boyfriend's window and decides to check herself into Golden Meadows (restoring mental health since 1938). She doesn't intend to be there that long, but as the days stretch out, she realizes she is not quite well enough to be released yet. Stacy knows her time talking to the doctors and other patients is ultimately supposed to be helping her, but she just doesn't feel it yet. With the aid of fellow patient and friend Ashley, St...more
How I Made it to Eighteen, by Tracy White, sticks with you long after you've finished reading. We often tend to equate graphic novels with superheroes or "fluffy" stories, but this is the opposite. Based on a true story, White tells the tale of "Stacy," her seventeen-year-old self who suffers a mental breakdown and self-admits to a hospital for nearly half a year. Details about Stacy's breakdown are slowly and skillfully released via grayed-out drawings representing flashbacks. This enables the...more
{Sited from my website TeenageBookaholic }
In this "mostly true story", we're told about Stacy Black in her teen years. She's into drugs and is trying to shake off her bulimia. But once she decides to break a window on drugs, she realizes then that she needs to check into a hospital. She checks into a mental hospital, she comes to realize that the drugs and her bulimia are not the cause of her depression and suicidality, but the deeper feelings from her past. Can she repair her past to fix her fu...more
In this "mostly true story", we're told about Stacy Black in her teen years. She's into drugs and is trying to shake off her bulimia. But once she decides to break a window on drugs, she realizes then that she needs to check into a hospital. She checks into a mental hospital, she comes to realize that the drugs and her bulimia are not the cause of her depression and suicidality, but the deeper feelings from her past. Can she repair her past to fix her fu...more
How I Made It to Eighteen by Tracy White says it’s “mostly a true story.” The book tells the experiences of Stacy Black and her journey from a breakdown through therapy and institutionalization and to the other side. It’s a powerful story in a simple presentation.
With words and images, we meet Stacy’s friends, and we get to read their perspectives on her personality and her actions. We see notes about Stacy from the records at Golden Meadows hospital. And we hear the words of Stacy herself. The...more
With words and images, we meet Stacy’s friends, and we get to read their perspectives on her personality and her actions. We see notes about Stacy from the records at Golden Meadows hospital. And we hear the words of Stacy herself. The...more
This is the mostly-true story of a teenaged girl who checked herself into a mental institution and got stuck there until realizing that she has to actively try to get better. Stacy had already been to rehab for her drug use, but it didn't stop the depression. Now that she's in the hospital, she's falling back into old habits; withdrawing and withholding. It takes months and several different hair cuts before Stacy begins to open up and begin to talk. When she finally did, she turned it into a co...more
Feb 13, 2011
ananka
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
addiction,
abuse,
adult,
alcohol,
body-image,
boarding-school,
drugs,
friendship,
graphic-novel,
memoir,
mental-health,
teen
I have a few people near to me that struggle with some sort of addiction, whether it is drugs, alcohol or eating disorders. This book helped me look at those illnesses from the person experiencing them's perspective. It made it a little easier to forgive and to stop feeling guilty for not "being there." This is a memoir style comic that tells how Stacy Black goes to a mental hospital to deal with the depression that has been slowly building up in her over the last several years. The situation in...more
Tracy White was a teenage hot mess, and now she's not. I enjoyed the tidy line drawings and the organization of the book including the chapter introductions featuring "Stacy's" friends talking about her. But, as is the common downfall of many a memoir (particularly recovery memoirs), it's self-absorbed to the point of lacking a commonality with the overall human condition. This book is all about Stacy/Tracy, and although she may have meant it to provide inspiration to other angsty alcoholic/drug...more
Dark, funny autobio comic about White's teenage years and what happened when she checked herself into a mental hospital at age 17. Really effective simple line drawings reminiscent of John Porcellino's King-Cat Comix. One technique I really appreciated was how she drew conversations between herself & her psychiatrist or other people -- she divided the page in half with herself drawn in panels on the left side and the other conversant on the right with the gutter going down straight down the...more
The author writes about how she had a nervous breakdown and spent some time in an institution where she finally learned how to take care of herself. As you go through the book you get her friends opinions on what is going on with her and how they weren't always able to see the problems. The reader also gets to see Stacy's past and how some things that happened when she was younger directly affected her behavior's as an adult.
I thought this did a great job showing how things that happen when you...more
I thought this did a great job showing how things that happen when you...more
Would have liked a little more to have happened in this book. The moment she gets close to a breakthrough the story just stops. The art style is a bit simplistic, which works for it sometimes but falls short others. The fact that the book focuses so much on the perspectives of her four friends is another thing that kind of works for it but also kind of doesn't. And the fact that she changes her character's name to Stacy Black instead of Tracy White kind of got under my skin. If you're going to t...more
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Although Stacy Black was a bit whiny and therefore difficult to relate to at times (now that I'm older and not as whiny as I was as a teenager), I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. I especially liked that it was mostly an autobiography because that makes it more accessible to the readers, especially teenagers. I remember being in high school and constantly searching for books I could relate to, books that would make me feel like I wasn't alone, books that vocalized my feelings. This would h...more
I was a little worried about how the graphic format would work with this book, but that wasn't an issue, at least not in the way I thought it would be. The drawings really added to the, well, picture of who Stacey was.
They told a somewhat different story than would have been told only in words. You can see the changes she makes to her hair, for instance. A page might have several panels with her and her therapist, with nothing else happening. Words might have described the silence, but this sho...more
They told a somewhat different story than would have been told only in words. You can see the changes she makes to her hair, for instance. A page might have several panels with her and her therapist, with nothing else happening. Words might have described the silence, but this sho...more
I've followed Tracy White's online comic "Traced" for a couple of years and was really looking forward to seeing and reading this book. I was not disappointed.
The art is White's typically minimal, yet deeply evocative, style. A lot of emotion lies underneath a few ethereal brush strokes. She also inserts four of Stacy's friends into the story who give their observations of events during different parts of the drama as it unfolds. In the process, they tell as much about themselves as about Stacy....more
The art is White's typically minimal, yet deeply evocative, style. A lot of emotion lies underneath a few ethereal brush strokes. She also inserts four of Stacy's friends into the story who give their observations of events during different parts of the drama as it unfolds. In the process, they tell as much about themselves as about Stacy....more
I thought this was an interesting account, but I wanted to know more about what happened to Stacey? Did she kick Eric in the shins?
Also, I found myself confusing some of the minor characters, and I wish the accounts of her friends were in a different font. The font that was used hurt my eyes, so I skimmed those parts....
Also, I found myself confusing some of the minor characters, and I wish the accounts of her friends were in a different font. The font that was used hurt my eyes, so I skimmed those parts....
After seeing the author speak on a YA graphic novel panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, I was curious to read How I Made it to 18. A "mostly true" memoir with thin veils of fiction, the protagonist tells the tale of committing herself to an institution when she is depressed, cutting herself, and bulimic.
While the story is somewhat compelling, it falls flat in two ways: 1) 4 characters periodically give first hand accounts of their interactions and history with the protagonist, but...more
While the story is somewhat compelling, it falls flat in two ways: 1) 4 characters periodically give first hand accounts of their interactions and history with the protagonist, but...more
Author Tracy White showcases her experiences in a mental institution in this engaging book. Told through the character Stacey Black - an interesting pseudonym choice by Ms. White - this graphic novel details the impact of depression on her teenaged years. Following a nervous breakdown, Stacy must find a way to cope with herself and her relationships in order to break the cycle that lead her to the hospital in the first place. The rough, simplistic art helps detail the young and chippy Stacey, tr...more
So close.
How I Made It to Eighteen is a graphic memoir, a genre I approach with caution. I often find that the art gets in the way of my reading experience - not a reflection on the art itself, but rather on how I approach books, I think. In any case, I don't read as many graphic novels/memoirs as I might, because adding art to the mix means yet another ingredient that may or may not add to the final product.
I wasn't disappointed on that end, mind. White's art is very simple, but she gets her po...more
How I Made It to Eighteen is a graphic memoir, a genre I approach with caution. I often find that the art gets in the way of my reading experience - not a reflection on the art itself, but rather on how I approach books, I think. In any case, I don't read as many graphic novels/memoirs as I might, because adding art to the mix means yet another ingredient that may or may not add to the final product.
I wasn't disappointed on that end, mind. White's art is very simple, but she gets her po...more
17-year-old Stacy Black suffers a nervous breakdown and describes her subsequent 6-month stay in a mental institution; based on the author's personal experiences.
I liked that the author combined multiple perspectives to tell this story, showing us Stacy's plight through the eyes of her friends, her therapists, and herself. The novel ends with Stacy realizing that she is bulimic and bringing this revelation to the attention of hospital staff. While I cheered for Stacy's "Aha!" moment and was glad...more
I liked that the author combined multiple perspectives to tell this story, showing us Stacy's plight through the eyes of her friends, her therapists, and herself. The novel ends with Stacy realizing that she is bulimic and bringing this revelation to the attention of hospital staff. While I cheered for Stacy's "Aha!" moment and was glad...more
In one word: honest. I liked the way this story was told. Stacy, the main character, talks directly to the reader in a dear diary sort of way and every so often a narrator/psychiatrist type will pose a question about Stacy and then her friends will weigh in. Their responses reveal as much about Stacy as it does about each girl in her friend circle. Stacy struggles with some difficult issues: drugs, an eating disorder, low self esteem, bad relationships with friends/men/family, but I think the au...more
Autobiographical graphic novel, written and drawn by the author. Engaging story of author's near-nervous-breakdown and time spent in a mental hospital when she was 17. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from her medical records and ends with her four friends responding to a question about Stacy (main character). I would have liked it more if there'd been more evidence of Stacy changing, getting better, responding differently to the world, but there isn't much -- her progress is shown primarily...more
I'm not really sure what i can say about this book unless really liking it counts. It was a really good book, yet it was not one of my favorites. She is a really great author, so I cant wait for her next book to come out. I learned a lot of things from this book. Such as, taking drugs can really ruin your life. But you can always decide to take charge and turn your whole life around. And that if u decide to be belimic it can ruin your life forever, or it can feel like forever. The truth is that...more
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