for such a short comic, it's incredibly powerful and vulnerable look into bipolar disorder and how it affects keezy young but also how it can affect and feel like for others. i can only imagine the breath of fresh air this is for so many and urge everyone to read @Loyaute's and @Auggie's reviews.

on a personal note, i do not think i am nor have been diagnosed bipolar. but i don't speak to the entirety of my mother's side of the family, for a multitude of reasons (religion, homophobia, and more). i grew up around a volatile mother, aunts with severe mood swings, and a grandmother who i eventually learned has bipolar 1 disorder. we all talked about her diagnosis in hushed tones and the more i learned about her journey to that diagnosis, i pitied her as much i as resented her (the resentment for unrelated reasons to her diagnosis). the older i got, the more harmful similarities i saw between my mother and her mother, except my mother never got a diagnosis or help of any kind. i don't know for sure my mother is bipolar, and i've already given up on begging her to seek help for these varying moods and levels of comprehension she has. i don't speak to her anymore, and don't plan to for a long time. however, learning more about bipolar disorders and the lifelong struggles that many diagnosed live with is something of a solace to me. i know so many people with bipolar disorders who are thriving, trying their best to walk the line, and for them i want to unlearn so many harmful stereotypes i grew up with. to learn more about a distant family i once had, to understand them more while keeping our distance. to learn more about the friends i do have.

isn’t it interesting when a book is both incredibly beautiful, and a wake-up call in your life?

i don’t have bipolar. i’m grateful that this book exists, and that it can help me understand bipolar disorder + the people in my life who have it better (it’s also, like i said, incredibly beautiful. the artwork, the words, everything. definitely intending to look into more of Young’s work after this).

mental health care has been basically nonexistent in my life for a lot of reasons. i’ve been pretty sure for years that i have depression, anything beyond that i truly don’t know. there was a page of Sunflowers that i related to to a worrying degree (i wish i could say the page and what it’s about. my brain is screaming at me not to say the page, and if i do describe it i’m afraid i’ll just delete this review before anyone but me can see it). if i can get brave enough to open the whole can of worms, i eventually want to go get it figured out, but we’ll see if that ever happens. anyway, enough of my yapping. this book is beautiful and i’m so glad to have read it <3

i'll be with you all shortly. i have more to say.

Listening to David Archuleta’s 2008 single “Crush” hits completely different after reading this.

This was emotional, raw, and honest. Archuleta takes us through his life journey and all of the ways that his queerness, faith, fame, and complex family dynamics intersected to make life confusing and complicated. His journey to accepting his bisexuality is heart-breaking but unfortunately common. I don’t doubt that there will be many queer folks who are brought up in high-control religions that will greatly benefit from reading this. Archuleta is very courageous for sharing this story and I hope it touches the right people at the right time. I’m sure it will save lives.

I had some issues with the book’s organization and writing style. The writing felt juvenile and Archuleta uses specific terms in a way that mirrors colloquial language, like referring to bonding with a friend over traumatic experiences as a “trauma bond” or talking about the “male species.” While I hear people use these words incorrectly in everyday verbal communication, reading it in a book that is meant to be serious felt grating. There were also times that Archuleta shared about an experience from his childhood that felt unrelated to the overarching narrative of the story. It felt like these experiences were never returned to and there was no space for reflection on why these specific stories were included. That had the effect of making the book feel a bit messy and disorganized.

I was not raised in a high-control religion and am at a place in life where I fully accept and embrace my queer identity as part of who I am, so this book didn’t have the impact on me that I’m sure it would for someone who is struggling in those areas. I did empathize with him heavily and am so glad that he has found peace and acceptance today. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is struggling to accept their queerness, especially in the context of religion.

This was cute, but I wanted to like this more. The main character and Denton are genuinely enjoyable, and their banter was fun. But the book is a retelling of "The Fall of the House of Usher" where the twist just didn't work for me. I thought it was creative but silly. I liked the characters enough to finish, but it didn’t hold much tension, atmosphere, or creepy vibes for me.