Beautiful Graphic Storytelling

 

Crushing

by Sophie Burrows

Illustrations by the author 

Algonquin Young Readers

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

(first published in 2021 in the UK by David Fickling Books)

2022

160 pages

ISBN: 9781643752396

Available January 11, 2022

 

What a great GIFT this book is to open a new year: 2022's most beautiful, poignant book! My review follows the Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An exquisitely painful portrait of loneliness, perfectly pitched for the current time of pandemic isolation . . . Visual genius . . . The desperate need for human touch, for human connection is beautifully evoked in the deceptively simple drawings . . . Every detail has been carefully thought out, providing the reader with a rich narrative experience. That this is a debut leaves one eager to see what Burrows’ next project will be.”
—New York Journal of Books

“A charming graphic novel debut . . . that recommends optimism and a wry sense of humor while acknowledging the ubiquity of loneliness.”
—Publishers Weekly

“The accomplished pencil drawings with red highlights are eloquent and emotive, drawing readers in, conveying the personalities of the characters, and capturing the poignancy, dignity, drama, and humor of the everyday . . . Evocatively sketches a fine line between someday and happily-ever-after.”
—Kirkus Reviews 

“A tender and real modern love story told via sad-sweet illustrations from the brilliant Sophie Burrows.”
—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

“It's warm, it's funny—a subtle read, resting in the minor moments—the kebab shop visits, supermarkets, being curled up on the couch watching TV. More than words, Crushing is a feeling; a comforting, quiet feeling—just a really nice and relatable read for our times.”
—The Skinny
 
“Portrays perfectly the feeling of metropolitan solitude while charged with a lingering sense of wonder.”
—CulturAll
 
“Exquisitely drawn, full of quirky yet relatable little details to any urban dweller, and hopeful rather than hopeless, Crushing is a new kind of love story.”
—Red Magazine
 
“Cute, whimsical and relatable … it’s a charmer.”
—YADudeBooks
 
“Eloquently told … poignant.”
—Youth Services Book Review

Crushing is that unique book teens and adults will be talking about this year! Evocative with sentiments of the past two years' loneliness during the pandemic lock down and burn out, yet Sophie Burrows takes readers on a path of recovery and discovery as two characters find belonging and love,

City scenes capture people taking care of business, shopping for food, goi to work, commuting in traffic, but the underlying sense of loneliness prevails showing the two main characters' feeliings as they each search for that special someone. 

Told  with few words but filled with magic, Crushing will have readers anod ARTISTS in awe of Burrows' talents. Illustrations in mostly black and white (shades of gray) and snet off with red pops of color tell readers all is not lost. Love previais, kindness is genuine, and  humanity still has hope, 

Everyone needs to read/experience this fine treasure of a book. Algonquin has done it again! BEST YA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022! 

Crushing will lead the awards season and it's a sure BESTSELLER. 

A MUST HAVE for every collecton, reader and artist.

Sophie Burrows, standing ovation. Brava! 

HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 

Grade 7 and up.