The classic book featuring Maybonne Mullen and her little sister
Marlys is back in print!
Lynda Barry captures all the glorious magic and excrutiating pain of
junior high school in this Ernie Pook Comeek collection from the early
90s. The star of this collection is 14 year old Maybonne who relays the
angst and insecurity of life through hand scrawled diary entries, class
assignments, and letters, in cursive with doodle and bubble letters. Of
course, there is the ever-annoying yet adorable little sister Marlys who
never fails to read her big sister's diary. Barry deftly portrays the
capricious nature of teen friendships, adolescent peer-pressure, and the
kill or be killed nature of a middle school's social scene in her
signature style.
No one but Lynda Barry can so naturally zero in on the joyous urgency
yet heartbreaking poignancy of childhood. In an authentic teen voice
full of diffidence and melodrama, the bespectacled and freckled Maybonne
relates all of life's indiginities on equal measure. Heartbreaking
stories of a broken home, child molestation, an alcoholic absentee
father and a bitter mom emerge between strips about home ec class,
summer vacation, and babysitting, illustrating Barry's peerless ability
to make the reader both cry and laugh.
