Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?
Tillie Walden
First Second, September, 2019 305 pages
Grades 9-Up
Graphic Novel

Eighteen-year-old Bea is running away from home and pretty desperate. On the road she runs into a hometown acquaintance, Lou. In her late twenties, Lou is also getting away for a while to escape the grief of losing her mother. Lou gives Bea a ride and the two embark on a road trip through the back roads of Texas to visit Lou's aunt. Along the way they rescue a mysterious cat that is being hunted by a creepy group of men calling themselves The Office of Road Inquiry. The men seem other-worldly and the cat somehow connects to magic. Through the trip the two girls bond and get real with each other, dealing with the causes of their escapes from their small town. They help each other to heal, all while dodging the creepy guys, keeping the cat safe, visiting the aunt, and contending with rare Texas snow.

Tillie Walden leaves the world of ice skating as seen in her autobiographical graphic novel Spinning for a fantastical departure. Are You Listening starts out as a road trip novel and then introduces elements of magical realism. The girls are dealing with some big issues such as sexuality, rape, and the death of a loved one and find solace in both the open road and each other. Although it is revealed that both girls are gay, there is no romance, just great support and a sister-bond. This came as a relief to me since Lou is so much older and mature than Bea and romance felt inappropriate. The full-color comic illustrations do more than the words in conveying the story. They are beautiful and surreal and through the darkness of the nighttime road create a haunting atmosphere. Walden leaves full panels without words to give the reader time to digest and some panels are laid out creatively and unexpectedly. Because of the careful use of text, the book reads rather quickly and the lack of chapter dividers makes readers turn pages without stop. The magical bits add to the surrealism of the tale, yet I wasn't quite sure I got it. The significance of the magical cat went over my head and I never truly understood who the bad guys were and why they are hunting the cat  down. I don't thinks readers will get caught up in the details of the magic. They will enjoy the layered honesty, emotion, and mood of the story. A true work of art from a gifted graphic novelist.