Reading "Rookie"!

Rookie started off as a web-based blog in 2011 and has since been published in print anthologies by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The blog and print anthologies are edited by Tavi Gevinson and include a collection of articles, playlists, true stories, rants, artwork and interviews compiled by teenagers, activists and artists. The content of Rookie is aimed at teenage girls (Gevinson herself was a teenager when the blog initiated) and its message at large is that being a teenager is tough, but also fun. It provides real-life coping strategies and support throughout its content.

One of my favorite articles in Rookie Yearbook Two, for example, titled “A Tried and True Map to Paradise” by Sarah Sophie Flicker, implores its readers to go easy on themselves and that “paradise” in life is a fleeting concept once reached. It also recounts Ray Bradbury’s story of creating happiness for oneself despite peer rejection. According to the story, Bradbury was made fun of as a child for liking comic books and science

fiction. Dejected, he tore up his favorite Buck Rogers comics and then he started to cry. Bradbury asked himself, “Why am I weeping? Who died? The answer was me. I had allowed these fools to kill me, and to kill the future.” From that point on he decided to never again pay heed to negative people (^{Flicker, 24} Flicker, Sarah S., “A Tried and True Map to Paradise.” Rookie Yearbook Two. Canada: Drawn & Quarterly, 2013. Print ).

Currently there are three print anthologies available for checkout at the West Windsor Branch Library: Rookie Yearbook One, Rookie Yearbook Two and Rookie Yearbook Three. You may also read new articles on Rookie’s website.

To check out one or all of these titles, stop by the West Windsor Branch or put them on hold. Items may be placed on hold by calling your local branch, using our online catalog

or through the BookMyne app (available for free for both Apple and Android devices). By putting books on hold, you can also pick them up at any other Mercer County Library branch. When your hold is available, a staff member will either contact you by telephone or, if you have opted for electronic notification you will receive an email. Items are held for five business days.

If you enjoy the “Books and Comics” section of Rookie online, the Mercer County Library System has an extensive collection of graphic novels, manga and comics. At last count, there are over 7,000 titles available ranging from juvenile to adult subject matter and reading level.

-Dragana, West Windsor Branch