This was a great memoir, featuring a primary ghost tale that is still non-fictional (it's kind of a metaphor). A story about a relationship between father and daughter, about depression, and the melancholy of being a teenager waiting for your life to change.

Thank you Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

My review is quite late and I apologise for that.

I'm going to give this book 3 stars because there were few things I liked and couple of I disliked.

The things I liked in this book was the artwork and how they played with the colour palette. The atmoshpere was okay even though it was rather weird at times. Moving on, the growing up part was, for me, necessary in this book and I am glad it was here.

On the other hand, the things I disliked were the blank characters I couldn't click with.

Honestly, this didn't grab my attention. I thought it was OK. I don't really have any reason or thought that it was bad. It just didn't grab me.

ARC review: Maggie’s story telling is wonderful. Memoirs are always so interesting and I love Maggie’s unique voice, honesty, and humor in this book. I can’t wait to read it again when it’s in full color!

First: Thank you to Netgalley and Candlewick for sharing this copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

​Second: I am aware this review is very late, and I apologize for that. I had some difficulties in late 2018 that resulted in a backlog of read and unreviewed ARCs that I am working through right now. I take full ownership of this, and I sincerely apologize.

Lost Soul, Be At Peace is a graphic memoir, a genre I have not read before. Points for new things! However, I am also unsure of how I'd like to go about reviewing, so this will be a bulleted mini-review.
​⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lost Soul, Be at Peace is Maggie Thrash's second book, the first being Honor Girl, which I have not read. I had been assured that reading Honor Girl was not necessary to understand this book, and I do feel that is probably true.

Synopsis:
A year and a half after the summer that changed her life, Maggie Thrash wishes she could change all it back. She's trapped in a dark depression and flunking the 11th grade, befuddling her patrician mother while going unnoticed by her father, a workaholic federal judge. The only thing Maggie really cares about is her cat, Tommi...who then disappears somewhere in the walls of her cavernous house. So her search begins… but Maggie’s not exactly sure what she’s lost, and she has no idea what she’ll find.

In her critically acclaimed memoir, Honor Girl, Maggie Thrash brilliantly, beautifully portrayed the before and after of first love. Lost Soul, Be At Peace is the ingenious continuation of Maggie’s story, bringing her devastating honesty and humor to the before and after of depression. It marks the return of a truly heartbreaking, visionary voice in graphic novels, and pushes her storytelling to astounding new heights.

This is how it feels to search for something that’s been lost forever.

The Good:
The art! Maggie is clearly talented, and her illustrations give depth and set mood for the story very well.
All the other graphic novels I've seen have been very smooth and glossy, but Lost Soul has a sort of colored pencil/watercolor vibe, and it is. So. Pretty. Again, talent!
The sketchbook style illustrations lent themselves well to the autobiographical nature of the story. Everything felt real, and not at all detached from the narrative.
Maggie was so open and generous with her story, which gave it raw power. I think one of the lines that hit me hardest was “I guess there’s just nothing worse than having to look at a chart showing how much you’ve declined in quality.”
This memoir is open and honest and everything a reader can empathize with without glorifying or romanticizing depression. Excellent prose cuts deep to the reality of mental health struggles and family issues.

The Bad:
I got some metaphors and connections, but others just confused me. I'm always spoiler-free, so I won't go into too extensive detail about which plotlines got me lost, but I don't feel as though my understanding of the narrative suffered too much.
That's it! No more bad things! Love love love the story + art. 4/5 stars, and I'll be looking out for more of Maggie's work, because I'm hooked now.

I enjoyed Maggie Thrash's graphic memoir; after hearing her speak about this title, I had great expectations about her story of dealing with depression. After finishing the book, however, I was unsure that the impact was truly there. I liked different elements of it, especially the ongoing conversation of the "ghost" figure. On the other hand, I often thought the book lacked a certain depth, and felt a little disjointed. For a particular reader, this graphic memoir will be perfect, and I will keep it in mind for the right person.

This is a graphic memoir sequel to Honor Girl, which I ended up reading after this, but I think it can be read on my own. I didn't really feel like I was missing anything.

There are many graphic memoirs, but what makes this one stand out is how it incorporates magical realism/fabulism--things that certainly didn't happen exactly this way (I won't spoil because there is a rather satisfying twist later on), but are effective for the overall themes that I didn't mind being confused at first. Maggie thoughtfully explores her unique relationship with her lawyer father, finding they are more similar than they seem. There's also a bit of commentary on socioeconomic class, school, sexuality, and she challenges a racist comment from another student. It takes place in the early 2000s...remember Ask Jeeves?

The twist is satisfying and really informs the narrative as a whole, so I can't say too much about that. But if you're unsure about this halfway through, I encourage you to read to the end.

My copy only partially downloaded :( Summary of story seemed very interesting tho! I really wish it worked, but I will pick it up from the library now!

*thank you to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

While I liked the fact that this is based on mental illness and that from the way its written, it could be read by a variety of ages, it just didnt appeal to me a great deal. At first I did not like the illustrations but they grew on me and by the end I did appreciate them and think they suited the story well. While I would not recommend this, i also would not say dont read it because it does have its good side to it aswell.

This was my second encounter with Maggie Thrash and her graphic memoirs, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first, Honour Girl.

The premise was very intriguing but the execution of the ghost story left me very confused - even still. I have to praise both the storytelling and the artwork as her stories could be suitable for any age group, I just think it could have been developed a little bit more.

Based on the author’s life, Maggie is struggling with depression. She doesn’t feel like doing anything or planning for the future. Her beloved cat has disappeared and she is desperate to find her, though it seems an impossible task with her mental illness. Maggie stumbles upon a specter of a boy in a part of her house, who helps her address her emotional thoughts and deal with the future.

There wasn't much movement in the plot or development of the characters, simply because of the concept of this book. I found that it was difficult to stay invested in the story.

This book contains honest art from the way the author drew. It is a thought-provoking book because it deals with mental illness.

I really enjoyed Maggie Thrash's Honor Girl, so I was excited to get my hands on this graphic memoir. There is a lot of emotion conveyed through Thrash's artwork--sometimes she will go several pages without any words or dialogue at all.

Though there is a slight supernatural element (Maggie interacts with a "ghost" in her house after her cat disappears), this is a realistic read full of themes that teens can relate to: battling depression, feeling like an outcast at school, struggling to relate to your parents--and then learning that your parents are people with pasts and lives you never knew about.

Lost Soul Be At Peace takes place during the author's junior year in high school and revolves around the anguish brought about by the sudden disappearance of her cat and the sudden appearance of a ghost.

This story is just as much character driven as it is plot driven. The reader is given a glance into Maggie's mental state as she tries to navigate the loss of her cat, whom she sees as the only inhabitant of her house that really cares about her and the steady downward trend that is her school life.

The story thread seemed jumbled at times, as there were lots of themes to unpack here, but I thinknyoung readers will connect with Maggie's overwhelming sense of vulnerability as she tries to navigate loss and an impending sense of adulthood.

A difficult read. Sad. Well written. Multi-layered. Lots of themes, including family and loss, growing up and coming out. Identity as a whole.

I loved Maggie's first book, and it was no surprise to me that this one was just as good. I'm not sure if the formatting was wonky because it was an ARC or if it was because it was on my Kindle, but I'm assuming that will be fixed by the time the published copy comes out. With the crazy formatting some of the story was hard to put together. Sentences overlapped each other and didn't make sense. It took some work to figure out the placement of everything. Despite that, I really feel that the story was great. Once in the right order it flowed well. The graphics that were in the book were her typical style and we nicely done. I can't wait for the book to come out in hard copy so I can read it the way it was meant to be read.

As with her first graphic novel, I enjoyed the simplistic art style Thrash has and her plain storytelling. I feel like this is a more relatable read for someone who more in Thrash's privilege class (white, able-bodied, and seemingly comfortable to well off).

In the second graphic novel memoir (or sorts) that Maggie has written, I enjoyed this one much more. There's a ghost story in this one but also a sincere look at the things we sacrifice when we grow up, mental health, family dynamics, and the things we do to protect ourselves and our families.

Maggie took on a lot more with this graphic novel than her last. In this story we explore coming out in high school, hobbies, family, depression, the judicial system, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and the loss of innocence. I felt like all themes were well explored if not a little bit convoluted. We have a House of Leaves vibe in this story that felt a tiny bit...out of nowhere. But, I really did enjoy it! If you like Maggie's work or are looking for a "mostly" contemporary graphic novel that is a little spooky or dark, this might be the one for you.

Trigger Warnings: Sex trafficking, suicide, eating disorders, depression, the death of animals, body dysmorphia, death of a loved one, and parental abuse.

Hidden Gem: the typeset is Maggie Thrash...like she legit made her own typeface by (I'm assuming) using her own handwriting- so that's pretty awesome.

This graphic memoir follows the main character Maggie living through her depression during eleventh grade. Her beloved cat Tommi goes missing and during a nightmare she encounters a ghost boy named Tommy while searching for her cat. When she awakens the ghost is still there, neither one of them understanding why. Maggie's navigation through a school of racist and homophobic classmates, disappointing school officials, and parents who don't hear her repeated calls for help is guided by Tommy. Readers will connect with Maggie's vulnerability and come face to face with that heartbreakingly thin line between childhood and adulthood and its unstoppable consequences.

If you're new here, I fell in love with Maggie Thrash's first graphic memoir, Honor Girl. As someone who came out late in life I honestly read it at the perfect time, and also your girl is a sucker for an abundance of Backstreet Boys references. So i was super excited to get my greedy little paws on the follow up. Sadly, I didn't love it like I loved Honor Girl. But frankly, that was kind of like a once in a lifetime type of read for me.

In this memoir we see more of her family life, and the mystery surrounding it. And what it's like to be gay in the South. And her dealing with depression. Again, HELLA RELATABLE. Maggie and I are about the same age so sometimes I feel like i'm reading my own memoir. HA! Anyway, if you loved Honor Girl, I'd definitely check this one out too. If you haven't read Honor Girl, oh. em. gee. GO READ IT! and then read this when it comes out in October.