Cover Image: The Times I Knew I Was Gay

The Times I Knew I Was Gay

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Member Reviews

I love the art and the illustration style in this book! Sadly though, the art style was the only thing I really liked about this book.
My main issues are with the pacing. So many details are glossed over and as a reader I didn't really get to understand the author, which is the purpose of a memoir. I was hoping when reading this it would be similar to Spinning or Fun Home, but the short length and fast pacing kept this book from being deeply personal and emotional.

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An easy and fast read for people who can relate to the author's challenges with heteronormativity. However, I feel like the pacing of the book was too fast for me to REALLY get to know Eleanor throughout the pages of the book. There were some assumptions mentioned that I just didn't understand. For example, if Eleanor's parents were displaying interest in keeping up with the lesbian relationship of Willow and Tara portrayed in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer from when Eleanor was growing up, then the details are missing from the book that accurately represent the reasons behind her struggles to even admit her sexuality to even just herself. (I'm not saying that heteronormativity isn't a HUGE factor in this; I am merely commenting on the syntax and sensory details that were present throughout the book as well as the details that were not present.)

Overall, I love the honest illustrations. I love that this book has the potential to help someone. I just wish that the author would have chose to use more effective language.

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This book is a graphic memoir of Eleanor's coming out story. I adore graphic novels and this one was great. I just wish Eleanor would have given us a little more of her love story once she found her person. Overall, cute story. Great for anyone who enjoys graphic novels or is struggling with their own identity.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This was such a pleasure to read and experience!

Seeing Eleanor’s journey through her sexuality was complex and I really enjoyed seeing how she got to navigate through the ups and downs aid coming out 5 times haha.

I truly recommend this book to anyone, whether you’re still trying to figure things out or no.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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THE TIMES I KNEW I WAS GAY is a quiet and poignant look at growing up queer. It's honest, hopeful, and nuanced--not to mention the art is both charming and full of life!

I loved Ellie's look at how someone's relationship with their body can interact with their sexuality, especially when grappling with who exactly you are. I'm very thankful for the honest introspection surrounding eating disorders, body image, and those connections to sexuality.

I'm equally thankful for the portrayal of coming out not as one big, singular, definite act, but rather as something that many queer people do all the time; we come out to other people over and over again, and often times we come out to ourselves more than once, and I loved how that was talked about as a process and not a one-and-done deal. The introspection was also done so well--the moments where Ellie comes out of the narrative to reflect on her past actions were some of my favorites.

And, of course, everything is tied together with gorgeous art that fits the narrative's buoyancy and candidness.

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in a quick read about growing up and coming out.

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I got an ARC of this book.

I’m not sure what I expected from this book. I am a fan of graphic memoirs and all things queer. So I thought this would be a book for me.

The issue is, it just fell flat. I have no idea why. The story wasn’t all that compelling. I read the whole book in less then twenty minutes. I didn’t feel attached to the characters. I couldn’t really relate to Crewes. I didn’t really see any reason why this book existed. Usually a memoir makes sense to me. There are stories that make a person and they tell a story. This just felt like nothing happened. So while I am thankful Crewes didn’t experience horrific things to make this more compelling of a story, it just didn’t make sense why this was a memoir. It was missing something.

The art was better than my art, but that bar is super low. There was nothing really engaging with the art. I wasn’t bowled over with skill or how certain lines were made. It just felt like a generic comic. Nothing special or unique about it. One of the characters was Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I couldn’t tell that she was Willow from the art without the context. The one time I actually get a reference to popular culture and I almost miss it. I am a bit let down.

I wish I had more to say. I was just underwhelmed over all. There was nothing that made this stand out or make it relatable. It just felt unfinished.

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This is more than a book about just coming out, this book is what so many people (especially teens and new adults...and maybe beyond?) will enjoy. The illustrations and text are friendly and familiar, it feels like Ms. Crewes is speaking directly to the reader, even when she doesn't break the 4th wall (although she does that, too, once or twice!).

The Times I Knew I Was Gay is exactly about the title. The author had moments in her life where she entertained the possibility of being gay, but then thought maybe she wasn't and how would she know? so she continued to try to date boys, even when time and again she found no real attraction. She talked about boys with her friends and pretended to fit in, even when it wasn't authentic. This flies in the face of the single theme of so many people: "I always knew..." Maybe not everyone does know and this book give permission to learn, do what feels right, and find love and acceptance. I enjoyed the honesty and was glad to see that the author was surrounded by family and friends who love her!

My thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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CW: disordered eating, homophobia

I absolutely loved this book and did not want it to end. Ellie's journey to coming out is very relatable and I loved that her first coming out occurred while viewing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with her friends. I will definitely be buying a physical copy of this book when it is released.

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I loved this graphic memoir of the author’s realization (which isn’t as linear as anyone says it is) that they were gay. There were so many moments I could relate to, having multiple coming outs for being queer, my experience not being validated if I wasn’t dating a cis woman, etc. I loved that it explored some of the darker aspects (being bullied) of growing up gay, but also had a really happy wholesome ending!! We love to see it!!

CW: bullying, use of slurs, homophobia

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I love a good graphic novel, especially during a pandemic. This one was really easy to read and relatable, but it dragged on a bit and felt forced and wasn't all that engaging.

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I love happy endings to queer books. This one felt so warm, like coming home, after years of ping-ponging between realization and denial. While the college setting, revisiting of childhood memories, and coming out narrative are reminiscent of Fun Home, this book ultimately feels more joyful and less scholarly.

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This is Ellie's story of how she came to terms with her sexuality. It's like she always knew she was gay, but she kept fighting it. I enjoyed her doodles and her story. This just shows you that everyone comes to terms with their sexuality differently. No "coming out" story is the same, and it's something that you may have to do over and over again.

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Here is an honest and relatable look at queerness and a personal story of coming out. This graphic memoir leads the reader through snippets of the author’s life as she uncovers, battles, and eventually learns to accept her queerness. The casual illustrations and occasional breaking of the fourth wall makes this an easy read, but no less important.

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There is an audience for this, but I was expecting more depth. Good to have around for young adults looking for a basic story of "coming out".

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I devoured this charming and sensitive graphic memoir in just a matter of hours. This books is part coming of age story, part coming out story, and 100% relatable as another millennial woman who didn’t come out until her early twenties. So many parts of this story felt true to my own experiences, especially the reality of coming out over and over again. Too often in queer books and movies, coming out is a singular event that Happens and then everyone Knows. Instead of taking that easy narrative route, Crewes beautifully illustrated the many ways that queer people have to come out, to others as well as to themselves. The story is told with humor and grace, and i absolutely adored the illustrations. I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of Alison Bechdel or Tillie Walden.

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All I have to say is that this is simultaneously relatable and a little sad. The number of times she felt the need to go back into the closet was a little unfortunate, but it's definitely not uncommon. I'm glad she worked it out in the end and some of the scenarios were pretty dang funny regardless.

Recommended for anyone interested in a non-linear coming out story in graphic novel form.

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This graphic novel memoir follows the long journey of self realization. The gayness of Eleanor's life is the focus. All of those moments of queerness that when you look back at years later, it was so obvious but everyone's journey is different. Some people definitively know their own personal truths early on, but most people have longer journeys that may involve some different stops along the way. This book shows just one example of that journey.

The artwork in this book is simple and shows the story excellently with great focus.

I saw myself in this book. Memoirs are such great empathy tools. The specifics were great, from Willow to the flirting techniques of a (unbeknownst to her) closeted lesbian.

I give this book a 5/5. This is a great graphic novel memoir. I think all queer people will find something of themselves in this book. And non-queer people will gain some great perspective and may relate to the queer experience more than they expect.

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This was quick and easy to read in theory, but in reality I dragged through the first four chapters for two weeks. There's just something about it (is it the art? is the narration? I don't know) that failed to be engaging, even as a queer person who could relate to some of the experiences here described. It was all very linear and there's nothing wrong with that except that it didn't feel like anything new. Of course I'm not talking about the author's life itself, I just mean that I felt like the art didn't add much to the story and I would have felt exactly the same about it by just reading the text alone.

While it dragged first, I finished the rest of it in one sitting. I still don't know how to talk about a graphic memoir without seeming like I'm gossiping about the author's life but I think the most significant thing this book adds to the conversation is the fact that coming out is rarely a linear process, you can come out to yourself and even to others in a sudden moment of clarity and then just....continue lying to yourself for months or years.

If this is your first graphic memoir about someone's coming out story or if you're questioning or struggling with coming out I think this is a good place to start, it just wasn't for me.

TWs: eating disorder, panic attack

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A solid coming-out memoir via graphic novel. The author uses a simple yet effective illustration style paired with personal yet not-overly-dramatic reflections of her formerly closeted life. Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner, and Eleanor Crewes for the ARC!

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I received this book from Netgalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

The Times I Knew I Was Gay is a graphic novel that follows Eleanor's coming out process.

I loved this book. I love that this story showed a less conventional coming out story. I realize that not all coming out stories are the same and I appreciate the narrative this book shows. Coming out is non-linear and we frequently don't see this.
I also really enjoyed the art style of this book. I will definitely be watching for more from this book.

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