Saint Catherine is a very interesting take on catholic guilt, with a literal personification of a demon. The book juxtaposes the whole thing with a very silly, cartoonish art style. A unique book, I wish the art was more detailed but I loved this unique take on a graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced readers copy of Saint Catherine by Anna Meyer.

I know this book has a fantasy element to it, but it was so relatable. From the family dynamics, to relationships, and reader’s own feelings, this book has a five out of five stars for me. Parts of the book were hard to read, because of the intensity of emotions that appears in the reader, however the whole book feels like a big bear hug. What a wonderful and heartwarming read. This book will speak to those who deal with religious guilt and who feel like they aren’t good enough. Saint Catherine is the perfect book for a moment of comfort in dealing with your own personal struggles.

This was a beautiful graphic novel that will engage readers across life experience. The art is well-done and additive, and the story is relatable, empathetic, and relevant.

As someone who was also raised religious and then dropped it, I can relate a lot to this story. It's actually really well done. Dialogue that works almost all the time, with some excellent imagery and a cool "guilt" is the "demon" idea that actually worked well for the story being told. I liked all the characters, as they were all flawed in some way. I also appreciated the realistic ending, and the unsureness of it all, only made it hit more powerful. A little wordy at times, but overall very much enjoyable read.

Saint Catherine is a reflective and dark yet witty and relatable story about religious trauma and guilt and how we view ourselves when we worry too much about if we are good people. The main character was flawed in a believable way, and the cast was charming. Even the demon was darkly endearing.

First off, the artwork in this book is impeccably beautiful. The images that took up entire pages were my favorite. It really added to enhancing the way Catherine was experiencing the world around her, and her facial expressions portrayed the tension and anxiety she was feeling throughout the plot.

As a milennial with some Catholic guilt, many pieces of Catherine's story resonnated with me. She's a kind and gentle person who is struggling to reconcile with growing up and moving past a lot of the parts of her childhood that troubled her. The problem is she can't - and she's confronted with a legitamite demon who follows her around as a manifestation of her anxieties and guilt. Her current life, a boyfriend & living in the city with her new friends whose lives are growing through major changes, is something she deep down struggles to cope with because she can't seperate herself enough of the "Good Catholic Girl" she was "meant" to be. We see her struggle to communicate this with her mother especially.

The demon becomes scarier and scarier, reminding her that there isn't a way out of the guilt or shame she feels and it really affects her to point where her actions become drastic. The reveal was not what I was expecting, but appreciated as a way for her to be able to move on.

A solid story of a young woman who has a hard time dealing with change, guilt, and moving on - beautifully depicted in the images of the pages.

This story was both expected and unexpected. I think there should be more stories that relate back to a person's religious upbringing and potential trauma associated with it. Living in the "Bible belt," this seems very appropriate! The take on the story was neat, and Anna Meyer did not disappoint. I am thankful for the ARC and plan to purchase a copy for my library's collection.

I selected this book from the catalog because I was drawn in by the artstyle and color palette. Saint Catherine follows the story of a young woman wracked with religious guilt, primarily from her mother. She forces herself to Catholic mass every week, despite not feeling a sense of enjoyment from it. I am a Protestant and have no understanding of the ins and outs of Catholicism. My dad was a former Head Deacon and has been Associate Pastor for the last 15 years. I'm not guilted into attending church and I enjoy it for the most part. I like my Sunday School and learning more about the Bible each week. I'm secure in my faith and haven't experienced Catherine's doubts about her belief. The insidious presence that magnified the heroine's guilt was an interesting touch, even if the denouement was a joke. Despite not relating to the protagonist's plight and judging her past decisions, it was a unique graphic novel. I loved the illustrations, even if I can't say the same for the plot. Saint Catherine may resonate for other people, but I'm not in that particular audience. I'm not perfect myself and I'm certainly no saint!

As a former Catholic who loves graphic novels, this felt like it was written especially for me. The illustrations and color palette are fantastic, the feelings of guilt and fear that Catherine navigates are relatable, and all of the characters are charming. Highly recommend this!

Netgalley graciously provided me with an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Aaaah. good old Catholic guilt. Even when you grow up, move away from your parents and embark on your own life, it never quite leaves you. At least, it definitely has not left Catherine who feels like she HAS to keep going to mass (even though she doesn't believe in it) just to make her SUPER Catholic mom happy. When she ditches ONE TIME, she not only starts seeing a demon, but her entire life starts to implode.
The author does some interesting things here. From changing from grayscale in flashbacks to muted oranges in the present to really trippy dream and demon sequences it works well to demonstrate Catherine's confusion and self-hatred. A good case study on breaking free of indoctrination.

The art was so cool and the plot was intriguing. I was disappointed by the ending, though. I wish the demons had been real and not all in her head. That was kind of a let down.

Saint Catherine had such an interesting premise that I'm not sure became fully fleshed out. To think of a graphic novel that discusses a possession of a person sounded so intriguing, but as Meyer moves through the novel, it becomes clear this isn't really a possession. I liked the idea that Catherine was possessed by her guilt and if it had been kept at that, I would've liked it. Unfortunately, Meyer goes on to share that it was a health issue that caused the hallucinations which I felt undid the work done to build up Catherine's depth throughout the book.

I found this to be relatable in so many uncomfortable but important ways. I loved the art style and the way things were represented and the overall composition of the book. The story kind of makes me ache for a different outcome, and also for this shared trauma I have with the author. Another great graphic novel for the collection. I can’t wait to pick this up again.

Beautiful art, a compelling story about dealing with religious guilt, personal trauma, past mistakes, and the very relatable difficulty of keeping one's **** together when things are going off the rails come together to make this a great read.

Saint Catherine is a solid graphic novel. I’m sure the nuances of it went over my head as I’ve never had to deal with catholic guilt or organized religion, but I still found it entertaining and emotionally thoughtful. The characters are easy to love, and I found that was what kept me hooked throughout the story, more so than the plot. The art style compliments the theme of the story well, particularly the emotional scenes.

I was able to read Saint Catherine in one sitting, and I would recommend it to someone who likes light horror and is looking for a short book with themes of forgiving yourself, self-realization, and relationships.

All opinions below are my own. Saint Catherine was immediately hooking for me as we share a name and I love a good story based around overcoming guilt.

Catherine is a Catholic who has never missed mass her entire life, until one day she decides to skip. Everything should be fine, excpet now she's being followed by a demon. Could she really be possessed after missing only one mass? She spends the day traveling around doing her best to exercise this demon from her and learning to let go of guilt.

This story was special to me because I love a good 'burdened-by-guilt' story. The art was fantastic and illustrated the literal and metaphorical demons wonderfully. Anna Meyer did a wonderful job portraying Catherine's past and her future. This story is perfect for anyone who likes a good catholic guilt story, or even just a good stand alone graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Thank you to First Second Books for the chance to read this ARC.

An interesting look into Catherine's life, who has skipped Sunday Mass for the first time and is now being haunted. This is very heavy with religious guilt and trauma. I'm someone who never grew up religious, but I could still really feel and understand what Catherine was going through. The art was really well done, and the story was captivating from beginning to end (even though I never would have guessed that ending)

My copy came with no words and blank speech bubbles..? So, I can't give a comment on the story, but based on the summary and other reviews, this is right up my alley. I enjoyed her art style, color palette, and ways the artist chose to depict the internal horrors manifested outward. I will definitely be picking this up once it comes out (with words this time).

I started this book a week ago, but wasn’t sure where it was going. I don’t usually read the reviews or description of a graphic novel. I go based off of artwork and vibes. By the title alone, I knew it would have some sort of religious based trauma involved in it, which…. Same! And then when I started reading, I had this irrational fear that this was somehow promoting religion and I quickly closed the app. While that may be okay for some people, it’s not for me.

I started it again today after getting over my thoughts and found it to be exactly what I wanted it to be. Facing your trauma and decisions, getting over those demons that are hiding deep inside you. Oh! And it’s also about parasitic worms, which I didn’t expect at all. So that was a fun little tidbit of extra stuff thrown in there.

There was a lot of emotion involved in this story that I didn’t want to feel, but I digress. And what I’m talking about is Manolo. A seemingly perfect boyfriend and soft boy that I would happily invite into my life in less than a millisecond. He was the sad side-effect of bad decision making and not blocking your exes. I felt horrible for him and wanted him to find happiness. Btw, this story isn’t about him at all. He’s just such a sweet guy that would do ANYTHING for Catherine. We all need a Manolo in our lives.

This was a lot, I will admit, but I sometimes need that. I hope this finds the people it needs to find, because the artwork is beautiful. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to at first.

*Review includes spoiler.s*

I loved the art and themes of this graphic novel. I was also raised Catholic (although much less strictly) and I really resonated with Catherine's over-identification with saints and deep=seated sense of guilt. I also identified with her seeking to reconcile her much more authentic-to-her adult life with her past, especially when she finds that the Church is not equipped to help her with her problem despite it being so intensely entwined with her Catholic upbringing. I enjoyed the cast of characters, and I really appreciate that the story focuses pretty tightly on her core group of friends, her boyfriend, her ex, and her mother. I thought that her fraught relationship with her mother was one of the best parts of the story. It is treated very subtly, with no easy answers to be found. I have one complaint with the story, which is the squirrel bite. I spent most of the book worrying Catherine had rabies! I felt that Catherine being bitten by a wild animal was treated as an offhand occurrence in a way that felt very weird to me. I do feel that this took some of the punch out of the ending for me. Overall though, I really appreciated what Meyer set out to explore with this graphic novel and I felt that it worked very well.