"Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide" by Nadine Takvorian is a dual timeline graphic memoir of the author's experiences growing up in the USA as an Armenian-American in the late 90s/early 2000s and her grandparents' story of surviving the Armenian genocide in the 1910s. A thread of magical realism in the form of an Armenian folktale about a phoenix ties together both narratives. Takvorian's work sheds light on themes of intergenerational family trauma, the complexity of identity in diaspora, and the meaning of home and having a homeland.

The gorgeous cover art is what initially drew my attention to this book, and the interior comics are equally beautiful albeit drawn in a monochromatic style. There were also some clever stylistic choices made like the intricate border on pages depicting the historical timeline and use of <> speech marks to indicate when a character is speaking another language but has been translated to English for our benefit. After finishing reading, I looked up the author's Instagram page and watched an interesting video about the many photos from family trips that she has used as landscape references throughout. It is clear how much of the author's heart went into creating this work and giving voice to her family's story.

The listed target age is YA, and I believe this would be appropriate for mature middle school- or high school-age readers. While obviously tackling serious topics and depicting acts of violence and cruelty, there is nothing overtly gory. It also has enough nuanced themes to reflect upon for an adult reader to find engaging, I was immediately engrossed and read through in a single sitting. Prior to reading "Armaveni", I knew only the basic facts about the Armenian genocide (i.e. that it had happened in the early 20th century, and Turkey to this day denies and suppresses information) from 20th century world history classes, but had never read a memoir or story of a family's experience to bring the reality to life.

This book had many elements which reminded me of previous graphic memoirs I have enjoyed like "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, "The Rabbi's Cat" by Joann Sfar, "How to Understand Israel in 60 Days of Less" by Sarah Glidden, and "Maus" by Art Spiegelman. "Armaveni" is clearly following in the legacy of these graphic novels, and I believe has the potential to be regarded as equally important and impactful.

*DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher, Levine Querido, through NetGalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*