No Ivy League by Hazel Newlevant

Graphic Memoir skirting the issue of race, gender and class as seen through the eyes of a homeschooled teen.

Grabbing this book, I thought I was going to be immersed in the rights to an Ivy League education and subjects relating to race, class, and gender. Quite the opposite, as it dealt with a middle income homeschooled teen being exposed to life among a diverse group of teens as she is employed for the summer.

Race, class, and gender! Common discourse for today's table talk, however, as a memoir, the reader delves deeply into the feels of a shy, middle class teen.

What is the intersection between race, class, gender and shy, middle class teen. At what point did they all make the biggest difference and how did it impact the individual writing this text. Walking away with a lot of energy and feelings about the text and the visuals, leaves a reader resonating with more than the themes around race, class, gender, sex or an awkward, shy teen. Portland also remained in my mind.

Disparity versus Deception

What was the lesson I was to take away from this book? Was I to encompass the complicated contrasts of life as a teen and accept the deception of the reality of the untold story? Or should I have followed the depth of the artist and sought between the layers and folds of untold tales. The disparity that lied within the deception of the real story brought out more that I was ready to tackle in this book dressed in leaves of ivy but wearing a cloak of confusion.