This was an affecting graphic memoir. It deals with the author’s mom’s dying from an aggressive form of cancer and the family coping with the situation. The author manages to depict their own coming out as genderqueer and not muddle the two subjects. The story is told chronologically, with short flashbacks in between. It highlights the humor and love shared among the family members, and their deep sadness at the situation. Subtle and remarkable! A note on the art- all of the people in the book are depicted as penguins and other varieties of birds. For me, I felt like this held a lot of symbolism, was cute, and also balanced the tone of the book. ( )

graphic memoir - young college-aged penguin (incidentally genderqueer/nonbinary and Jewish) deals with their mom's sudden diagnosis of terminal cancer.

sparing yet emotive (penguin!) art and a story told with love, a sweet portrait of a family saying goodbye. Recommended -- and definitely want to see more from this author. ( )

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

When Will Betke-Brunswick was a sophomore in college, their beloved mother Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer. Will moved back home to help their family navigate this difficult journey - and, ultimately, to spend as much time with Mumin as possible. Chronicled here, their days are filled with chemo treatments, family therapy, shared "lasts" (last family vacation, last meal), and the expected anticipatory grief.

Yet sprinkled throughout are moments of joy, tenderness, and hope, as the family is so often buoyed by their matriarch. Through flashbacks, we're treated to Will's memories of their mother in happier times: deliberately breaking the kitchen sink to score a play date with her kids, or listening to HIS DARK MATERIALS on car rides home.

During this time, Will was also coming out as genderqueer; whereas mom is immediately on board, dad struggles a bit to wrap his head around it, amplifying the tension in their relationship. (Dad adopts a more practical approach to his wife's impending death - staying up late to pen an obituary in advance, for example - whereas Will just wants to live in the here and now.) In an especially sweet scene, Elizabeth makes Will a genderqueer crossword puzzle, underscoring the preciousness of their bond.

In an interesting twist, Betke-Brunswick depicts their family as a waddle of penguins, and the supporting characters are variety of different birds. While charming, this left me struggling to tell everyone apart, at least at first.

Since I read this at a low emotional point (winter blues, ugh), I expected it to hit a little harder, but it wasn't until the last dozen or so pages that I was really bawling. (The family carrying Mumin on her final passage really struck a chord.) It feels like the anthropomorphic penguins should have made me feel more connected to the material (animal person here), but perhaps it had the opposite effect?