An inspirational and poignant pictorial memoir that chronicles a teenage mother's sentimental education, as told through cartoons and searing text.
Recent Reviews:I made this graphic novel/memoir for three reasons: to honor the heroism of single moms, to help encourage single moms to pursue their equal rights to education, and to share my own struggle to find the way to college. Thank you for your interest: help a single mom today! Hey! It's a cartoon book: scary, funny, ironic, tear-jerking, full of chills and thrills, darkness and inspiration. It's a story of love. It's been nominated for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award (winner to be announced in August).
REVIEWS:
6/99: MS. magazine:"Katherine Arnoldi: Single Mom Super Hero"
4/99: BUST magazine #12: "This book is beautiful, accessible and soulful"--Meg Weber.
4/99: AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW: "Dada at Midnight"---Jim Feast
2/17/99: THE NEW YORK TIMES: "A Mother: Young, Single and Heroic"--David Gonzalez
2/99: HIP MAMA: "If you are a teen mom or abuse survivor, it is a must read" --Ariel Gore
1/28/99 TONY ISABELLA'S ONLINE CARTOON REVIEW: "I ended up voting it as my favorite graphic novel in the CBG Fan Awards. Yep, it's that good."
1/28/99: THE STAR LEDGER: "Reaching for the Stars: An Author Uses Her Story to Inspire Other Single Moms"---Mark McGarrity
12/25/98 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY BEST OF 1998: The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom was choosen as the tenth best book: "Not only did she beat back a grim fate, but the bright, redemptive way she shares her story is proof that one evocative line drawing can be worth a thousand points of psychobabble. If you're looking for a good cleansing cry--and a book that actually makes you think about the world instead of just escaping it--this is the year's best."
12/21/98: NEW YORK magazine: "In Print: Singled Out": "...the scary, funny, ultimately heroic story of Arnoldi's struggle to make a happy life out of a very raw deal."---Ariel Levy
12/14/98: AUSTIN CHRONICLE: "I can only attribute the hot tears I shed while reading it to the power of Arnoldi's moving, triumphant story."---Roseana Auten
12/98: REDBOOK: "Here's the real thing: A superhero whose magic cape is faith." ---Dawn Raffel
12/98 SEVENTEEN: "It's a refreshingly nonlecturely picture of what it's really like to be a teen mom."
11/18/98: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: "A Teen Mom's Path Out of Abuse" ---Marilyn Gardener
11/98 ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Single Mother Turns to Cartoons to Tell Story, Help Others"---Jill Prillick
11/98 ELLE magazine:"Me and My Baby: "Arnoldi displays grit and compassion that would be admirable in any situation, and that becomes wondrous given the harem-scarum circumstances of her painful but ultimately fruitful life."---Lisa Shea
9/18/98 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: "That's how poignant, immediate, and good it is: pictorial autobiography, redemptive fable, and purest testimony to the strength of motherly love." ---AJ
9/98: MS. magazine: "This memoir in cartoon form is fast-paced, moving and entertaining."
8/17/98 PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Teen Mom Finds Voice, Writes Book": "Writing in affecting, straightfoward prose and drawing with an awkward but powerful, child-like simplicity..."---Calvin Reid