Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
Reviewed by Duyen Dao, Brandon Diaz, Emily Del Rosario, and Erin Gonzalez
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| Penguin Random House |
Review:
Honor
Girl is a graphic memoir written and
illustrated by Maggie Thrash. The novel reflects on Maggie’s life as a
15-year-old camper coming to terms with her sexuality. The majority of story
takes place at the summer camp, Camp Bellflower, located in Kentucky. It can be
described as a happy-go-lucky camp running on the traditions that have been in
place since 1922. Most of the campers hold onto traditional values without room
for much open-mindedness. The staff has a very “good cop, bad cop” vibe going
on. Some of them push Maggie to be herself and others telling her to conform to
the camp’s traditional values.
From the start of the novel, Maggie is aware of her differences. Maggie faces obstacles which test her willingness to be herself. She develops a crush on the 19-year-old staff member, Erin. When Maggie finds out that Erin feels the same way, Maggie is forced to confront her issues with her identity and reluctance to be open about who she is. Maggie’s friends, Tennis Bethany and Shannon, try their best to convince Maggie that who she is is better than anyone she pretends to be. The climax of the novel comes when Maggie is named Honor Girl, the most prestigious award the camp offers at the end of summer. It is at that moment when she realizes becoming Honor Girl isn’t as great as the camp portrays it to be. Being given this award symbolizes conformity and leaving one’s true self behind to please the standards of others. Maggie shows the reader it’s okay to be yourself.
From the start of the novel, Maggie is aware of her differences. Maggie faces obstacles which test her willingness to be herself. She develops a crush on the 19-year-old staff member, Erin. When Maggie finds out that Erin feels the same way, Maggie is forced to confront her issues with her identity and reluctance to be open about who she is. Maggie’s friends, Tennis Bethany and Shannon, try their best to convince Maggie that who she is is better than anyone she pretends to be. The climax of the novel comes when Maggie is named Honor Girl, the most prestigious award the camp offers at the end of summer. It is at that moment when she realizes becoming Honor Girl isn’t as great as the camp portrays it to be. Being given this award symbolizes conformity and leaving one’s true self behind to please the standards of others. Maggie shows the reader it’s okay to be yourself.
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| Penguin Random House |
One of
the greatest parts of this novel is the simple art style. The art style becomes
more meaningful as it is also illustrated by Maggie Thrash. The colors are
light and unsaturated, and the illustration is done with thin, smudged lines
giving each picture a soft feeling. The delicate style shows how fondly Maggie
feels about these memories, even though it was a time of struggle. She chooses
to keep them in the light rather than shroud them in darkness.
The book
very entertaining and relatable for young adults struggling with any aspect of
identity. Maggie is a very quirky individual who shines when she lets her
true colors show. The references to Maggie’s love of the Backstreet Boys (with
the song “I Want it That Way” foreshadowing the events in the final chapter)
and her friendship with Tennis Bethany provide humor to the story. Maggie’s
thoughts and emotions are what make her feel relatable and human. She’s a
normal person who makes mistakes, develops a crush, and deals with internal
challenges. Her personality is likable, which creates friendships that develop
naturally. As enjoyable as this graphic novel is to read, the ending falls flat.
The end
of the novel is abrupt and eliminates all hopes for closure. The story builds
up an entire backstory only to slap the reader in the face with reality. It
reminds readers that this book is a memoir, and life doesn’t always have a
happy ending. Life keeps going whether one likes it or not.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable graphic novel. The art
style is awesome, Maggie shines as the main character, and the story is
genuinely funny even while dealing with complicated issues of sexuality,
identity, and truth. However, the ending left much to be desired. The readers
deserve some closure after their stay at Camp Bellflower.
Biography:
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| ©2014 Nico Carver |
Instructional Resources:
2. This PDF gives tips on how to create one's own graphic novel.
3. This site details the differences between a memoir and an autobiography. This will help students understand why Honor Girl is the former and not the latter.
4. A teaching guide with discussion questions about Honor Girl to help students think critically and engage with the text. Recommended for quick-write prompts at the beginning of lessons.
5. This list names the jobs necessary to the making and publishing of a graphic novel.
6. This is a short interactive with vocabulary words on the components of a graphic novel. Type in your name, then get started.
7. This video is a TEDxTalk from graphic novelist, Gene Yang, on why it is important to incorporate graphic novels into the classroom.
8. This is a list of podcasts focusing on YA fiction, with a few specifically about graphic novels.
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| Secret Garden Books |
Instructional Activity:
Preview:
Grade: 9-10Subject: English Language Arts
Topics: Self-discovery, identity, and LGBTQ representation
Objective: For students to successfully understand how to read graphic novels critically and develop visual literacy.
California Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3
Analyze how the author unfolds and analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to ask, purpose and audience.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to ask, purpose and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Resources and Preparation:
1. The novel Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash.
2. Pixton - Have students use this free website to create their comic strips or they can free-hand on a piece of paper.
Instructional Plan:
Introduction: The students are to have already read to page 62 (Chapter
4) before this lesson begins. At the beginning of class, students will be asked
to answer the following quick-write prompt:
- Describe the culture of the camp that Maggie attends. What kinds of assumptions might be made about campers based on what you know about the community culture at Bellflower? Provide two pieces of evidence.
After 8-10 minutes of writing, a few students will be selected to share their answers to the question.
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| Penguin Random House |
Close Reading: For the next 15 minutes, the teacher will guide the class in a close reading of two moments from the first four chapters of the novel. The first set panels to be examined are on pages 36-38, when Maggie is performing on stage as her favorite singer in the Backstreet Boys for the camp talent show. The second set of panels are on page 51, when Erin is checking Maggie's hair for lice. Students are to examine these two moments with the following questions in mind:
Students are then asked about the kinds of themes they see developing so far in the novel and how the illustration style helps or hinders these themes from coming through. Looking at the sections closely together as a class will help all students understand how to properly read a graphic novel. Bringing the class discussion to a close, the teacher will introduce the activity.
Activity: Students will create two comic strips based on one moment
from their own lives. This moment could be at a point of struggle with
identity, like Maggie, another important milestone, or even an everyday
occurrence. One comic strip should be made using text bubbles for the thoughts
and dialogue of the characters. The other comic strip will be made with little
to no words to emphasize the facial expressions of characters, colors, and
other visual details of the pictures. The students will use the remaining part
of the class to finish these two comic strips. They will be instructed to
access the website to create a comic strip or will be able to draw them by
hand.
- Why are there little to no words in these panels compared to other moments in the book?
- What are the functions of these panels in terms of storytelling?
- Why do you think the illustrator chose these colors, amounts of text, perspectives, etc.?
- How do these components help the message of the picture?
Students are then asked about the kinds of themes they see developing so far in the novel and how the illustration style helps or hinders these themes from coming through. Looking at the sections closely together as a class will help all students understand how to properly read a graphic novel. Bringing the class discussion to a close, the teacher will introduce the activity.
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| Autostraddle.com |
Conclusion: If students are able to finish their comic strips in this
class period, begin a discussion with them on what they learned while doing the
activity. What message did they want to convey? Did they find it harder to
convey their message without using text bubbles? How did they decide on their
color pallet, perspectives of the panels, and thickness of lines? Discuss how Maggie, as an illustrator, chooses moments to show without text and how that makes those
moments significant.
Additional References
Acree,
Cat. "Maggie Thrash: The Summer Everything Changed.” Bookpage, 8
Sept. 2015.
https://bookpage.com/interviews/18773-maggie-thrash.
Bell,
Amanda. “Maggie Thrash Explains How ‘Honor Girl’ is Her Coming Out Story.” MTV
News,
MTV,7
Sept. 2015. http://www.mtv.com/news/2262523/maggie-thrash-interview/.
Claytor,
Holly. “Author Maggie Thrash on Comics, Summer Camp, and Cats.”
delewaretoday.com,
14
Feb.2018. http://www.delawaretoday.com/Blogs/The-Arts-Buzz/February-
2018/Author-Maggie-Thrash-on-Comcs-Summer-Camp-and-Cats/
2018/Author-Maggie-Thrash-on-Comcs-Summer-Camp-and-Cats/
Stamper,
Christine N. ““You Are My [Camp]Fire”: Tradition and Structure in Maggie
Thrash’s Graphic Memoir Honor Girl.” Children's Literature in Education,
2017, pp. 1–15.
https://link-springer-com.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/article/10.1007/s10583-017-9336-4
https://link-springer-com.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/article/10.1007/s10583-017-9336-4
Thrash,
Maggie. Maggie Thrash Bio. 8 May 2018,
http://www.maggiethrash.com/bio/
