Blankets

Blankets, written and illustrated by Craig Thompson, is an autobiographical, graphic novel published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions in Marietta, Georgia. 

Blankets is a coming of age novel Thompson wrote about himself, growing up in Wisconsin in a poorer, very religious family. Using flashbacks, a teenage/young adult Craig tells about his childhood with his younger brother and about sexual abuse inflected upon the two of them by their male babysitter. As Craig gets older, he depicts being a social outcast at his school and being bullied by other students. Eventually, his parents send him to church camp, where he meets other outcasts, including a girl named Raina who Craig develops a romantic relationship with, despite her living far away in Michigan. As Craig gets older, and as his relationship with Raina goes through the common stages of young love (infatuation, love, lust, disagreements, breakups), Craig is forced to come to terms with his upbringing, his  beliefs, and how his relationship with Raina shapes him even after the relationship is over.
Blankets is a refreshing take on disillusionment with religion, as you see Craig going from devout Christian to questioning not only the scripture, but how it affected his upbringing and the ways that religion shames young people as they discover their bodies and sexuality. Blankets are a motif throughout the novel, whether it is the blanket that he and his brother share as children, the quilt that Raina makes for Craig, or blank sheets of paper that Craig draws on. There are also themes of young love and dysfunctional families (Raina's parents' divorce, Craig's strict father who could be considered abusive). This book was a refreshing take on the classic young adult romance novel via the graphic novel medium (the all black ink drawings I find are nice for those not accustomed to reading graphic novels/comic books as it tends to make the page appear less busy, which can render the story line easier to follow) as well as the ongoing theme of religious disillusionment gives the plot a bit more intellectual meat (not that Thompson needs it, as he's a smart, yet vulnerable writer). This book was really a pleasure to read, and despite it's weighty 592 pages, it was a very quick read (another great thing about graphic novels!) and only took about 2-3 days to complete.