Book Review by Aarene Storms: Spinning

Spinning by Tillie Walden

Tillie Walden was a competitive figure and synchronized ice skater for twelve years, but she says that although an ice rink will always be a familiar place, it will also always make her cringe.

With skating as the backdrop, the author conducts readers through a tour of the changes in her young life:  a family move from New Jersey to Texas, making (and losing) friends, learning new skills on the ice, falling in love with another girl, coming out to her friends and family, and always prepping for the next competition.

Tillie worked hard. She was good, and successful... and she hated the whole thing.

Using a comic/graphic novel format, Tillie tells the story of her early life -- not just the skating, but other parts as well: her friends, her family, and always, her loneliness. The illustrations are simple, thoughtful and compelling.

Recommended for readers 12 to adult. Sexual situations are discussed tactfully, and there are no nekkid bodies on the page.

The events may not have happened; still, the story is true.  --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach and Lake Forest Park Libraries, KCLS