Author/Illustrator: Meredith Gran
Title: Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn
Publication Date: 2010, originally self-published on website
Number of Pages: 252
Part of a Series: Not yet, but a second volume is planned
Subject Heading(s):
- Alternative comics
- Amazon
- Artistic
- Birds
- Brooklyn
- Comic strip
- Feral parrot
- Friendship
- Graphic novel
- Independent comics
- Interpersonal relations
- Living alone
- New York
- Novelist
- Review
- Roommates
- Single women
- Stoner
- Webcomic
- Weed
Geographical Setting/Time Period: Brooklyn, NY, current time
Main Character(s):
- Everest Ning, an angry, nerdy young woman, bedeviled by her suspicion that she is a loser
- Hanna Thompson, cheerful easygoing stoner, somewhat of a slacker and Eve’s roommate
Plot Summary: Out of college and trying to make sense of life as an adult, Eve and her roommate Hannah navigate the day-to-day routine of life in Brooklyn. Eve has a job at an organic market; Hannah makes pastries for the same enterprise. The girls revolve around each other through problems with boyfriends, lifestyles and making enough to live on. A feral parrot and a house cat named Manuel help round out the episodes depicted in this collection of 2 years worth of adventures.
Appeal: The storyline is character driven and fast-paced. The characters are funny; the drawing is quirky but showing attention to the detail that is necessary for effective story-telling. The episodes are logical in their ordering within the collection.
Brief quote: “Times have changed, Eve. Stoners are a clean, industrious people, some of the most discerning, provocative minds of our time.” (155)
Prizes or Awards: None found
Similar Works:
- Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel by Alison Bechdel. Graphic novel that focuses on interpersonal relations between funny characters. (Novelist)
- Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz. Graphic novel that illustrates the life of 20 somethings in New York City. (Amazon)
Reviewer’s Name: Nancy Rimassa
Form adapted from Saricks, Joyce G. and Nancy Brown. Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library 2nd. Chicago: ALA, 1997.
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