Written by Niha Hasan
โ๐๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐บ. ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ? โ- ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
Rating: 5/5
This story starts with a concentration on the relationship between Craig and his younger brother, Phil. They are crowded uncomfortably into a single bed and both are unhappy about it. To be honest, this is the best part of this book. A moment between two brothers, sharing their sibling bond. On the other hand, later in the book, the book becomes even more sad when the reader learns that Craig is continuously tortured by bullies at school, including being beaten up on a regular basis. In addition, a male babysitter sexually abuses both brothers.
One winter, Craig goes to Bible camp and he meets Raina, a beautiful girl from Michigan. At first, the reader feels excited for Craig and this newfound relationship. After camp ends, Raina and Craig quickly become closer, and they continue their relationship through sending love letters and frequent phone calls. Craig even stays with Raina's family in Michigan for two weeks. They become very dear to each other during their stay together, and Raina gives Craig a blanket she made for him, hence the title of the book โBlankets.โ After Craig returns home, Raina tragically breaks things off. Afterwards, Craig sets about destroying everything Raina ever gave him, only leaving the blanket unharmed. The symbolism of the blanket relates to both Craigโs relationship with his brother and Raina, as both intimate relationships involved that piece of bedding and imagery of comfort and vulnerability.
By the end of the story, Craig moves away from home to make a life of his own. But, does he move on from Raina? And, why doesnโt he destroy the blanket? What is in it for him? These questions of sorrow, growing up, and having relationships plague the reader after finishing the novel.
Overall, I think that โBlanketsโ is a beautiful autobiographical graphic novel that is so deeply touching. As an autobiography, the author shares his relationships with his younger brother, his first love Raina, and religion with the readers so that they can reflect on their own.
