Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Résumé, Ages 0 to 22, by MariNaomi 8.0

I don’t even remember how I found this book. I suspect that it was suggested by a friend in one of his mass graphic novel recommendation emails. If that’s the case, I must offer sincere gratitude: this was worth discovering.

In fact, I will be on the look out for more books my MariNaomi (unfortunately, my library only has this one… ).

I really appreciated the candid, semi-exhibitionistic, aspect of this personal diary turned graphic novel; while it’s mostly composed of vignettes, they all felt real and appeared to provide insight into our character and author.

On the whole, ‘Kiss and Tell’ may be dramatic, what with relationships being so intense at times, but the author injected humour in her tales along the way. Her friendships, encounters with boys (and girls), and her familial relationships reminded me of things I’ve also experienced – even though she has lead a very different life, and on such a large scale.

I honestly don’t know how MariNaomi remembers all of these encounters, all of these people… there are so many of them. I wouldn’t be able to, that’s for sure; I can’t barely remember the non-essential ones in my life. It certainly makes for a fascinating, if voyeuristic read, though; there’s a lot of deeply personal stuff being related.

The artwork is pleasant but very basic. It tells the many stories adequately, but it can be a little quaint in its rendering, if imaginative in its storytelling. The stories are tossed together in a somewhat linear fashion but, although there appears to be intended structure, it felt a bit scattered at times. Mind you, perhaps this is only due to the brevity of some of the stories.

Either way, I found it profoundly entertaining. It was an effortless read for me, and I can’t wait for another offering from MariNaomi. I would recommend this to anyone who likes observing and/or deconstructing human behaviour – and who doesn’t feel too awkward reading through someone else’s private journals and stealing a glance at their inner life.