Julia and Victoria return once again to the story of Marjane Satrapi in Persepolis 2 as young Marji navigates the perils of living on her own in a foreign country, particularly one where her race and heritage are viewed as a political statement, and the difficulty of deciding the direction of her future adult life. Satrapi’s story blows open our culture’s generalizations about “The Middle East” with nuance and humor and heartbreak. This book also makes it abundantly clear that no one will ever be as cool as Satrapi - absolutely no competition.

During a period of political upheaval and war in her country, Marjane Satrapi read comic books about Karl Marx, and listened to Iron Maiden, and stood up for her beliefs at political rallies or at school. She’s so punk, it’s incredible. So dive into Persepolis with us to learn more about the history of Persia and to spend some time with a young Marjane, the heroine the world desperately needs.

It’s not a comic, or a graphic novel; it’s a graphic memoir. And apparently, graphic memoirs can be truly incredible works of art with gripping stories, that also last about as long as a single installment of Lord of the Rings. So if you feel overwhelmed by the pressure of always trying to be a “good reader,” whatever that means, join us as we rest our burnt out souls and engage with this truly incredible, visual text about family and identity after the Vietnam War by Thi Bui.