Roaming

This graphic novel (444 pages) was published in September of 2023 by Drawn & Quarterly. The book takes you to 2009 New York City. David read Roaming and loved it; it wouldn't be on our site if he didn't recommend it.

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Roaming

Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki

Recapture the agony and ecstasy of being a young adult with this transportive graphic novel from Caldecott Medal-winning authors (and cousins) Jillian and Mariko Tamaki.

This emotionally satisfying graphic novel tells the story of three young Canadian women on their first adult(ish) vacation: a spring break weekend in New York City. The action kicks off at the Newark Airport with a tender reunion, spiraling out across the city with tourist destinations, stolen kisses, competing loyalties, and your general young-person anxiety.

The Tamakis do a brilliant job of capturing that almost-adult age, when a hair flip can be significant and when a lack of experience and maturity leaves friends to fend for themselves on the emotional front. Not for nothing, there’s a very particular hot mess in this story that revolves around youth, a love triangle, and being in the city for the first time. Come for the iconic pizza, stay for the drama.

This love letter to one of the world’s greatest cities is affectionately rendered in lyrical illustrations and a soft palette of pastel blue and peach. Every frame and page suggests kinetic energy and movement.

Warning: This tender, engaging story may give you nostalgia for your youth — or make you wonder if the oats you sowed were wild enough. Happily, it’s never too late to find yourself in New York.

blue and peach page of comics showing people walking in an airport looking for each other

blue and peach page of comics showing two people happily hugging

blue and peach page of comics showing two people talking in an airport

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There's a reason there are 160 songs (and counting) written about New York City. As ol' Frankie Sinatra said, the Bronx is up, the Battery's down — make it there, make it anywhere. It's up to you, New York, New York.
There's a reason there are 160 songs (and counting) written about New York City. As ol' Frankie Sinatra said, the Bronx is up, the Battery's down — make it there, make it anywhere. It's up to you, New York, New York.

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