Will & Whit: A Must-Read Tale for Teens

Welcome to “Independents Day,” Nerd Caliber’s short reviews of noteworthy comics and books NOT produced by a major publisher.

My cat Barney died this Friday. I was very sad. My mother said we could have a funeral for him, and I should think of ten good things about Barney so I could tell them…

–Judith Viorst, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

When I was a child, my understanding of death was completely informed by reading The Tenth Good Thing About Barney. I remember that, like the best young adult stories, the story wasn’t just about some dead cat. It was about how we come to terms with the impermanence of life and celebrate those who have left us before we were ready.

Laura Lee Gulledge’s graphic novel Will & Whit is a moving snapshot of one summer in Wilhelmina “Will” Huxstep’s life, a time that provided the titular character the transition from a daughter with two parents to an orphan with a very different family model. In this story, Will must come to terms with her mother’s and father’s tragic deaths and find a way to confront the pain, which manifests in the comic as creeping shadows.

And just as Viorst wasn’t writing about a pet’s death, Will & Whit isn’t simply about death either. It’s about how in the face of disaster that we can discover how to live again. It’s beautifully represented in a bold cartooning style that belies the emotion in the story. But the carefully rendered facial expressions and expertly paced scenes make it a quick, engrossing read.

Call it a coming-of-age story. Call it a meditation on the blurred meaning of friendship and family. Just don’t call it easy to forget.

Laura Lee Gulledge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhoIsLauraLee‎

Laura Lee Gulledge ‘s blog: whoislauralee.blogspot.com/

Buy Will & Whit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13541584-will-whit