BookBrowse Reviews Age 16 by Rosena Fung

Sixteen can be an exciting age, but also a painful and confusing one. In this clever graphic novel inspired in part by her own family's story, Rosena Fung shines a spotlight on the sixteenth year of three generations of women. It alternates between timelines, slowly giving the reader a fuller sense of the experiences that have shaped each main character.

In 2000 in Toronto, Rosalind feels like an outsider among her friends. They all seem so sure of themselves, with prom dates, supportive parents, and plans to attend competitive university programs. Meanwhile, Rosalind has no love life to speak of, a vague sense that she might want to go to art school, and crippling insecurities about her weight, which are only exacerbated by her calorie-counting mother. When her strict and critical grandmother turns up out of the blue for a visit, tensions within the family run high.

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