“Dear diary, I didn’t wake up feeling extroverted this morning either.“
A quality graphic novel, accessible even to those of us who aren’t familiar with the genre. A captivating story, suitable for all ages—and that’s not just a figure of speech.
The book is a caress for the children we were, and for all those we’ll encounter in our lives as parents or children of family friends.
The themes of shyness, of the wrong things we’ve been told, and perhaps we’ve said them without realizing it, are the fulcrum from which the story begins. The illustrations clarify how the hardships we thought were relegated to adolescence, for many people, continue into adulthood—and this isn’t because they’re wrong, but because everyone is made in their own way, with varying degrees of sensitivity. To pause for a moment in the world that chases models and then no one ever knows why, and simply say, “I am made this way,” I accept myself, and you should too, both with yourselves and with me!
A young Tina and an adult Tina, living their lives, confront each other throughout the text, facing the same doubts and uncertainties, albeit in a different form.
Sarcasm and wit are the weapons the author uses to address the issue, and it brings more than one (bitter?) smile to the reader, who can’t help but find themselves in at least one of the situations described, regardless of their childhood or adolescence. The reading doesn’t require much effort, as it should; if anything, it’s the reflective space it opens that has satisfied us.
We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet the author in person and to see how this book is hers, free from unnecessary artifice, so much so that we feel we can call it a hidden autobiography.
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Martina Filippella, Troppo timida, BeccoGiallo, Padova, 2025