Stepping Stones
By Lucy Knisley. RH Graphic, 2020. 208 p. ill. ISBN 9781984896841 (paperback), $12.99.
Alison Baitz, graduate student in Library Science and Children’s Literature, Simmons University
Reviewed July 12, 2021
Jen McInnes is dealing with a lot of challenges right now. Her parents have recently divorced. Jen and her mom have left the city life that Jen holds dear in favor of moving to the country to live with her mother’s rude new boyfriend, Walter, on a farm. Though she would rather stay inside and draw, Jen is placed in charge of the chicken coop. On top of it all, Jen has to deal with Walt’s daughters — the bossy know-it-all Andy and the annoying Reese — who come to visit each weekend. Lucy Knisley’s Stepping Stones, with emotion and heart, shows how Jen navigates feeling alone despite being in the middle of it all, and finding her place in the grand scheme of the blended family.
Knisley, who is the force behind several other graphic novels including Relish and Kid Gloves, has created artwork for Stepping Stones that is clear and colorful. The layout is often fluid — pages from spreads are rarely the same, avoiding any hint of a prescribed, stale feeling. Knisley uses creative methods to show Jen’s journey as a member of a family and her coming into her own as an artist: Knisley sprinkles in pages and excerpts from Jen’s own sketchbook, both as chapter openings and as Jen’s flashbacks. Speech bubbles and elements of the drawn scene often extend beyond the cells, lending an expansive feeling to the work. Stepping Stones is a great graphic novel for those newer to the form. Speech bubble sequence and the lettering within are easy to parse, and action is often written out in word format and rendered in line. That said, even experienced graphic novel readers will find something to enjoy in Stepping Stones. The back matter, which reveals that Stepping Stones is very much based on Knisley’s life, adds an additional level of meaning.
This gentle story about honoring different skills and finding your own place would be a welcome addition to libraries that cater to youth.