Asian American Literature Fans

A Review of Jeremy Jusay’s The Strange Ones (Gallery 13, 2019).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Well, all I’m going to say is that I’m so, so disappointed that Jeremy Jusay’s The Strange Ones (Gallery 13, 2019) was not PAGINATED! There was a point about 1/3rd of the way through where I was thinking to myself: I have to teach this graphic novel, it is SO, SO good!!! And then, of course, I look down to check if I *can* teach this novel at all because graphic novels are sometimes not paginated. And then, I saw that there were no page numbers. I was SO sad!

This graphic novel is about a friendship, one that unfolds over the course of many days spent in NYC. We’ll let the official page provide more information: “Filled with visceral and engaging prose, this graphic novella offers a nostalgic look at two young misfits who manage to find belonging and heartbreak in each other’s friendship. Anjeline walks with an open heart, but alone, through a world that consistently rejects her; Franck, another loner, never smiles. After the hand of fate literally shoves them together in the roiling mosh pit at a Midtown rock concert, they bond over the long commute back to Staten Island, and begin a friendship that makes the world a little better for them both. Together, this strange pair turns the sharp-edged, gloomy New York City into their playground...even as pain and heartbreak await around the corner.” This description does a great job of packing a lot in. Much of the story appears in Jusay’s incredibly patient and restrained mode of storytelling. As two great friends, much of Anjeline and Franck’s time is spent finding new, cool places throughout New York City. Apparently, The Cloisters in Washington Heights is one of the highlights, a veritable oasis in the busy city.

Over the course of the graphic novel, we begin to see why Franck is so closed off. It also becomes more and more apparent that Anjeline might be harboring slightly more than friendly feelings for Franck. So, here I am going to be providing you with a spoiler warning: look away if you do not want to know the ending of the story. Eventually Franck does tell Anjeline why he is so melancholic. He had fallen in love with someone who did not return his feelings. It’s a poignant moment because you know Anjeline might be feeling something similar about Franck. Cue to the next section of the story, and Franck is DEAD! He died trying to save someone from being robbed. The rest of the graphic novel deals with grief and mourning, in relation to Franck’s family, his friends, and of course Anjeline.

Jusay’s panels are first rate, and I very much appreciated how this text wove in ethnic registers in a very seamless way. Franck happens to be Filipino, but this ethnic background does not end up being a driver to the story, as it sometimes in in other fictions concerning migration and acculturation. This comment is not to say that it makes this work better but only that is renders ethnicity under a different function within the narrative-space, which was interesting to see and read. Finally, having recently lost my mother to cancer, I found the novel incredibly affecting. I shed more than a tear, realizing that this friendship had been lost. Despite the lack of pagination, you bet I’m still going to teach it. I’ll probably spend some class time actually bringing post-its in and allowing all of my students to paginate it with me together. I look forward to the discussions.

Buy the Book Here! 

Review Author: Stephen 
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu