Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
    Unavailable
    Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
    Unavailable
    Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
    Audiobook1 hour

    Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir

    Written by Liz Prince

    Narrated by Full Cast

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Growing up, Liz Prince wasn't a girly girl, dressing in pink tutus or playing Pretty Pretty Princess like the other girls in her neighborhood. But she wasn't exactly one of the guys either, as she quickly learned when her Little League baseball coach exiled her to the outfield instead of letting her take the pitcher's mound. Liz was somewhere in the middle, and Tomboy is the story of her struggle to find the place where she belonged.

    Tomboy is a graphic novel about refusing gender boundaries, yet unwittingly embracing gender stereotypes at the same time, and realizing later in life that you can be just as much of a girl in jeans and a T-shirt as you can in a pink tutu. And explores her ever-evolving struggles and wishes regarding what it means to be a girl.

    ©2016 Liz Prince (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateJul 19, 2016
    ISBN9781520031415
    Unavailable
    Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
    Author

    Liz Prince

    Liz Prince is the Ignatz Award-winning author of Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? (Top Shelf Productions, 2005), the world's cutest relationship comic. She is a regular columist for Razorcake magazine, has drawn covers and stories for the wildly popular Adventure Time comics series, and is the creator of the web comic Alone Forever. She lives in Massachusetts with her two cats, Wolfman and Dracula.

    Related to Tomboy

    Related audiobooks

    YA Comics & Graphic Novels For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Other Child

      Dec 1, 2018

      The Other Child
      9 min read

    • Article

      Heartstopper

      Apr 19, 2022

      Heartstopper
      10 min read

    • Article

      Queen of HEARTS

      Feb 28, 2021

      Even if you’re not an aficionado of Tudor history, there is lots to love in this racy romp about the lives of the rich and fabulous. The historical element is fun though, and adds another layer to an addictively readable novel. Sister to Sister is a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Chill Time

      Sep 16, 2019

      Will Smith sees double as he plays Henry Brogan, an elite assassin who gets hunted by somebody younger, faster, and stronger than him: Himself. The clone is brought to life on-screen through some impressive visual effects. Also starring are Mary Eliz

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Decidedly Dazzling Duke

      Jan 8, 2021

      A Decidedly Dazzling Duke
      3 min read

    • Article

      Polarized

      Mar 24, 2023

      Polarized
      6 min read

    • Article

      You've Been Read

      Dec 23, 2022

      Let’s be real, the LGBTQ+ landscape of books has never been better. From exciting real-time trans stories to our favourite fictitious enemies to lovers' rivalries, we’ve got the perfect variety of lit picks to get you through the year. At GT, we’re a

      2 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Dec 15, 2023

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      'The Reformatory' Tells A Story Of Ghosts, Abuse, Racism — And Sibling Love

      Nov 2, 2023

      Tananarive Due's haunting, unflinching novel delves deep into the realities of the Jim Crow South and the very real horrors that took place at Florida reformatory schools in the 1950s.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 21, 2020

      One critic described The Lightness as the love child of Donna Tartt and Tana French, and that’s a pretty good description. Sixteen-year-old Olivia has run away to The Levitation Center, a remote retreat and the last place her father had been to befo

      5 min read

    • Article

      Z For Zaga

      Aug 3, 2020

      Z For Zaga
      6 min read

    • Article

      The All Guy

      Dec 3, 2019

      The All Guy
      4 min read

    • Article

      Another Other: Gideon Glick on Broadway’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

      Aug 1, 2019

      I’ve created Dill as a proto-Truman Capote, a young queer boy in the Deep South in the ’30s. To carry that around you have to have a strong armor. The post Another Other: Gideon Glick on Broadway’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ appeared first on The Millio

      6 min read

    Reviews for Tomboy

    4/5

    172 ratings17 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. Liz's life story was told in an extremely interesting way. Her feelings of alienation and not being accepted for who she is really resonated with me.

      Liz is a girl, who from a young age leans more towards traditionally male things. She feels most comfortable wearing boys clothing. She wants to play sports with her male friends. She finds it hard to make female friends. Throughout the book she struggles to feel ok with herself.

      Luckily, when she goes to a non traditional high school, she finally meets a group of peers who accept her for being herself. It is a shame that it takes so long for her to find peace, but I know there is a similar story for a lot of people. Learn to love yourself and know that you are ok.
    • 4/5
      Graphic novel about a girl who has always dressed in what’s comfortable, which just so happens to make her look like a boy. A good discussion of identity and gender and how to deal with stereotypes.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed it ok, but even in three years, the conversation has developed so much regarding gender and sex and orientation. I wish I could've read this when it was new. Especially where I am in my own personal journey, this left me more frustrated than satisfied. As an autobio comic, very well done. A good consistent character with questions and frank exploration. Just wrong place wrong time for me.
    • 4/5
      A home run from Liz Prince. Gender identity without sexuality in a quirky memoir that I think many girls can relate with.
    • 5/5
      Picked this up at the comic store today, sat down to read it and didn't stop until I was done. SO GOOD.Surely part of the reason I was so enthralled was that there were so many similarities with my life. I was a total tomboy too. -I was humiliated when forced to wear a dress-I wanted to dress like a boy and do boy things and wondered why this meant both boys and girls thought I was an asshole-I went through a teen/tween phase of hating girls because boys were so much cooler and realizing later that it was really the expectations and treatment society placed on women that I hated. -A new teacher mistook me for a boy once, and wouldn't believe the other kids in my class when they insisted I was a girl. -Strangers told me I was going into the girls' bathroom as if I were making a mistake...and I was kind of flattered by this.-One time I had a great time playing with a boy I had just met at an after-school program. When the teachers said "Diana, your mom is here," the boy was horrified to find out that he'd spent the last 2 hours having fun with a GIRL.-The last page is still totally me: getting mistaken for a man as a 5'5" adult, wearing a skirt and a form-fitting blouse, swaggering away thinking "Still got it." (I've had 4 people call me "sir" or inquire about my gender since my last haircut.) ;)Anyway, it was almost eerie how much this mirrored my life. The art was charming, the writing was great. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the drawings. They are simple but really work to express the characters and the storyline. That's the thing. The story was just not that interesting. There are two reasons for this, I think. First, I have many friends who are transgender. My partner is a butch. What happened to them in their youth was so much more interesting and challenging than what happens to Liz. Second, I am too old for this book especially since the subject matter isn't novel for me. Every time I finish a coming-of-age memoir and am unfulfilled, I remind myself that I've aged out of the genre. Then a topic or a person interests me, and damned if I don't read another one only to end up unfulfilled again. This is a quick and easy read with great comics. I'd recommend it if you are interested in gender variance or are late middle-school age and up.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book. It is a memoir written in graphic novel form and deals with mostly issues of gender norms and societal expectations of girls. I found it accurately captured a lot of confusion of adolescence and the struggles to maintain confidence and happiness when you don't feel like you are who the world thinks you should be.
    • 5/5
      Liz Prince examines her life as a girl who didn't like anything girlie including dresses, make up, dolls or menstruation. She describes her journey from being a bullied and ostracized school girl to being accepted as a different kind of female who likes to draw comics. It's well written and well drawn and makes me want to read more by her.
    • 1/5
      DNF - This has got good reviews so I'm in the minority here but I couldn't finish this. I gave it my best try, really I did, making it to page 99/255. The book starts out basically as a feminist rant then that tones down a bit but it continues on complaining about "society" this and "society" that, with the author playing victim. Then there's a sarcastic Bush comment so we know the political slant. I just can't stand whiners (or feminists) and couldn't make myself read any further. It is what it is.
    • 4/5
      Good, not great, story of a young girl who just isn't very girly. Some very funny and cringe-worthy moments, but not a superstar graphic novel.
    • 4/5
      Tomboy is an insightful and funny look at life of not belonging. Perhaps one of the most fundamental ways a child can or cannot belong is at the level of gender identity, and Liz Price's stories of her childhood (mis)adventures in that realm are as touching as they are entertaining. All in all, Price recounts a rather happy childhood and young adulthood. Most kids are teased about something or another, and her dislike of girly stuff seems to have attracted attention. The book immediately invoked Ariel Shrag's work for me, and I wasn't surprised that Shrag is mentioned towards the end (as Liz discovers zines and comics). What sets Tomboy apart is perhaps the fact that apart from her dislike of girly pink and dresses, Liz Prince seems to have been a rather "normal" girl. One would think that not having had to sort through the sexual preference muddle during puberty and beyond (i.e. being a girl who likes boys) would have made things easier, but Prince's (ha!) experience shows just how strong expectations are in shaping our experiences in life.I was pleasantly surprised that the memoir did not mention climbing trees. Not once. Phew!As a personal aside, I have been wondering how people remember so much about their childhood and young adult years. I try to remember why I started disliking wearing dresses, and I cannot really remember. It must have been that I wanted to feel on even ground with the boys, but I cannot single out an event or a time when this change occurred (I do, however, clearly remember liking one polka dotted skirt very much when I was very young, and there is a photo to prove it.) Inevitably, when I read memoirs like this I have to conclude that I have not had as many traumatic events as the people who write these books, because I cannot remember any specifics, any fights I had (except for one, which was traumatic for sure, which I think is why I remember it), or what I used to wear (another possibility is that I have had many, and thus my feeble ind has chosen to block them all out). It seems that my whole childhood and teenage years are a blur. Then I realized that the reason I probably do not remember these things is because these years were plagued by studying (Americans won't understand what I mean by "studying," but many who grew up in countries like India, China, and Korea will know.) So most of my memories are about studying. So another conclusion: American kids have way too much time in their hands! No wonder they can obsess about what they wear (my mom bought all my clothes. I had no money, and no say in what I wore, other than "no flowers, please!" I usually didn't have time to go shopping. I was studying, you see...) and spend hours hanging out (I had planned outings with my friends with limited time to hang out. I had too much homework and such to hang out all day and night. To be up at 1 AM or 3 AM? To be walking around in the middle of the night in some town? What? I had to get up at 6 AM for school, which usually meant exams.) So I have been trying, having been inspired by Liz Prince once again, to remember more about my (obviously traumatic) childhood, but it's hard work. Maybe one day...The photo of Liz Price (age 32) in the back flap was a revelation. She does not look like a tomboy to me. Sure she looks like she might come to my German-style board game night or start discussing Atwood's latest sci-fi trilogy, but a tomboy? Well, let's hope all tomboys one day grow up to be like Liz Price (but unique in their own way, of course!)Recommended for fans of Ariel Schrag and Revolutionary Girl Utena (I know, a strange suggestion...) Might want to check out the film, Tomboy, by Celine Sciamma.Thanks to Zest Books and Goodreads First Reads for a copy of Tomboy in exchange for my honest review.
    • 5/5
      Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince is about the author's childhood and early teens. Liz Prince as a child hated dresses, loved baggy masculine clothing, Ghostbusters (and its spin-off cartoon series), and baseball among other things.Despite the bullying, Tomboy is a very upbeat, funny read. It's aimed at a young adult readership but it's popular too with younger readers. Yes, the book has swearing and smoking in it, but these things were part of the author's childhood.Liz thankfully had an understanding family but she still faced teasing at school for refusing dress as other girls did. Now, to me, Liz's childhood and tomboyishness seems completely normal. While I'm about eight years older than she is, we share similar tastes in clothing, sports and movies/cartoons. I didn't, however, have any Ghostbusters toys (but I do now have the comics). In fact people who know me and have read Tomboy have joked that I could secretly be Liz Prince. I'm not but I think she and I would have been friends growing up.
    • 5/5
      There has been rather a lot of attention to the particular problems of transgender children lately: news accounts of parents being supportive and being so violently opposed to their child's identity that suicide becomes the only option.

      Prince's story is set at the edge of those: as a girl she hated wearing skirts or dresses with the fiery passion of a billion suns going supernova. Although she didn't want to dress like a girl, or adopt obvious clues to femininity like long hair, she wasn't a boy, either. This book is about how she copes with society's expectations and her own inclinations, figuring out her romantic inclinations, finding her way through school and life, and finding the people she felt most comfortable with.

      It's a great story, amusingly told. And although Prince's sartorial choices are uniquely specific, the theme is as universal as they come. Particularly recommended for middle school students who are under the worst pressure to conform to norms.

      Hee, I should mention that the author blurb is particularly brilliant.

      Library copy
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable memoir, that's enjoyably uncompromising in its point of view -- Liz is a tomboy -- not a butch lesbian, not trans, not interested in girl stuff. All the voices add to the conversation!
    • 4/5
      This is a graphic novel/memoir by someone who didn’t see herself as a girl, so dressed and acted more like a stereotypical boy. For this, she was bullied and had trouble fitting in, though she mostly managed to find a few friends in her different schools. This graphic novel relives her childhood and teen years in the 1980s and 90s. I thought this was really good. The reader gets to see some of what she was struggling with as she lived through those years as someone who refused to conform to what girls should look like or do. Though I was never a tomboy, I was certainly also not a “girly girl”, so I could see some things in her that I felt, as well. I really thought this did a good job of showing her struggles.
    • 4/5
      Tomboy was lent to me by a co-worker. This is my first graphic memoir and, other than paging through some when I worked at Borders, my first experience with reading in the "graphic" form. I LOVED this! As a cis-woman who started out very much a Tomboy in my youth I could really identify with some of moments that Liz Prince shares. Recently at work I've been spending lots of time discussing gender fluidity and thinking about gender norms and their restrictions - this was right book at the right time for me. It is funny, sad and dead on. Thank you Liz Prince!!

      Highly recommend this for anyone who struggles to fit into gender expectations of those around them but even more so for adults who don't understand the concept that many 15-30 year olds today have embraced - gender is fluid. Trying to force young (and old)people into a binary system just doesn't work anymore.
    • 5/5
      Growing up Liz Prince wasn’t what you call a girly girl. She didn’t like dressing in pink, or playing princess, or heaven help you if you tried to put her in a dress. She didn’t want any of that. Instead, she liked playing baseball, looking at worms and dead things on the ground, and running around in jeans just having fun. Liz knew where she belonged…but did anyone else? Girls didn’t want to play with her (and to be honest she didn’t want to play with them), but the boys didn’t want her around either because she was a girl! What was she supposed to do? As time passes and as new people come into her life, maybe, just maybe, Liz might find where she belongs. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find where you belong too.One of the hardest, and worst, things about growing up is being told that we have to fit in. That we must conform to this box that society shoves us into based upon gender, or our race, or our religion…or anything. It insists that pink and dresses and playing house are for girls and blue and overalls and playing rough are for boys. And the lines are to never be crossed. It is the worst and most damaging lie that we tell children. In this memoir Liz prince takes that box, tells it to get lost, and shows us how she find her path and place in this world. “Tomboy” a phrase once used as an insult, becomes a rallying cry of marching to the beat of your own drummer. Of being true to yourself.Even though Liz is writing this book from the perspective of a young woman, the message, and the story within it, are ones that we can all relate too. I found myself reading and nodding along (and in some places shouting out “Yes, yes! Someone else knows what I was feeling) as Liz tries so hard to be herself, but still fit into the world around her. I was the opposite of Liz, I got along better with girls, enjoyed more quiet things, although I never did like pink. Like Liz, I had trouble finding where I fit in, still do sometimes too be honest. But like Liz, as I’ve gotten older I’ve found the groups and people that accept me as I am. And this book gives me a little bit more hope that I had before.Liz tells her story in short anecdotes of her life, of growing up with parents that were accepting (which seems to be a rarity these days), of trying to find where she fits into the school world, and of finally finding comfort in just being herself and finding a group that accepts her as she is. Throughout these stories Liz touches on some heavy topics including dealing with bullying, of feeling like you’re alone and that no one understands you, and finally…of accepting who you are and knowing that there are others that will accept you as you are as well. She tells her story with a bit of humor, a lot of emotion, and all heart, to keep the reader engaged.Liz’s art style could be described as deceptively simple. Much like one of her contemporaries, Raina Telgemeier, Liz uses a simple unbroken line to capture the characters and their surrounding, with a little bit of shading when necessary, but seemingly not a lot else. But while the drawings may seem simple, they capture the fluidity and the life of the character, allowing the reader to see them move and grow upon the page. In addition, each panel is laid out with care to ensure that what we see is necessary and relative to the story at hand. No panel is wasted and the images allow us to see with clarity what Liz was experiencing at the time or how she imagines others view her, such as her baseball teammates seeing her as a girly princess wanting to play catch. The movement within the illustrations will capture young readers attention and help them see that the author experiences the world as they do.As mentioned earlier, although Liz is writing from the perspective of a young woman, this a story that all genders and ages can relate to. In fact, I would strongly encourage anyone involved in education at any level and any parent to read this book so that they understand that it is ok to be who you are and maybe get some ideas and advice on how to encourage young people struggling with these identity issues. I highly recommend the book and give it five out of five stars.Additional note:This is where I deviate a bit from the review to offer an additional note about books like Tomboy.In the last several years there have been more books published about following your own path. To take the box that society tries to shove us into and shove it back. And there are some that decry that these types of books are promoting harm, encouraging kids to be different, or promoting sin, or whatever other words they can think of to say that books like Tomboy, Drama, and countless others are bad for people, especially young children and teens to read. I’m going to be nice in how I phrase this, so here’s the reality: books like this one and others help people know that they don’t have to fit into a nice little packaged box. That they are not alone in this world and that there are others like them. That they can be themselves and do well at it. Maybe some people in their life won’t like it, but that’s ok. Because they are not alone. They aren’t evil, they aren’t bad, they aren’t whatever words some adults want to use say they are. They can be proud of who they are. And maybe, just maybe, books like Tomboy and Drama can help some people get a perspective that is different than their own and understand some of the people in their world a bit better.