Motivation… a fickle beast. In Allie’s case it was a Blockbuster rental (sigh, I miss those). In my case it’s that pile of clean clothes that taunts me from my bedroom floor, “fold me, please!” No matter how much I bargain, guilt, or abuse my subconscious, those clothes just sit there. On the floor. FOREVER.

So many of Allie Brosh’s stories in were so relatable and funny. Hyperbole and a Half did not disappoint. And it was a SUPER fast read. If I’d had a few uninterrupted hours one afternoon I could have finished it in one sitting. But interruptions aplenty, it still took less than a week reading only during my 15 minute subway commute.

Brosh’s sense of humor is self-deprecating and silly. She finds the humor in everyday shenanigans. And the combination of text and illustrations adds to her anecdotes. Her drawing style might be juvenile, but it does a great job of getting the point across. Every bend of an eyebrow and down-turn of the mouth give her characters the perfect expression. I’d be reading along, and then one look at the paired illustration and I’d be laughing to myself among perfect strangers on the train.

I loved each of the stories she shared. But probably my favorite moments were the stories she shared from childhood, specifically The Parrot and The Party. In fact, The Party reminded me of a story one of our fellow authors could share… involving oral surgery and the overwhelming urge to fly a kite. But that’s her story to tell. My worst (and only) experience with such a surgery was when I got my wisdom teeth out and the Novocaine reached the nerves controlling the positioning of my left eye. So everything was blurry for the next few hours as my left eye went rogue swimming all over the place. I just remember covering my left eye for the rest of the day and refusing pictures. Thankfully there’s no photographic evidence.

But I digress.

Overall I thought this was a fun read! Whether or not you’ve ever read a graphic novel. or whether or not you like that format, I think you’d like this book. It’s so quick and entertaining you can’t help but enjoy it. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a good laugh.

I can’t help but wonder… where’s Allie now? She hasn’t posted anything recently and I couldn’t find much else out there about her… I wonder what her next move is.