Persepolis by M. Satrapi

 Satrapi, M., & Satrapi, M. (2007). The complete Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. 

This autobiography is based on the life of a young woman whose life has been altered because of war.  Marjane and her family find themselves in the midst of the Islamic Revolution that has taken over their lives and that of their friends. As we read her graphic novel we are not only given facts about the revolution, but we are shown how her life has been influenced by books, religion, family and politics during this trying time. We are not given glossaries, bibliographies, or indexes, but we are given images of these events, and many more!

Personally, I did have a hard time finding interest in the beginning of the book; not because I didn't think her story wasn't interesting, but I had a hard time understanding the portions where she was explaining the revolution. I felt that more explanation should have been given, especially for those, like me, who are ignorant of the Islamic Revolution. Eventually, the story began to grow on me, and I found her coming-of-age story powerful and enlightening. I feel that we can use portions of her graphic novel to introduce memoirs and autobiographies in a new way for our students. We can also tie this in to Malala Yousafzai's experience in being shot because of her thoughts on educating women. 

I rate this graphic novel a 4 out of 5 stars!