Lulu Anew

Starred review from March 16, 2015
One day Lulu runs away: from her husband, her children, her friends. Each person in her circle chronicles a part of Lulu’s tale, her new life unraveling as a mystery that spirals out like a nautilus. Her past and present are exposed as each encounter or memory is shared, opening up the lives of not only Lulu but also those around her. Skillfully unsentimental characterizations, light and earthy watercolors, and everyday goings-on reveal a familiar recognizable world, but Davodeau (The Initiates) merges these elements into an enchanting realism. Using a cinematic panel structure, Davodeau tightens or spreads out the width of each tier’s panels to accommodate pauses, reflection, conflict, and action. A raucous party’s kinetic action rat-a-tat-tats through smaller panels; wider panels are used to show wandering through the night, and the occasional full-page single panel drops the tempo to slow reflection and contemplation. In the book’s plainspoken, realistic immediacy, each element becomes absolutely essential. Davodeau’s brilliance is connecting it all into a deeply affecting story about how we seek to change our lives.

April 15, 2015
Lulu, a middle-aged woman so unremarkable that even her daughter calls her nothing special, makes some unexpected decisions in this story about living with intention. Frustrated at her inability to find work after 15 years as a stay-at-home mom, she impulsively decides not to return home after her latest botched interview. What Lulu lacks in charisma she makes up for with newly grown resolve, and with no plan and little money, she spends days drifting aimlessly from town to town. Tasting freedom and joy for the first time in years, she embraces the simplicity and enjoyment of simply being. Illustrated with a limited, muted palette and simple line drawings, Lulu's story is told primarily in her absence through conversations shared between family friends who have gathered at her home. Although the third-person perspective creates distance, tension increases as Lulu's fate becomes more and more ambiguous. Mature readers will appreciate Lulu's bittersweet journey as she sheds the trappings of an unfulfilling life and forges a new path for herself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)