Tillie Walden had a set routine growing up: Every single weekday she would wake up early in the morning while it was still dark, grab her ice skates and head to the skating rink. After school, it was back to the rink for group practice. Weekends, she traveled around the state to competitions, with full make-up and glitter and tights. Rinse and repeat, ad infinitum.
Tillie was good, very good at figure skating. And she absolutely hated it. Skating was her central identity. She was nobody if she was not the figure skater. It was her escape from all the stresses of normal adolescence, family, school, bullies.
Later, she switched schools, and got into art, and began to question the rigid and close-minded environment of figure skating. Truth was, good as she was, she was nowhere close to the upper echelons, the olympic hopefuls. So what was the point?
Beautifully illustrated, the comic provides an insight into the cut-throat world of figure skating, and the lives of competitive athletes in general. The author uses a muted colour palette, using shades of blue and white with occasional bits of yellow to set a mellow mood. The overall tone of the book is sad and sombre, as the latter half focuses on her and her family coming to terms with her sexuality.
An excellent and moving read.