Spinning

Tillie Walden's "Spinning" is an Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir that offers an intimate look into her adolescence as a competitive figure skater. Starting at age ten, Walden chronicles the demanding world of competitive skating, the pressures of performance, and the eventual realization that this life no longer aligned with her true self. The book sensitively addresses significant life moments, including coming out as gay, experiencing first love, navigating bullying, and processing past trauma. It's a powerful story about self-discovery, finding one's voice, and the courage to forge a new path. This book is suitable for ages 12-18 and is highly acclaimed for its honest portrayal of complex emotional experiences.

Tillie Walden's Eisner Award winning graphic memoir Spinning captures what it’s like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know. It was the same every morning. Wake up, grab the ice skates, and head to the rink while the world was still dark. Weekends were spent in glitter and tights at competitions. Perform. Smile. And do it again. She was good. She won. And she hated it. For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden’s life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. Skating was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she’d outgrown her passion—and she finally needed to find her own voice. This title has Common Core connections. A New York City Public Library Notable Best Book for Teens A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017 A 2018 YALSA Great Graphic Novel A 2017 Booklist Youth Editors' Choice