Reader's Guide: June 2009

	The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley

Nationally published comic strip artist Henley offers a warm, funny memoir of adopting her son, William, which will make you cry. With its talk of yoga, dating and the wacky freelance life of a cartoonist, it starts off sounding like a Sex in the City for the Austin, TX, set. It's not. Where many older women comic artists fall into triteness, quips about men and snark, Henley rolls the reader back to a place where different generations matter and life makes sense...

1. Marian Henley uses a graphic style to tell her story of adoption and the last illness of her father. How does this style work for you in comparison to the usual written narrative? What are the pros and cons of using cartoon-style story telling?

2. At various places in the book there are images that symbolize emotions or situations rather than realistic depictions of the actions that were occurring. Did you find these to be effective? Any examples?

3. Marian adopts a child from Russia. Do you have any opinions about Americans adopting children from other countries? What about adoptions by people who don't fit the conventional mold of a younger married couple?

4. Were you interested or surprised by the descriptions of the people Marian encountered in Russia? Was there anything about the adoption process that you did not know before?

5. This book is as much about Marian's evolving relationship with Rick and her deepening understanding of her parents, particularly her father, as it is about the adoption of a child. She also moved to a new city and had her 50th birthday. How well do you think she portrayed these relationships and major life changes that all were happening during the same time period?

6. Humor is sprinkled here and there throughout the story. Were there any one-liners that made you laugh or that you particularly enjoyed?

7. How likely are you to read another graphic memoir or a graphic novel?