Everything Is Flammable

"Gabrielle Bell has a touch of the kismet that’s indispensable for a great memoirist: Like David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, she has a knack for stumbling upon unusual people. Here, the offbeat cast of characters includes her mother, who subsists on an overgrown plot of land in Northern California, her primary companion a shady ex-con. Traveling from New York City to that isolated area, Bell reflects on her untamed, sometimes scary childhood. Her rough-edged drawings pulse with life and conflict."