The Greatest Thing
by Sarah Winifred Searle
Allen & Unwin
It is not a good way to start year 10 – with your only two friends leaving at the end of the previous year to go to private schools. Based on the experiences of author Sarah Winifred Searle (who currently lives in Perth) and set at a time when landlines were still being used, Ockett Cove High School could be any high school.
Searle notes that the main character in her graphic memoir is just like her, “as much as my flawed memories allow. Her feelings and successes and mistakes are all things I went through when I was fifteen myself. This is my story as much as hers.”
Winifred (sometimes known as Win and sometimes known as Fred) is not out-going but in art class, she does meet Oscar who is struggling with his sexuality and April who seems to be the poor little rich girl. They publish a zine together and Win finds she is growing in confidence, even though there is a secret desire she can’t bear to admit … even to herself.
The illustrations in this queer YA comic are marvellous, with different tinting for memories, night-time sleepovers and deep and the meaningfuls in the school darkroom. Searle has said that her life changed when she realised that she could use both words and pictures to tell her stories and she wanted to make books with the kinds of characters that reflected her experiences.
It is difficult not to fall in love with Win as she tries to find her way by making graphic stories she calls gutterglimmers. These stories help her find what she is good at, as well as helping her to confront some mental health issues and challenge the negative self-talk that has been stopping her from believing in herself.
“The book is a gift to the young me, to Win, and to anyone like her. I hope that if you feel alone, this story can be there for you but also that you find glimmers of hope in your own life. You deserve happiness. It just might take some time and effort to get there sometimes. And you’re never as alone as you think you are.”
Lezly Herbert
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