ND Stevenson

The Fire Never Goes Out

Wes Michaud

this is just what I needed to read when I read it. N.D. Stevenson is one of my favorite artists

From Noelle Stevenson, the New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of Nimona, comes a captivating, honest illustrated memoir that finds her turning an important corner in her creative journey—and inviting readers along for the ride. In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world. Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at her art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for her debut graphic novel, Nimona, Noelle captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all her own.

A Memoir in Pictures

azliana aziz

i don't know. sort of in a bad place currently so it's nice to see that other people can get out of the darkness even if i can't.

trixie

fatru tamzil

A graphic memoir on life and creative writing, The Fire Never Goes Out tells the story of Noelle Stevenson, and her fights in keeping the fire alive but not burning herself out. Part of this book is about self-journey, and how you grpw, and how you love yourself, and about burn out. Which is a very important conversation to have especially on the scope of creative content creator. 

for book riot read harder 2022: read a nonfictiom YA comic.

Stef

"To everyone harboring their own fire and to everyone lost in the dark. May you see the sun again."

Jude Moon

it was a very emotional journey, to read about the inner workings of his head and to dive deep in her emotions as they get older. it was indeed very touching to read as a 20 something year old that is also struggling with so many things at once. and overall, it just re-confirmed that i love everything this person does <3

Magnus Dahl

THE FIRE NEVER GOES OUT är fantastisk. Brukar inte gilla memoarer men denna är toppen.

sophia n

2.5 stars

i always feel terrible giving memoirs less than stellar reviews, because it’s the person’s life, and putting a rating on what they decide to be vulnerable about and put forward seems really weird and bad.

but … this book really fell flat for me, and i honestly think it was all in the presentation. i was expecting a much more in-depth story here on what stevenson has struggled with and her experiences over the years, and almost all of it felt kind of surface-level. there were a lot of pieces i found i could relate to, and yet they were immediately whisked away and i wasn’t able to understand further. the ending, while the most emotionally resonating part, still felt like it was holding something back from me, and i felt disconnected. (there was even a written line that said: “I won’t get into exactly what happened-maybe another time.” reading that made me feel really annoyed.)

i know as the reader i’m not owed any part of a person’s life or their vulnerability, but i also then don’t completely understand the purpose of this book. i’m familiar with stevenson’s work especially from tumblr and twitter some other random places, but have never been an avid follower. i was looking forward to this read in a lot of ways, primarily as a queer person myself who struggles with mental illness and also had a religious background, i thought it would be extremely relatable to me. but it seems like most of what is in here is just a collection of things from her blog from over the years, and i think unless i had been following her blog already and was just enjoying this wrap-up for what it is, the pieces given felt like only a glimpse, and i just had a very hard time connecting or understanding.

i also didn’t really like how cheating was portrayed (or rather, glossed over) in this. i understand why, in some ways, and i also understand and can empathize with the concept especially being a queer person falling for someone who’s in a relationship with someone else, but the fact that the entire section didn’t address once what actually was happening outside of the author’s emotional bubble made reading it really hard to understand, actually. it again felt like the narration was holding something vital back from me as i read.

overall i did enjoy some parts, can see and relate to a lot of stevenson’s experiences, and i consistently enjoyed her artwork, but the cohesion and connection to the narrative itself fell flat for me.

cw: self harm, disordered eating

Yoomi

Nimona is one of my favorite graphic novels. I got back into comic books because of Lumberjanes. And I introduced my daughter to the new She-ra because it was Noelle. But I had not seen her other work or read her blog so a lot of this was new to me. My heart broke for her, I cheered her on, and then I cried at the end, even though I knew her happy ending. The best part is, her story isn’t over. I can’t wait to see/read more.

The Fire Never Goes Out

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