Indestructible

Description

The follow up to Greenzine #14; Cristy Road now offers up a novel about her years in grade school and high school in Miami - valiantly trying to figure out and defend her gender identity, cultural roots, punk rock nature, and mortality. You know that the artwork alone in here makes this a page-turner and the whole package more exciting. Cristy has always existed to remind us of the strength and ability of punk youth - for addressing things like rape, homophobia, and misogyny. This is no exception; giving voice to every frustrated 15-year-old girl under fire from her peers for being queer or butch or punk.

Cristy C. Road is an artist, writer, publisher of Greenzinea fanzine originally devoted to Green Dayand the author ofDistance Makes the Heart Grow Sick. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

"I just finished re-reading Cristy's coming-of-age illustrated memoir, "Indestructible," which I seem to be able to relate to more and more with every time I pick it up (this would have been my third time). Her flowing, descriptive prose alone can paint a vivid picture in the minds of any reader, but added with her killer, gritty artwork, the novel is an instant page turner. She gives a voice to every frustrated teenager, and a trip back down memory lane to any adult who has ever questioned their roles, or tried to defy the norms. The entire novel looks at gender bias and promotes all youth to question what is 'acceptable. She reminds all women that they're still powerful and beautiful no matter how "'ifferent' they are."--"Wake-Up-Grrl" "Cristy's stories and words remind me why i live like i do. Why i sleep on floors in random cities, why i live with a bunch of smelly kids all the time, why i sing along and jump around. its because punk rock is so powerful and beautiful. That the rejected and the confused can have a little village of their own to figure out their shit. So much of the world is bullshit. But yours doesnt have to be if you dont want it to be. Cristy's writing reminds you of that." --Ray Suburbia "This reflective narrative analyzes Road's formative high school years as a Latina outcast in 1990's Miami. Road uses gritty illustrations and wayward text to examine teenage promiscuity and coping mechanisms (read: getting stoned, wired, or shit-faced). Indestructible explores the toxic impact gender bias and proscribed norms have on questioning youth, while encouraging inquiry and protest against social constraints. So powerful is Road's candid portrayal of growing pains, it provides the perfect comfort for angsty, self-loathing youth and sends older readers back down memory lane through their own adventures and mishaps of young adulthood." --"Curve "Magazine. "While the combination of handwriting, typewriter, and xerox-style printing may bring to mind a personal diary zine, this is a lot more than that, as Road has created diary entries/short stories/fiction/truth for dozens of characters who are all experiencing change. Related to Jessica Abel's best work, these portraits are expressive, nuanced and enchanting. Highly recommended." -Rocktober