Adulthood Is a Gift!

Sarah's Scribbles #5

by Sarah Andersen

With new and classic Sarah's Scribbles comics, commentary, stickers, and sketches, this book is a celebration of one of the best-loved and most relatable comic voices of a generation.

Featuring over one hundred comics, fifteen short essays, and accompanying photos and sketches, Adulthood is a Gift! offers a uniquely personal look at the creative process behind Sarah Andersen's viral comics, bestselling books, and one-of-a-kind sense of humor.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Humor, Adult, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comedy

140 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2024

About the author

Hello! I’m Sarah and I’m a cartoonist and illustrator. I graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014. My comics are semi-autobiographical and follow the adventures of myself, my friends, and my beloved pets.

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: The fifth graphic novel in the Sarah's Scribbles series. Standalone. Hilarious. Much more relatable to me as this is about thirty-plus-aged adult introverts rather than younger adults. Half the book contains comic strips and half contains her journey as an artist. Recommended.

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Whether you know the artist Sarah Andersen or not, you might have seen at least one of her comics somewhere on the internet. Many of her comic strips have been turned into memes. And as she often writes about topics that are relatable, the memes too end up hitting the right spot between factual and funny.

Each book in her Sarah's Scribbles series contains a collection of her comic strips based on some dominant theme. Of course, the comics only partly cater to the main theme as they also cover some funny universal truths. This time around, the theme is the facts of adulthood. As you can guess, it's a bittersweet book. 😆

The first half of the book contains comic strips, not just talking about adulting issues but also covering her usual topics: dogs vs cats, disagreements between body organs, introversion vs extroversion, and a relatively new theme: millennial vs. Gen Z. For the last one, I truly appreciate how she doesn’t poke fun at Gen Z. Rather, she brilliantly documents how our millennial generation is sandwiched between those who came before and those who came after us, with both those sets looking at us as the weird ones. 😅

The second half of the book changes direction. This book marks ten years of Sarah's Scribbles, so the artist takes us down memory lane, walking us through her sketching process, her initial comics, and her approach towards Sarah’s Scribbles over the years. I didn't expect this content to last for half the book, but I’m glad it did. It was so good to read! The entire writeup is heartfelt, helpful, and hopeful.

While I have enjoyed almost all the books of this series, I think this is my favourite because she finally spoke to my age. Many of the comics are so grounded in reality that they felt like a slice of my life rather than the artist’s.

Funnily, the first book in this series is titled "Adulthood is a Myth." Life seems to have come a full circle for the author as her latest title has turned adulthood into a "gift". What do you think? Is adulthood a myth or a gift? Or something else altogether? 🤔

Definitely recommended to fans of the genre, and also to those looking for a hilarious set of realistic comics.

4.5 stars, happy to round up.


This was a library read.

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Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

PT A mais recente obra de Sarah Andersen mantém o tom bem-disposto que lhe é característico.

É praticamente impossível percorrer estas páginas sem rir ou, pelo menos, sorrir.

No final, a autora partilha ainda algumas reflexões sobre a evolução do seu traço.

--

EN Sarah Andersen’s latest work retains the light-hearted tone she is known for.

It is practically impossible to go through these pages without laughing or, at the very least, smiling.

At the end, the author also shares a few reflections on the evolution of her artistic style.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hardest part of reading any Sarah's Scribbles book is every time I turn the page I have to fight down the urge to take a picture of the next cartoon and text it to my daughter with a message saying how much it reminds me of her.

Better to just buy her the book.

[nettebuecherkiste · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very relatable - even though I'm Gen X. And yes, our music is the best! 😊

[Wendy Jonson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Her best one yet! Had me laughing on so many of the pages. Love her observations about dog people v. cat people and millennials v. some of the other generations. A fun, quick read!

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, witty new set of scribbles. Always relatable and enjoyable to read.

[AziaMinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating : B+


...How we doing millennials?

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these comics! They are so so so funny and relatable ✨

[Shadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and relatable read as usual! The part which I loved the most were the essays which reflect how Sarah has grown as an individual and an illustrator over the years. ❤️

[Tereza Eliášová]

Sarah Andersen je moje oblíbená mileniálka. Dospělost je mýtus byla svého času fakt v kurzu, její onlinové stripy furt dost frčí a tahle knížka shrnuje tak nějak všechno, čím se za těch deset let (!?how?!) prokreslila. Je tam i pár esejí, který bych k životu úplně nepotřebovala, ale v některých má i pár zajímavých poznatků. A samolepky! Samolepky budou taky. Česky už začátkem roku.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adulthood is a Gift!: A Celebration of Sarah’s Scribbles
Sarah’s Scribbles, Book 5

I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series

Media Type: eBook
Source: Hoopla via H Public Library
Dates Read: 10/28/24 - 10/29/24
Rating: 4.5 Stars


The Story:
A blend of the cute and relatable comics I’ve come to love from this author and a time of reflection of the last 10 years of this series. We explore how we got here and think about what is to come from this author in the future.

[Shannon (That's So Poe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, relatable comics as always, this time focusing on entering your thirties. Definitely connected with the ones about your body starting to fall apart! There were some essays at the end reflecting on Andersen's journey as an artist which were interesting, but a little more serious than I was expecting for the comic collection.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there ever comes a day where I do NOT giggle and smile at Sarah's Scribbles, put me out of my misery. I love these.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for the orange cat comic alone. Four of my cats are orange. She speaks truth.

[Sharni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sarah Scribbles - and I don’t think that’s ever going to change… it’s the millennial humour that makes me chuckle! A gift to have spent a decade watching Sarah hone her craft - I especially enjoyed her essays in the back about her journey into adulthood and her experiences as an comic artist in a male dominated field (and how that’s changed over the years).

[Monday · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I am about to enter into a new decade of life, I found myself relating more and more to the comics in this collection. However, what made this even more special was being able to read the collection of essays she included at the end where she reflected on her life and career, and I found them very insightful as a long time fan of hers.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun. Lots of giggling and making Coops pause his game to read a good comic. "Cats Living Together" got me good.

[alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book to read about 2 weeks out from my 30th birthday. I’ve loved Sarah’s Scribbles for a long time and love all of Sarah Andersen’s art. The relatability, humor (both light and dark), the cryptids and more have created a very rich comic world. As always, I can’t wait for the next Sarah book.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved getting some of Sarah's thoughts about her own work and how it's evolved at the end of this.

[Eric Nhem · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Being thirty is weird, an age full of contradictions. I feel simultaneously much more at peace but still lost and confused. I feel young, but goddamn, my back hurts. Perhaps this confusion is a gift. If I 'had it all figured out,' maybe that would be limiting. Being lost also means that there are things to be found, new opportunities to grow and explore."

I came for the always hilarious and relatable comics but stayed for the personal essays by the author, which I didn't know would be included! I loved hearing her share her journey as an adult and artist. Adulthood really is a gift.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the midst of some very tough reads, this was much needed levity and I really enjoyed it.
The essays at the end explaining her process and the ideas behind some of her more "famous" comics and older ones was really interesting and it was neat to see how her process plays out.
Very enjoyable!!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Andersen has created a relatable series of comics about early adulthood and the foibles of being a woman. Her work has matured over the years, as her first Sarah's Scribbles book became more popular than she expected and she suddenly found herself a well-known artist. In this fifth volume, she shares what she has learned in the last ten years, by writing some essays paired with some of her early illustrations. She hopes other younger artists can learn from what she has gone through, so I admire her honesty and humor and look forward to even more of her work as she branches outward from her early success.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

Another excellent collection of comics by Sarah! I love the humor and wit and just everything about these. I also especially enjoyed the look into her creative process and personal essay at the end. It was a great reflection of how she had grown as an artist and a person and I really resonated with everything she said. Loved it and I hope she continues making more!

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sarah's Scribbles. They are so relatable and I love how simple and funny they are. They are witty, relatable and so freaking unique. I loved this collection of her comics and I also liked that she wrote a little it about herself at the end. Honestly I liked this one so much I might go ou and buy i. Great collection, especially for millennials!

[Aradeea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puedo decir con facilidad que se tratan de mis tiras favoritas ❤️ Este libro viene con un apartado final con un poco de explicación de la trayectoria de Sarah desde los webcomics hasta el día de hoy y su evolución como dibujante y persona. Siempre pienso que me gustaría ser amiga suya, lo cual lo tomo como una muy buena señal 😁

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to make comics again, I love her passages at the end reflecting on her journey in comic making, and just reflecting on being a woman, and just reflecting on other bigger picture things — I thought that was really beautiful to read

[Maria Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and surprising essays at the end which were enjoyable to read! Perfect gift for someone turning 30

[Ana O. ⭐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(ATY-26): 40. A book that has a punctuation mark in the title

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/11/25 She just gets my millennial struggle <3

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection of Sarah’s Scribbles! Relatable and hilarious. Bonus - this collection also includes some essays and stickers! Who doesn’t love stickers? The essays give us a look into Sarah’s process and the ways she’s grown, as an artist and a person, over the last decade.