Hugged

by Verity Ritchie

Hugged is a sketchbook diary chronicling the loves and losses of the author's tumultuous 20s as a nonbinary bisexual disaster.

Genres: Queer, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Graphic Novels Comics, Nonfiction, Comics, Bisexual

71 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Benjamin Alexandre · Rating 5 out of 5]

''Love and sex are genderless for me.
I don't like monogamy, but I love consent. I love sharing.
I love being versatile, and I love to fuck gender, in and out of the sack''.

[Andrew Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read (or watched or listened to) anything with a character, especially a main character, so IN LOVE with being bisexual, and that's really the kind of representation I'd like to see more of. I really identify with how Verity feels about both her sexuality and her gender, as if the fact that we have such a great bisexual protagonist wasn't enough, she's also nonbinary and transgender. Again, we don't get enough books about LGB trans characters either--of the few trans characters in books, most of them are straight and still more are written by cis people and/or aren't even main characters.

It also helps that this is in comic form, by far my favorite literature style. I can't say I'm a fan of Verity Ritchie from her youtube but I did realize about halfway through the book when she started talking about her youtube channel that I had watched her videos when I was younger, probably about 7 years ago, give or take. So I just found it interesting that a person that I was watching on youtube when I was young for her videos on bisexuality was also a comic writer. Even when I was a teen I was interested in her work because of her passionate openness about bisexuality so it must be fate that her art made its way back to me.

I feel very seen by this book. I can say I recommend it but more than that I feel like this book was meant for me to see, and for people like me.

[Ruxandra Grrr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't read this book, okay? It's not worth it. It's a mess, really. It's incoherent, there's no real plot, and the lines aren't even straight, let alone the main character. It's autobiographical so it's not even interesting as fiction. There are also naked people doing the kinds of things naked people do when they smoosh, and that's just kind of gross. This blurb doesn't recommend this book. Turn around and go back. The Author.

This note at the back of the book shows off some of the humor that's in Verity's style and I cannot disagree with this author's note more! I've been following Verity for a while on their YouTube channel and they've been a very defining sort of pillar for all my messy chaotic disaster bisexual sides.

I loved loved loved the drawings, there was something so open and vulnerable and tender about the drawing style and the little stories that are presented here, graphic novel style. This is a little book about a journey with gender and sexual identities, filled with insight and observations and hairy armpits, which I really appreciated. There is one color panel in all the black & white and I don't want to spoil it, but it's brilliant.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugged is a collection of very honest and extremely personal vignettes that portrait the struggles of a nonbinary bisexual finding her identity. It’s warm and relatable and inspite of being quite raw always comes across as hopeful. Though the title page makes you expect anything but that, reading the book made me feel like I have just been hugged.

[astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

(03/01/24) Seemingly didn't review this the first time I read it, but just did a re-read, and really enjoyed, so upping my rating from 3->4. It's short and messy, but crushingly personal and speaks to me a lot. Would recommend.

[Liam Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugged is such a beautiful and tender book. I really enjoy how well Verity balances humor, vulnerability, and sexuality in her art. As someone who also has a complicated relationship with gender and sexuality I found a lot of pieces of this book to be relateable in a way I haven't found many other places. Do be warned though - there are a lot of scandalous drawings of nipples!

[Sariadne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugged is a poignant chronicle of a journey through loneliness, love and hope. Every page tells the story in a straightforward, unpretentious and completely heartfelt way. It's deeply affirmative of non-binary identities in a way other books rarely achieve. I only wish it were longer!

[Tjasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugged is a painfully (in all the right ways) honest and genuine journey in learning how to navigate your own personal truth. It's sincere and brave in a way that goes hand in hand with queerness, and it's warmth and humanity leaves you feeling connected and seen.

[Vanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's everything you would expect from the description and more! The stories are heartbreakingly honest and brilliantly put together. Verity Ritchie is an amazing, HILARIOUS artist! It was a delight to read! I hope there will be some more in the future.

[Larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Other folks get beautiful ancient words like lesbian and woman. Why does my identity have to sound so clinical? I want to sound like I stepped out of a poem."

[J Kuria]

Got this because I enjoy her YouTube channel (verilybitchie). Leaving it unrated because I don't always rate autobiographical works. I enjoyed it though.

[Jude]

Where can I buy this book please? :)

[Mikey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just found out this youtuber I like has written some comics and they're pretty good!

[Carina Stopenski · Rating 5 out of 5]

raw, powerful, and intense but done with such a minimalist take. the art style really helps to convey a sense of ennui and feeling out of place, and the poignancy of the author’s inner monologue really resonates—the notion that touch and desire are not necessarily these mutually exclusive and that the actualization of identity comes with experimentation of the self. definitely a reflective piece.