Over Easy

Starred review from April 14, 2014
Pond’s autobiographical graphic novel, set in California at the end of the 1970s, describes the period shortly after she left art school due to a lack of funds, taking a job first as a dishwasher, then as a waitress at the Imperial Cafe in Oakland, Calif. All the regulars and staff at the cafe have pseudonyms, and she becomes Madge. She’s on the cusp of adulthood, and society is about to move from an era of dreamy love to one of angry punk. This affecting portrait is filled with well-observed characters, all going through transitions of their own, including poetry-writing cooks who are jumping into marriage, and wise-cracking, love-seeking waitresses commiserating over busted romance. This is no rose-colored memoir, though—neither figuratively nor literally, as the book is printed in turquoise duotone, giving everything a serene feel that suits such long-ago memories. Pond’s work is realistic enough that the characters are familiar, but cartoony enough that we can laugh at their foibles. And she takes a realistic look at the counterculture of the period; sometimes even the hippies get on her nerves, which may please non–baby boomers tired of the over-glorification of that generation. Her detailed portrait of thee Imperial Cafe’s small community, as it remains unaware of its own directionlessness, offers a warm take on universal themes of seeking and belonging.

June 1, 2014

A dropout from higher education and the career rat race of 1970s California, Pond (The Simpsons TV scripts and five humor books) takes refuge in blue-collar work: waitressing at a popular Oakland diner. So different from her own confusion and naivete, her wisecracking new colleagues seem appealingly exotic--the boss, for instance, hires staff by asking candidates to tell a joke or relate a dream. As she stumbles into her new identity, she maneuvers through a world of casual sex, recreational drug use, and intellectualized identity politics but always with her good sense keeping her together. Suggesting a sweeter Lynda Barry, Pond's simple black-and-white drawings overlaid with teal wash capture the soap opera comedy of a time when hippiedom morphed into punk as the go-to pose for the coming-of-age set. VERDICT Pond's partially fictionalized memoir will appeal to others of her generation as well as to today's new-adult readers facing entry into the cross-gen world known as the Rest of Your Life. It's a lively, funny, and sometimes rueful read, with Volume 2 coming. For college-age and adult collections.--M.C.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* If Amistead Maupin's Tales of the City series had taken place in Oakland instead of San Francisco, it might have been similar to Margaret's story in Pond's semiautobiographical graphic novel. After losing her financial aid, Margaret trades art school for a job at the Imperial Caf', a diner full of hippies, punks, druggies, and really great coffee. Working her way up from dishwasher to waitress, Margaret, now called Madge, comes of age in mid-1970s Oakland, transforming from an inexperienced good girl who observes the world through her artwork into a self-aware, self-sufficient woman who participates in what happens to and around her. Pond's Oakland is fully realized through both her skillfully crafted narration and her detailed illustrations. The carefully drawn backgrounds serve as the perfect backdrop to her loose, expressive figures, and the green watercolor wash both highlights the setting and acts as a reminder that the story is told through a haze of memory. Even minor characters are given life and purpose in this richly told not-quite-memoir, and each vignette builds toward a satisfying ending. After retiring from public life to raise her children, Pond's return to writing is very welcome. Fingers crossed that we won't have to wait long for her next book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)