MWD: Hell Is Coming Home

Reviewed by: Elizabeth Andersen - Westbrook High School, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 18, 2017

Review

This graphic novel tackles PTSD and the difficulties of returning to civilian life after combat. Liz served in Iraq as as dog handler, but when her tour ends she returns to her life in a small New Hampshire town. Liz is given an opportunity to pull her life back together by an understanding Vietnam Vet and his wife who run the animal shelter; however, she is still suffering too much to take advantage of this opportunity. She finds comfort in a dog at the shelter, but even this relationship cannot help with her drinking and flashbacks.The illustrations are all in pencil and the lack of color creates the right tone for Liz’s suffering. Luckily, there are second chances for Liz and the story does end on an uplifting note. This was a group project that took two writers, Brian David Johnson and Jan Egleson, and two illustrators, Laila Milevski and Karl Stevens, ten years to create. Although there are many young adults looking to enter the military, this book is not geared towards them. It is a mature and harsh look at sexual politics in combat and PTSD that will not be relatable for most young adults.

Overall Book Score: fair