{"id":16051,"date":"2024-03-12T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=16051"},"modified":"2025-02-23T22:18:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T02:18:22","slug":"book-tender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-tender\/","title":{"rendered":"Tender"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-2458\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphicnovel_tender.png?fit=250%2C391&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Tender\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> Tender<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/beth-hetland\/\">Beth Hetland<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2024-03-12\">March 12, 2024<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/fantagraphics\/\">Fantagraphics<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 162<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/horror\/\">Horror<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/psychological\/\">Psychological<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/psychological-thriller\/\">Psychological Thriller<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/thriller\/\">Thriller<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/earc\/\">eARC<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/netgalley\/\">NetGalley<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/5\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/200567648-tender\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>A psychological thriller about a woman obsessed with her vision for a picture-perfect, curated life.<\/p>\n<p>Carolanne wanted a perfect wedding, a perfect husband, a perfect family. She carefully performs her own roles (gal pal, bestie, girlfriend, wife, and expectant mother) and manipulates those around her to try and get the results she wants. Her desire to control the uncontrollable ultimately becomes her undoing. When things don't go her way, she exerts dominance over the one thing she does have total control over: her body; until that \"betrays\" her. After suffering a horrible loss, Carolanne spirals into a literal, all-consuming delusion causing her body to produce symptoms of a hysterical pregnancy \u2015 as a result of her slicing off bits of her own flesh and eating them.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago cartoonist and educator Beth Hetland\u2019s graphic novel debut is a brilliant psychological thriller that tears down the wall of a genre \u2015 body horror \u2015 so often identified with male creators. Heady and visceral, Tender uses horrific tropes to confront women\u2019s societal expectations of self-sacrifice despite those traditional roles often coming at the expense of female sexuality and empowerment.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4eUy8HD\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-03-12T05:00:42+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"Tender\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-tender\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Tender\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Beth Hetland\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/beth-hetland\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 162,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Fantagraphics\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/graphicnovel_tender.png?fit=250%2C391&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/200567648-tender\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Horror\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 5,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphicnovel_tender-page.png?resize=200%2C314&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"314\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-16076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphicnovel_tender-page.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphicnovel_tender-page.png?resize=191%2C300&amp;ssl=1 191w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><strong>Tender<\/strong> is an unnerving story of societal expectations of women, jealousy, control, and madness. I was completely engrossed in reading the story and flew through it in one sitting. The ending sent chills up my spine, and I haven\u2019t had a physical reaction to a book in a long time. I chuckled at how absolutely insane the main character Carolanne, acted; I felt sad and angry at other points and cringed every time she picked and pulled at her body.<\/p>\n<p>The illustrations of picking were upsetting to look at; I had to pause and stop myself mid-pull, realizing how awful my own anxious picking and biting habits really are (my husband points it out and encourages me to stop all the time). I\u2019m not squeamish at all when it comes to gore, but there is something about the way that Carolanne\u2019s self-mutilation felt intensely uncomfortable to read. Hetland makes fantastic use of color and lines to illustrate Carolanne\u2019s shifting state of mind.<\/p>\n<p>Equally effective was that the story centered on performative femininity. Carolanne is single-minded in achieving all the hallmarks of womanhood: building a circle of gal pals, finding a boyfriend, having a dream wedding, getting pregnant, and quitting her job to become a perfect housewife. Every step feels forced and unnatural. This book was positively ghastly, and I ate it up.<\/p>\n<h2>Quote<\/h2>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I just keep thinking about how <em>horrible<\/em> it was. For you&#8230; For me. <strong>I&#8217;m not ready<\/strong>. It feels like&#8230; I might <em>never be ready<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Content Warnings<\/h2>\n<span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Autocannibalism, Dermatillomania, Divorce, Gore, Hysterical Pregnancy, Infant Death, Manipulation, Postpartum Depression\/Psychosis, Premature Birth, Self Mutilation, Sex, Trichotillomania <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Beth Hetland<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_bethhetland.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_bethhetland.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_bethhetland.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_bethhetland.png?resize=120%2C120&amp;ssl=1 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Beth Hetland is a Professor, Adj. at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she teaches several comics and comics adjacent courses. MFA 2011 from The Center for Cartoon Studies and BFA 2009 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>She has a variety of solo projects as well as collaborative works with her best friend, Kyle O\u2019Connell. Some of her favorite things are paper craft, narrative structures, and the comics community. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beth-hetland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bethhetland\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/6461933.Beth_Hetland\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4gWxHyj\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bethhetland\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review Tender is an unnerving story of societal expectations of women, jealousy, control, and madness. I was completely engrossed in reading the story and flew through it in one sitting.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[70,1076,3673,1256,3579,3466,310,3581,600,3580],"book-author":[3578],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-16051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-graphic-novel-review","tag-american-literature","tag-body-horror","tag-bram-stoker-award-nominee","tag-cannibals","tag-dermatillomania","tag-green-eyed-monster","tag-motherhood","tag-obsessive-compulsive-disorder","tag-postpartum-psychosis","tag-trichotillomania","book-author-beth-hetland"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphicnovel_tender-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16051"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16073,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16051\/revisions\/16073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=16051"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=16051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}