Bottled

Jane is bored. Her boyfriend is self-absorbed, her mother and philandering stepfather bicker endlessly. She wishes she had a more exciting, bohemian lifestyle, far from the suburbs. When her college friend Natalie, now a successful fashion model living in Japan, comes home to visit, Jane can barely muster the energy to pick her up from the airport. In his debut graphic novel, Australian cartoonist and author Gooch presents what seems like a standard tale of millennial disaffection, until a night out with Natalie ends with a confession of betrayal that leads to Jane making a shocking decision that veers the story into noir territory. Readers might be stunned to discover that this is Gooch's first book, as he demonstrates a masterly sense of storytelling and character development, as well as a fantastic knack for color and pacing. In many scenes, notes of alienation or dread radiate from the smallest gesture.