It’s hard for me to write this review of Youth Group, a young adult graphic novel written by Jordan Morris and drawn by Bowen McCurdy. The book releases on July 16th from publisher First Second. I’ll get to my difficulties in a moment.
The story, set sometime in the ’90s, follows skeptical teenager, Kay, whose recently-divorced mother forces her to attend an evangelical mega-church somewhere in California. After realizing the rather dorky youth leaders aren’t all that bad, she’s surprised to find out they are also demon-hunting exorcists, wielding cool mystical weapons. She also discovers that she’s a Blight – someone the demons can’t possess. Too bad for her, the demons are determined to kill as many Blights as possible.
McCurdy’s art matches the current standard for young adult graphic novels. Not normally my favorite, but it works pretty well in Youth Group. I was most impressed by the composition of many panels. For example, the camera angles and framing are often very good. Unfortunately, just as often, when a character is surprised or embarrassed or experiences some other strong emotion, McCurdy gives them giant, almost Looney Tunes-like bug eyes. It contrasts so much from the normally more natural faces that it really distracted me.
First Second
So, what makes Youth Group so hard for me to review?
Well, I grew up in an evangelical Christian youth group in the ’90s myself. And I’m currently a member of a similar Christian church and continue to believe in the core message of Christianity.
Going into Youth Group, I was not only hoping for a fun nostalgia-trip, but also a book that might paint Christians in a positive, even heroic light. I wasn’t looking for something that would proselytize or gloss over the failures in the Christian church. But I was hoping for a more positive view of Christians like myself.
I’ve seen plenty of examples in modern media that depict conservative Christians as nothing but closed-minded, judgmental hypocrites, completely out of touch with the world. Now I admit, there are definitely too many Christians (or so-called Christians) like that. But it’s become quite the stereotype. And there are others of us out there. So, whenever I see a mainstream book about Christians, especially evangelical Christians, I hope for a more positive depiction, even as I fear the very negative one.
Youth Group lands somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, it offers characters that are more complex than the stereotypes they are obviously based on. On the other, there are just as many things I find worrisome. Let me explain.
First Second
First off, there’s plenty of ’90s nostalgia – a good-natured tongue-in-cheek look back at many of the silly and absurd things about ’90s culture, with a focus on evangelical Christian culture. Youth Group delivers on this point.
And the main characters are well written, even when they play on stereotypes and clichés.
The teenage lead, Kay, is sarcastic and skeptical. When she first goes to the church youth group, she has no interest in faith, but also asks the right questions. And, to her credit, she’s open to changing her ways and trying new things once she becomes more involved in the demon hunting work of the church leaders.
The main youth leader, Meg, definitely fits to type – a young adult enthusiastically committed to her faith. But we quickly realize that she also treats everyone with genuine kindness and respect. She truly cares for Kay and, well, everyone else she meets. In other words, she’s almost exactly the positive Christian character I was hoping for.
The other youth leader, Cortland, is the cool one – new in the church, coming from a more sinful past. He’s laid back and also very kind. He’s still trying to figure out where his life is going and what it has to do with his young faith. Furthermore, the main pastor, Doug, at first depicted as a kind but dorky father figure, is also shown as a good teacher of kicking demon butt.
So, at least in the first act of Youth Group, in which these characters get to know each other and Kay discovers their work exorcising demons, I was pretty optimistic.
First Second
But somewhere in the second act, Youth Group starts to introduce ideas that run in conflict with my own Christian beliefs. And they are presented in a way that very clearly promotes these views as good and right. At the same point in the story, Pastor Doug surprisingly turns into exactly the stereotype of a closed-minded Christian that I was so worried about. My heart sank as it seemed my fears were starting to be realized.
My main problem is with Youth Group’s presentation of religious pluralism – suggesting that all religions are basically doing the same thing. Now, I have no problem with being in discourse with other religions and worldviews, respectfully sharing ideas and attempting to understand each other. I would even encourage such interactions between people of different faiths. But, when Youth Group asserts that Wiccan is basically doing the same work as Christianity and then suggests that Satanists may be, too, well, that’s a worldview I just disagree with.
I’m not judging the creators of Youth Group for holding to this worldview and promoting this message in their book. That’s their right. I’m not calling on Youth Group to be banned. No book should be banned and especially not just because I disagree with its message.
But I also feel that I have the right to my opinion, my faith and my worldview, too. And I don’t want to recommend a book that promotes a worldview that so strongly disagrees with my own beliefs.
First Second
Getting back to the story, for stretches of the second act I wasn’t really sure who the lead character was supposed to be. On the one hand, it’s good that Meg und Cortland each have their own character arcs. But on the other hand, Youth Group kind of loses its focus on Kay’s story in this middle section.
Luckily, the third act turns its attention back on Kay and the fight against demons. And it immediately improves. Even Pastor Doug appears in a more favorable light in his final scenes. Meg remains the positive model of Christianity that I was hoping for. But the religious pluralism I disagree with also remains, even when it’s not the main focus.
In conclusion, the character work and the good-natured ribbing of ’90s culture are the real strengths of Youth Group. The overall story and art are alright, but nothing exceptionally fantastic. Unfortunately, for a story about an evangelical Christian youth group, there isn’t much theological depth. And I just couldn’t get past the few elements that conflict directly with my own Christian beliefs.
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