"The art's lush, rich tones blend into luminous blues and purples, and characters are charmingly expressive, echoing classic children's book illustrations. Lasko-Gross has crafted a coming-of-age story that's weird, cool, and touching." --
Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review)
"Powerful.... The art style is fantastical and somewhat grotesque, an homage, it seems, to Maurice Sendak. Though the story is far more adult than "Where the Wild Things Are." "Henni" tells the tale of a young girl, a humanoid cat creature by the title name, as she is oppressed repeatedly by various kinds of religious philistines, all of whom happen to be men. It's a story that champions feminism and advocates a supreme distaste for religious extremism of all kinds."-- SALON
In a fantastical world where old traditions and religion dominate every aspect of life, lives a girl named Henni. Unlike most in her village, Henni questions and wonders what the world is like as she comes of age. Striking out on her own, Henni goes out in search of truth, adventure, and more!
Written and drawn my Miss Lasko Gross (
A Mess of Everything and
Escape From Special),
Henni is a commentary on, religion, coming of age, and being yourself.
"One of the most challenging cartoonists working today.... [HENNI is a] significant new work"--BLEEDING COOL
"A classic, clever, smart, timeless adventure story that builds an interesting, scary world with layers of storytelling that will make it a rewarding reading experience for almost anyone. It's like Maurice Sendak making
A Handmaid's Tale."--The VILLAGE VOICE's TOPLESS ROBOT
"Henni is set in a world run by a close-minded religious patriarchy and the titular young girl runs away when she realizes she doesn't want to live the life they've set for her. As she goes off discovering the world, she is bravely indifferent to questioning everything and everyone she comes across, making this kind of a fairy tale for teens... with a strong message about not being afraid to speak up and challenge authority."--MENTAL FLOSS
Henni isn't so much a coming of age tale as it is a refutation of our formative years-the time when adults, in their sureness of purpose, attempt to force structure upon those they can overpower. A story about art, feminism, and the paradigm-halting power of imagination in the face of repressive belief-systems,
Lasko-Gross's vision teems with the sort of beauty Maurice Sendak might have lent to a children's book written by George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, or Sylvia Plath.--Samuel Sattin, LEAGUE OF SOMEBODIES