Alumna Forsyth Harmon '13 Publishes Debut Novel, 'Justine'

Justine, a debut illustrated novel by alumna Forsyth Harmon '13 ('01 CC) was released by Tin House on March 2, 2021. The novel is available for purchase here. 

The events of Justine take place in the summer of 1999, and Harmon's minimalist line drawings evoke the particular tensions and obsessions of that time. Ali, the novel's protagonist, is a teenager living a claustrophobic suburban life with her checked-out grandmother—until she meets Justine, who works the register at the local Stop and Shop. Ali becomes transfixed with the tall, thin, Justine and takes a job at Stop and Shop to be near her; and as the two become closer, Justine guides Ali into a life of calorie-counting, Vogue-reading, and shoplifting, "leading to a series of events that spiral from superficial to seismic."

Justine has already earned a great deal of attention and critical acclaim. The novel was named a most anticipated book of 2021 by O, the Oprah Magazine—which called it "an LGBTQ book that will change the literary landscape in 2021—Refinery 29, and The Rumpus. Associate Professor Victor LaValle called the novel "Piercing. It shook me, and it made me see." 

According to The Chicago Review of Books, "Harmon's evocative prose and drawings put the reader right back into the tension of that age, flush with all those tricky feelings. Justine is an immersive experience that reminds the reader what it's like to be a teenager—for better or for worse." Publishers Weekly also praised the novel, saying, "The author's clean, thin-lined illustrations add period detail to prose's cool lyricism...Harmon traces the nuances of a teenage female friendship's fraught dynamics with clinical precision. 

According to The Chicago Review of Books, "Harmon's evocative prose and drawings put the reader right back into the tension of that age, flush with all those tricky feelings. Justine is an immersive experience that reminds the reader what it's like to be a teenager—for better or for worse." Publishers Weekly also praised the novel, saying, "The author's clean, thin-lined illustrations add period detail to prose's cool lyricism...Harmon traces the nuances of a teenage female friendship's fraught dynamics with clinical precision. 

Forsyth Harmon is the illustrator of The Art of the Affair by Catherine Lacey, and has collaborated with writers Alexander Chee, Hermione Hoby, Sanaë Lemoine, and [Assistant Professor] Leslie Jamison. She is also the illustrator of the recent essay collection, Girlhood, by Melissa Febos. Forsyth’s work has been featured in The Believer, Tin House, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Awl. She currently lives in New York.