Grackle is a thoughtful, unassuming, and quick zine to read. Malinda, twenty-seven, goes to college, faces her fears straight on, and discovers a considerable amount of inner strength. What I like about Grackle is the lack of self-absorption (it is a personal zine, but it’s more like stories told to a circle of friends instead of diary entries) and the lack of complaining and whining. It’s a mature, but by no means sterile, read. It’s scary being thrust into new situations, not knowing if you’re going to fail miserably. Malinda captures this feeling well and she shares the opening of a new chapter in her life. She finds herself not only doing extremely well in school, finding an affinity for algebra, and she continues working on the things in life that give her solace and reward. The cost? Time and dedication. The clincher about this zine is that if someone handed it to me and said, “It’s zine’s about a lady who gets into weightlifting and then decides to join a cycling team,” I’d be suspicious. But by reading such an earnest and steady account—and seeing that at the edges that this is a treatise on finding your own path in life—Grackle’s a great read. –Todd (Malinda, 1703 Southwest Pkwy., Wichita Falls, TX 76302)