The artist known as Filthyratbag aims for the heart in this illustrated memoir on grief and Gen Z girlhood, shot through with equal parts incredulity and longing

Celeste Mountjoy (known to her legions of fans on Instagram as Filthyratbag) makes art that explores anxiety, feminism, addiction, body image, relationships, and power. With uncanny precision, it articulates the dark stuff we feel but dare not show. Mountjoy has become a voice for a generation of women who are ambivalent about the absurd, sometimes harrowing path to adulthood. In her debut book, she tells razor-sharp stories and shares never-before-seen illustrations that walk us through the twistiest parts of growing up, from encountering creepy old men and dealing with grief to getting really drunk and existential. What Is This is at once a primal scream, a shrug, and a PSA declaring that even though growing up is brutal, there are always more beautiful things to come.