Embedded Files
Speak: The Graphic Novel
Speak: The Graphic Novel
Anderson's searing debut novel, Speak (1999), about Melinda, a high-school freshman dealing with the traumatic aftermath of rape, is filled with deep feeling, empowering triumph, and moments of startling horror. Not only is Melinda trying to forget her rape-a challenge when her rapist freely wanders the halls of their school-she's flailing in her classes and an outcast among her peers, until an art-class assignment and some slow-building friendships give her the courage to speak up. Carroll, well-known for her horror comics, does an excellent job of bringing the vignettes of Anderson's novel to the graphic format. In fine-lined grayscale artwork, Carroll powerfully evokes moods with creeping, smudgy shadows; faces with missing eyes and mouths; and jagged panel borders. Grasping hands reach down from tree branches until trees and hands are tumbled together in a juddering haystack of overlapping lines. Those moments are striking, but they're even more striking when set against scenes of Melinda's quiet, isolated day-to-day reality, as well as her gradual growth and steps toward recovery. Carroll strikes a deft balance, gracefully juggling the acute terror of Melinda's rape, the pernicious paranoia that follows her in its wake, the swirling rumors and bullying surrounding her, and glimmering moments of hope and comfort. With spellbinding artwork, this exceptional adaptation masterfully does justice to its source material while adding new depth and nuance.
Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
Punching the air
Punching the air
A single punch leads to a fight between Amal and his friends-all Black-and a group of white boys from a gentrifying part of his neighborhood. Amal is found guilty of assault while his friends are given plea deals. All are sent to prison, while the white boys involved are not charged at all. In prison, Amal gets a stark education on how unjust the justice system is as he witnesses guards abusing their power, administrators carelessly ignoring the welfare of the imprisoned as if their lives are disposable, and the avenues of "rehabilitation" proving to be decrepit and empty. Only Amal's painting and poetry allow him to withstand the torture of physical beatings and solitary confinement. Zoboi worked with prison reform activist Yusef Salaam to create Amal's story in verse. Yusef himself was a victim of wrongful incarceration when he and four other young men were convicted of a crime they did not commit. His experiences lend a visceral gravitas to Zoboi's pen, and together they capture Amal's emotional struggles as he grasps for hope despite his circumstances. Moreover, they accurately depict the justice system as an engine fine-tuned to crush the urban poor and young Black men in particular. Prescient and sobering, Zoboi's book is a vital story for young readers in a tumultuous time.
Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
Hey, Kiddo
Hey, Kiddo
In this deeply vulnerable, moving graphic memoir, Krosoczka, well known for his popular Lunch Lady series, recounts his sometimes troubled childhood, spent largely with his grandparents; his struggle to maintain a relationship with his heroin-addicted mother; and his gradually developing love for making art and comics. His grandfather officially took custody of Krosoczka when he was not yet five years old, and it wasn't until much later that his learned about his mother's heroin addiction and imprisonment. Life with his grandparents-a hard-drinking couple who bickered constantly-wasn't always easy, but his grandfather was a stalwart supporter of his artistic aspirations, and he slowly realized that the atypical family he ultimately collected (even eventually his father, whom he finally met late in his teen years) could be enough. Krosoczka's brushy, expressive artwork, incorporating snippets of his childhood drawings and letters, beautifully conveys the difficult circumstances of his upbringing. There's a tender quality to his graceful line work and muted color palette, which adds to the compassionate way he depicts his family, even when he can't count on them. A closing author's note fills in additional backstory and helpful context, including the ultimate, heartbreaking result of his mother's addiction
Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
With the fire on high
With the fire on high
Seventeen-year-old Afro-Boricua Emoni Santiago hones her gift for cooking and makes important decisions about her future. Emoni's 'Buela says she's had a gift for cooking since she was small. Now Emoni has her own toddler, Emma ("The kind of name that doesn't tell you too much before you meet her, the way mine does"), nicknamed Babygirl. Emoni's first day of senior year at her Philadelphia high school is also Babygirl's first day of day care, leaving Emoni saddened about missing parts of her life. Emoni's a classic example of the school system's failure to harness many students' creativity and interests, but thankfully she discovers and enrolls in a new class called "Culinary Arts: Spain Immersion." Though the teacher, Chef Ayden, respects her, he's strict, and Emoni nearly drops the class, but eventually she gathers the ingredients—connections and skills—she'll need for success. A romance that doesn't fit the usual mold and a class trip to Spain round out this fl avorful tale. Emoni occasionally breaks from first-person narration to address readers directly, and her voice and story feel fresh and contemporary. Diversity in representation is primarily racial and ethnic; however, Emoni's best friend Angelica is a lesbian. The short, precise prose chapters will draw in even reluctant readers, and the inclusion of several recipes adds to the appeal. Current pop-culture references and cultural relevance will attract both window and mirror readers.
Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
legendborn
legendborn
Drenched in Southern magic, Deonn's first novel puts a modern spin on Arthurian myth while exploring themes of power and heroism, and challenging expectations and racial prejudice. After her mom's death, Bree Matthews, a Black 16-year-old, flees her childhood home by enrolling in UNC-Chapel Hill's Early College program. Bree witnesses a demon attack on campus, and a teenage mage (called a Merlin) tries unsuccessfully to erase her memory. Instead, he inadvertently uncovers a buried memory that reveals a Merlin's presence at the hospital when Bree's mother died, and that the mage erased that night's events from Bree's mind. To find answers, Bree infiltrates the Legendborn, a secret society (traditionally white and racist) descended from the Knights of the Round Table that hunts demons. When she learns that a war is brewing between the Legendborn and demonkind, she must decide how deep into the society she will plunge and if the Legendborn's war is hers to fight. Legendborn is a story about how old histories inform the present, new pathways forward are forged, and traumatic pasts, like those possessed by the descendants of slavery, are systematically buried, bringing overdue reckonings when unearthed. Deonn's contemporary fantasy is a cultural gem that will connect readers with their roots in the most gut-punching, unapologetic of ways.
Copyright Kirkus 2020 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Slay
Slay
A high school senior secretly creates a massively multiplayer online role-playing game dedicated to black culture but is attacked in mainstream media after a player is murdered. Frustrated by the rampant racism in the online multiplayer game universe and exhausted by having to be the "voice of Blackness" at her majority white high school, honors student Kiera creates SLAY—a MMORPG for black gamers. SLAY promotes black excellence from across the African diaspora as players go head-to-head in matches grounded in black culture. Although Kiera is proud of the game and the safe space it has become for hundreds of thousands of participants, she keeps her identity as lead developer a secret from everyone, including her black boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are a tactic on the part of white people to undermine black men and hold them back from success. When a dispute in SLAY spills into the real world and a teen is murdered, the media discovers the underground game and cries racism. Kiera has to fight to protect not only her identity, but the online community she has developed.
Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
Page updated
Report abuse