A powerful graphic novel about honoring every part of our identity.
A coming-of-age tale about the beauty and challenges of embodying two cultures.
When a school bully declares that Mia is “not a real Indian” because she doesn’t conform to his stereotypes, the tween questions her right to claim a Native identity. Since her Jewish mother separated from her father when she was 3, Mia’s contact with her Muscogee relatives has been limited. Seeking to reconnect with that side of her heritage, Mia lies about attending a school trip and takes the bus from Los Angeles to visit her dad in Tulsa. The weekend goes well until her mom discovers her lie. Torah study with the rabbi, one of Mia’s punishments, helps her reflect on her actions, leading to frank conversations with her mom and stepfather about the importance of keeping her father and her Muscogee heritage in her life. Cohen depicts an authentically complicated Muscogee homecoming for Mia: a warm welcome that includes boundaries, with some spaces where she is not yet permitted and some knowledge her father cannot pass down. Yet within these restrictions lies space to grow, as modeled by Mia’s cousin, who shows her that there are different ways to live and express Muscogee identity. The story is well crafted, with Jewish and Muscogee beliefs integrated to great effect and art that enhances the text.
A powerful graphic novel about honoring every part of our identity. (author’s note, Mvskoke glossary, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Graphic fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780062983596
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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