An original exploration of living with mental illness.
A middle schooler with obsessive-compulsive disorder navigates family, friendship, and role-playing games.
Isaac, who has light brown skin and dark curly hair, was recently diagnosed with OCD. He constantly hears the metaphorical buzzing of his intrusive thoughts, depicted as cute but cruel cartoon bees. The artwork makes good use of color to bring readers into Isaac’s world. His bees are always brightly colored, as are the panels depicting positive experiences such as his art, the friends he is beginning to make, and the fantasy world of their Dungeons & Dragons–like role-playing game. In contrast, school and home are shown in drab, largely gray and beige tones. Isaac’s mom does her best to support and protect him, but her efforts slide into being overprotective and controlling. Over the course of the narrative, however, she learns to trust Isaac and support him as he figures out his own path. With their mom’s attention on Isaac, his sister, Miriam, feels ignored, and she takes this out on him. This is a sensitive depiction of an unfortunate reality: When one sibling has a difficult diagnosis, others often feel pushed aside. In this case, both siblings are ultimately able to support each other while expressing their needs to their mother. This book provides a positive, sympathetic introduction to living with OCD, with appeal for readers who have the same diagnosis as well as those who do not.
An original exploration of living with mental illness. (supplemental art) (Graphic fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9780316628419
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 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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