A brutal, vital text.
To reclaim her village, a young Indigenous Colombian woman returns to confront the violent forces behind an illegal mining operation.
Armed men crept into the village during the night, and the villagers fled into the jungle for safety. Displaced from their land, they traveled for miles, seeking refuge from the indifferent local government in Cali, which relocates Andrea and the rest of her community into a single, small, unlivable house. Inside this suffocating 600-square-foot dwelling, Andrea’s baby daughter dies. Andrea undertakes the long voyage from the city of Cali back to the Amazonia region with a small casket in her arms, on a mission to bury her daughter in the land where her village previously stood. She also secretly carries a camera, her tool in gathering photographic evidence in the fight to reclaim her land. Arriving at the wire fence surrounding the destructive mining operation, Andrea contends with two armed guards: One offers little sympathy; the other comes from her distant past. Simply powerful, Colombian artist Canizales’ illuminating, expressively rendered graphic novel translated from the Spanish contains moments of great beauty (particularly Andrea’s memories of her husband and father) among numerous scenes of deep anguish, including instances when the threat of sexual assault arises. Stark flashbacks and revealing backstories lead to an overall sense of temporal unsteadiness, creating unease in a way that invites readers to stop and consider.
A brutal, vital text. (author's note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72844-867-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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