A patchwork conglomeration that does not quite hit its mark.
Determined to avenge her father’s death, a young girl adopts a vigilante persona.
In a time of swords, full skirts, tricorn hats, and horse-drawn carriages, 18-year-old Maud lives in the quaint French village of Perigord with her beloved father, a blacksmith. When Maud’s father is viciously murdered one night, she vows to head to Paris for vindication and finds herself staying with her estranged, aristocratic grandfather, a man who thinks it best that she become ladylike and marry quickly. Tired of rigid social mores and inspired by a Robin Hood–esque masked man only known as the Fox, Maud decides to become the Scarlet Rose, a do-gooder working under the cloak of darkness (and clad in plunging bodice, very tight breeches, and thigh-high boots). Originally published over a decade ago in French, this quirky graphic import seems to rely on its heavily stylized, full-color, anime-inspired art to overcome narrative incoherence. Lyfoung’s plotting feels like a clunky pastiche of Robin Hood and The Scarlet Pimpernel set against a lavish, evidently all-white pre-revolutionary backdrop. The panels, while small and orderly, are quite busy and crowded, working in unfortunate opposition to the detailed nuance of the time period. Maud embodies a stark dichotomy, quickly shifting from an independent and smart female character to a ditzier one who falls in insta-love and becomes irritatingly clingy. It ends with an unsurprising cliffhanger, but demand for subsequent volumes may be low.
A patchwork conglomeration that does not quite hit its mark. (Graphic adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62991-827-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story.
Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she’ll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.
While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school’s preoccupation with swimming—from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can’t swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel’s bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree’s deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor—a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans’ relationship with swimming—who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school’s swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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