A strong story highlighting Black communities’ wartime contributions despite the discrimination they faced at home.
Two African American tweens cope with disruption as the U.S. enters World War II.
Marvel and Roi are growing up in the bustling port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. Marvel aspires to be an Olympic gold medalist like her hero, Jesse Owens. Papa supports her dream, but he’s gone to New York to build airplanes. Marvel suffers more setbacks when her coach joins the Merchant Marines and the demand for housing for shipyard workers encroaches on the running track. Roi, Marvel’s best friend, has a mother in the sanitarium with tuberculosis. His dad left years ago, and when his older brother goes to Jacksonville to enlist with the Marines, Roi is left to care for his little sister. Substitute teacher Mr. Peterson gets the students involved in President Roosevelt’s Victory Garden initiative, and when Roi witnesses someone destroying their hard work, his teacher helps him discover his talent for journalism, which he uses to expose the crime. Mr. Peterson also introduces the children to James Thompson’s letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, “Should I Sacrifice To Live ‘Half American?’”, arguing for the Double V: victory at home and abroad for African Americans. This story told in the leads’ believable first-person voices is rich in period details, introducing lesser-known aspects of history. The cohesion of the neighborhood is striking, and the intergenerational interactions greatly enrich the narrative.
A strong story highlighting Black communities’ wartime contributions despite the discrimination they faced at home. (author’s note, historical notes) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9780823453795
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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