Spirited, thrilling, and wonderful.
To save her homeland, a 16th-century Irishwoman fears no man.
In this exciting graphic novel, fierce, scarlet-haired Grace O’Malley grows up on the sea alongside her chieftain father in Ireland. When her father tries to steer her toward pursuits he deems ladylike, she admonishes him, “A woman’s skills? Needlework and dancing? I’m an O’Malley! We don’t dance!” Under the rule of Henry VIII, Ireland suffers greatly as people lose their homes and their lands to English tyranny. As the oppression grows, Grace finds herself enmeshed in the conflict, losing a son, a lover, and two husbands to the intolerable and seemingly unrelenting war. Grace takes to sailing the seas and destroying English ships, fearing nothing; she even goes so far as to shoot a boarding enemy with a crossbow minutes after giving birth. Lee depicts O’Malley as a truly powerful figure: She fights, kills, and leads men into battle—but she never abandons facets of her selfhood with which she strongly identifies, such as being a mother. Hart’s illustrations are vigorously kinetic, creating compelling scenes of battle that rocket along at a breakneck pace more electrifying than any action movie. While Lee and Hart’s previous volumes tackled more widely known figures (such as Joan of Arc and Robin Hood), discovering the legend of Grace O’Malley feels like unearthing a hidden gem. The tale takes place in the United Kingdom in the 1500s; all characters portrayed present white.
Spirited, thrilling, and wonderful. (Graphic historical fiction. 10-adult)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0019-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A superficial and meandering exploration of friendship and love.
Two middle schoolers set out to investigate what love truly means.
Lola loves love and wants to understand it better now that she has a crush on a classmate. Her best friend, Grace, whose parents’ arguments at home are escalating, has a more cynical view of romance, but she’s still willing to help. So the pair go around school, interviewing couples and gathering gossip about who has a crush on whom. For all the nuanced issues this graphic novel, translated from French, attempts to explore—among them slut-shaming and the pain of first love—too many shallow caricatures remain. Nearly all the boy characters come off as unfeeling, selfish jerks whom girls are justified in mistreating when their feelings aren’t returned. Scattered storylines mix with contradictory takeaways—the boys are rightfully depicted as sexist for ranking the girls by physical attractiveness, but the girls’ decision to reciprocate comes across as justifiable revenge. And even after Lola and Grace realize that Felicity, a beautiful and popular classmate, has hidden depths, Lola still refers to her as a “bimbo.” Further, the boys’ objectification of Felicity is framed as inevitable rather than something to push back against. Many characters have similar facial designs, giving the artwork a generic look. Lola, Felicity, and most other characters present White; Grace is Black.
A superficial and meandering exploration of friendship and love. (Graphic fiction. 10-15)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781662640407
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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Action-filled and engaging but considerate of both topic and audience, Ebo’s story effectively paints a picture of a child...
Ebo is known across his village for his beautiful singing voice, but will his voice keep him safe in his journey to the shores of Europe?
Readers follow the flight of Ebo, a Ghanaian refugee child, to Europe to find the siblings who fled before him. Ebo’s journey takes him across the scorching heat of the Sahara and through the streets of Tripoli, where he works to raise funds for passage across the Mediterranean. All the while, Ebo and the companions he meets along the way must elude the watchful eyes of the authorities who are constantly on alert for refugees. But after Ebo finally saves enough money and secures a seat on a boat crossing to Greece, he finds himself on the brink of death. Like all the others, it is too crowded; the engine is broken; and the fuel is slowly running out. Authors and illustrator take readers back and forth through time, building suspense as Ebo’s story of survival unfolds. The format allows sensitive and difficult topics such as murder, death, and horrific, traumatizing conditions to unfold for children, Ebo’s reactions speaking volumes and dramatic perspectives giving a sense of scope. A creators’ note provides factual context, and an appendix offers an Eritrean refugee’s minimemoir in graphic form.
Action-filled and engaging but considerate of both topic and audience, Ebo’s story effectively paints a picture of a child refugee’s struggle in a world crisscrossed by hostile borders. (Graphic fiction. 10-15)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6214-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
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