2019 Great Graphic Novels

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 | Tasha

Young Adult Library Services Association

YALSA has announced their 2019 list of the best graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for those aged 12-18. The full list can be found here. They also select a top ten which follows:

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation Crush (Awkward, #3)

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank and Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova

Hey, Kiddo Illegal

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Adrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

My Brother's Husband, Volume 2 On a Sunbeam

My Brother’s Husband, Volume 2 by Gengoroh Tagame

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth 銀の匙 Silver Spoon 1 [Gin no Saji Silver Spoon 1]

Royal City, Volumes 2 & 3 by Jeff Lemire

Silver Spoon, Volumes 1-4 by Hiromu Arakawa

Speak: The Graphic Novel The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Emily Carroll

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown

Review: This Promise of Change by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy

January 30, 2019January 8, 2019 | Tasha

this promise of change by jo ann allen boyce and debbie levy

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy (9781681198521)

This nonfiction novel in verse tells the story of Jo Ann Allen, one of the twelve African-American students who were among the first in the nation to integrate a segregated high school in the South. The small town of Clinton, Tennessee became one of the first communities to attempt desegregation after the Supreme Court ruling made segregation illegal. A year before the Little Rock 9, this lesser-known group of brave students at first attended their new school without incident but then outside agitators, the KKK and other white supremacists got involved. As the issue grew, simply attending school became too dangerous for the African-American students. When they were escorted by a local white pastor to school, he ended up beaten and almost killed. Jo Ann became a spokesperson for the group of students and for integrating schools in general. Her story is one of resilience and tolerance.

Levy very successfully uses various forms of poetic verse to tell Jo Ann’s story in this book. In her author’s note, she speaks about why verse was the logical choice as it captured the musicality of Jo Ann’s speech. Her skill is evident on the page, capturing both the quiet parts of Jo Ann’s life and the dramatic moments of desegregation including acts of hatred against the students. Jo Ann’s story is told in a way that allows young readers to understand this moment in United States history in a more complete way. The images at the end of the book and additional details shared there add to this as well.

Perhaps most surprising is the fact that these moments have been lost to history and this group of twelve students is not as well-known as the Little Rock 9. At the same time, that is what makes this book all the more compelling to read as their story is more nuanced since the mayor and governor did not defy the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Beautifully written, this heartbreaking and dramatic story of courage in the face of hatred belongs in every library. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

2019 Amelia Bloomer Top Ten

January 29, 2019January 28, 2019 | Tasha

The Amelia Bloomer Project Committee has selected their annual list of the top books that are “well-written, well-illustrated books for young readers with significant feminist content. Their full list will be coming soon. Right now their top ten picks are available:

Amal Unbound As the Crow Flies

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman

Blood Water Paint Crush (Awkward, #3)

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova

Damsel Learning to Breathe

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mather

Naondel (Punaisen luostarin kronikoita #2) The Poet X

Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Speak: The Graphic Novel 35738307

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Emily Carroll

Sugar and Snails by Sarah Tsiang, illustrated by Sonja Wimmer

Review: Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle

January 29, 2019January 7, 2019 | Tasha

Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle (9781541542723)

After moving to a new city with her parents, Harriet is stuck sitting around their new apartment alone while her parents start new jobs. She is missing camp back in Indiana and writes her camp friends postcards about sightseeing in Chicago, even though she hasn’t gone anywhere. She starts to pretend that the mailman is sinister, that the third floor of the house is haunted and that the kind owner of the house, Pearl, is a murderer. Pearl though continues to try to connect with Harriet during her long summer, using books and stories as a way to relate to one another. As the book steadily reveals, Pearl’s son had polio while Harriet herself has MS. This book beautifully portrays a teen’s long summer and dealing with a chronic illness.

Set in the 1990s, this graphic novel depicts a Latinx family as they move closer to Harriet’s doctors in Chicago. The family is warm and lovely, connected to Harriet but not hovering or overly worried about her. The graphic novel uses warm colors, sultry breezes and just enough mystery about what the truth of the house could be to keep the pages turning. The focus on books and reading is conveyed through the eyes of a teen who doesn’t really enjoy reading her assigned books. Filled with diversity, there are lots of people of color as well as people experiencing disabilities in this graphic novel.

Harriet herself is a rather prickly character, so I loved when she faked reading The Secret Garden, saying that she didn’t really like the main character that much. Readers will develop a sense of connection with Harriet as her vivid imagination comes to life, even though she may have misled the readers as well as herself at times. There are few graphic novels that have characters with invisible disabilities who sometimes need mobility aids and other times don’t. This is particularly effective in a graphic novel and portrayed with grace and gentleness.

A quiet graphic novel for tweens and teens that is just right with some lemonade and pizza. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Graphic Universe.