Kate Mester
Working through the graphic novel sets I have in the library for SS/ELA classes. Unfortunately I'm comparing this to some of the other graphic memoirs of family conflict/identity and it's not as favorable. Her art is technically fantastic and really striking, but that precision gives it a layer of remove and coldness that is also true in the story. This book seemed to want to be three things at once and none of them were fully realized: an exploration of her own relationship to her parents/childhood, an exploration of her father's history and what radicalized and ultimately killed him, AND an explanation of former Yugoslovian (Serbian/Croation specifically) history and conflict through the lens of her family. The sections are disjointed and lose momentum (but gain lots of text) when she takes you outside of her family history to explain the country history. The ending in particular is confusing, it's metaphorical and surreal and I think I understand it but even I'm not entirely sure, so that's going to leave students frustrated. I think there's a place for this in SS classrooms as students are studying world conflicts but be prepared to have some discussion time built in to handle potential student confusion.
See why the audio won awards, because it creates all the music the characters play rather beautifully. I loved the three stories but the framing story was week and hopefully kids wouldn't get stuck there before moving into the much better stories. Definitely recommend the enhancement of the audio over simply reading the book!
The title definitely needed to be Algeria is Beautiful. The “...like America” part is a red herring, as America is mentioned in exactly one sentence and has absolutely nothing to do with this story. I wonder if this was a weird publishing choice for an English speaking audience. That's really the only flaw with this book, though. Olivia Burton writes so contemplatively and vibrantly about her search for her family ancestral homes and history in her visit to Algeria. The art by Mahi Grand is vibrant and warm and the panels change and flow to match the feel and sweep of the story, with pops of color shown through photographs, such a great visual device. Burton doesn't shy away from mining her family's complex and problematic history, and the first few chapters showing her growing into questioning her family's beliefs and worldviews, with looming wars and deaths referenced through haunting skeletons, are exquisitely done and will resonate with teens grappling with the journey of their identity as they form their own personal beliefs. Would be absolutely great in an ELA or SS classroom, so much to discuss from a personal and historical/politcal standpoint. Her story exposed a massive gap in my own learning and I had to stop frequently to look up information about Algerian history and the war, making it a great pairing in SS classes learning about world conflicts and colonialism.
Well done novel-in-verse about Ali as a kid and teen, great for upper elementary/middle school. It's framed by details from his best friend, and doesn't shy away from confronting the truth of the times.
A solid middle-school level mystery/adventure tale with plenty of action and good character development. The kids that have read it so far have eagerly moved on to the sequel.
3.5 Liked that the focus was on Drew here, but all the characters from the first book were featured. This one's a little less nuanced, and often felt too heavy-handed with the point, even for the intended middle grade audience. Appreciated the chapter art was MG graphics this time (except for Life of Pi), think readers will delight in that! Loved seeing a round table of famous Black authors, such a cool easter egg for readers, but how they were inserted didn't really make much sense to the story. So, enjoyable, will easily sell to upper elem & all middle, but didn't quiet reach the heights of New Kid.
Contains spoilers
The text reads very primary, as do the illustrations, so definitely more for upper elem/middle grade. Straight forward and very timely story of a young boy attempting to immigrate as a refugee from Guatamala to America, but ultimately being caught and deported by ICE once in America. The backmatter might be helpful for discussions.
Necessary story in the understanding of immigration and refugees. Graphics just ok, and the FB posts seemed a forced device, but the intent and front/back matter was good.
Lot to love here, though I think there are just a few false notes (the spread of CJ and the music was too far out of the tone and pace of the story). Overall, a lovely and authentic story about a familial relationship that's not often shown in this way and gentle lessons on service, community, and attitude.
I'm still wondering about the claim for Newbery, though. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the final committee arguments.
Well done story of male friendship through adversity. Felt pretty authentic and Myers did a good job with the dialogue. Liked that one of the boys was a writer, these characters felt different than many boys we see in YA.
A totally gorgeous and thoughtful meditation on grief with the added bonus of learning about some of the history of surfing. A bit emotionally detached, which makes sense, but a fuller drawn sense of Kristen would have sent this to a full 5 stars for me.
Solidly elementary/middle, but good actionable tips on myriad ways kids can and have gotten socially involved. Glad it deals with intersectionality and privilege and how to be an ally without always being the loudest organizing voice/center of the action.
Was expecting to love this Whitehead but only liked it. I was very moved by Elwood's story in the beginning, but despite the twist (which was well done but telegraphs out pretty early on) and the stakes constantly being raised, I was less invested and the story seemed to be too. I definitely want to read more about the real Dozier school after this, and think it would be very discussable in a high school classroom paired with all sorts of other greatness, like nonfiction about the Dozier school, or articles by Nikole Hannah Jones or Between the World and Me, or the New Jim Crow, or We Are Not Yet Equal, etc.
Dreamy and informative. I learned about an artist I had no previous experience with. Loved the graphics connecting to her photographs and the layout that gave an omniscient overview of her life during a certain period then zoomed back into 1st person for her to tell her own experiences during that time period.
A stand-alone story in the Lumberjanes world by different creators with a more muted color palate. It cutely explores more of the Molly/Mal relationship (my lips are squeeled is the cutest line about their kiss) but didn't feel quite as charming as the series.
Great flow & layout, well researched and well written. Would make an excellent pairing with the March graphics.
Sweet with pretty art across a sweeping layout. Queer without a coming out story, good examples of teen friendships and parent dynamics. A little choppy in the narrative, but enjoyable overall.
Slowly unveiling family layers, lots of Greek myth, and many cute asides. This was a fun one. Hoping next one has more Barney!
Can see why this was nominated for the YA NBA, but very surprised it won over the others (Pet was my pick). I did learn about some historical events I wasn't familiar with - the molasses flood - and gained some more details on others like Red Summer. I liked the that each chapter had a look how a particular chapter's events still reverberate 100 years later. I liked the theory of selective timelines by theme for each chapter, but in practice it felt too limiting. I was surprised that there weren't footnotes used, but there is an index and works consulted. I'm not sure what kid I'd get take read this or use for research, as it's cut to such a large format. I do think it's valuable, so we'll see if I can get it to gain any traction with my students and teachers.
I've liked her essays before, so was interested in longer form, but many are surface tv/movie reviews. Did appreciate the essays when she dug deeper into real problems like rape culture and intersectional inequalities. Those gave me something to chew on, but those were only about 30% of the essays.
Some really great gems in this collection. I really appreciated the expansiveness of the material, it was diverse in every sense. Great for HS and up, lots of great queer history explainers to boot.
