Riad Sattouf's autobiographies are one of my favorite graphic novel series. In this installment of the series, Riad is now a teenager and the tension between his Syrian father and his French mother reaches a boiling point. His father accepts a teaching job in Saudi Arabia but his mother refuses to follow him and keeps the kids with her in France. They do have family time during the summer when they gather in Syria, Riad's father's native country. Riad gets hounded by his father about losing his Arabic language skills and his refusal to begin an Islamic prayer life. Riad is more French like his mother at this stage of his life. The book closes with a shocker as his father kidnaps the youngest child, empties all the bank accounts and returns to Saudi Arabia.
As with the earlier books in the series, the color scheme of the artwork changes depending on where the family is located. When they are in France, the drawings are done in blue. When they are in Syria, the drawings are done in pink. This book includes for the first time some red colored scenes when there is trouble brewing for Riad. This could be either dealing with bullying at school or while playing.
This installment of the series was a lot longer than the earlier books. I was delighted to spend an entire evening engrossed in this fabulous story. The only sad part is that I now have to wait for the next installment of the series to be published.
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