Brownstone

I loved reading this YA graphic novel. The main character is Almudena, a fourteen year old girl, who is sent to live with her father for the summer because her mother is taking a once in a lifetime trip. The problem is that she has never met him and he does not speak English. Xavier is Guatemalan and is happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. Along the way, Almudena must navigate the language barrier. 

As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.  However, Almudena becomes fast friends with them all.  By summer's end, she hates leaving her new friends behind but is happy to return to living with her mother.

I loved the Almudena character. She is a happy go lucky girl who can deal with any situation. She helps all of her new neighbors with their problems without skipping a beat. Somehow she is able to communicate with her father and new friends who only speak Spanish. Note that the novel is bilingual. While it is mainly told in English, there is dialogue in Spanish that is not translated.  The artwork was primarily colored in brown tones to match the storyline.

5 out of 5 stars.

Two Tribes

After a late night yesterday I wanted easy reading this morning. I found this full length graphic novel by Emily Cohen. The story is based upon her own life and dissects her two ethnic nationalities:  Native American and Jewish.

The publisher's summary:  

In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes.

Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn’t want to talk about him, but Mia can’t help but feel like she’s missing a part of herself without him in her life.

Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma—without telling her mom—to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.

I enjoyed reading about the Jewish and Muskogee customs. It was fascinating to see how the author wrote into the story Mia's punishment for running away by having to spend time with a rabbi. The rabbi used a study of the Bible story of Jonah to teach Mia a lesson. Jonah ran away from God after refusing to preach gloom and doom and ended up inside a whale. There was also an element of mystery in the story. While Mia was making strides in making her dream come true, I knew that her deception was going to catch up with her soon. Each chapter ending provided enough action to make me think that Mia was finally about to get caught. When she did get caught, Mia admitted her deception. She owned it. You don't see that every day. 

While this book was written for kids aged 8 to 12, there are lessons for adults as well. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. This is an educational  story for everyone.

The Fox Maidens

Robin Ha, author of Almost American Girl, is one of my favorite graphic novelists. Her 2024 graphic novel, The Fox Maidens, is based on a famous character from Korean mythology, Gumiho. The story takes place 400 years ago in Korea during the reign of the Joseon Dynasty and it was a fun read.

The publisher's summary:

Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior.

Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before.

Everything comes crashing down the day Kai learns the deadly secret about her mother’s past. Now she must come to terms with the truth about her identity and take her destiny into her own hands. As Kai desperately searches for a way to escape her fate, she comes to find compassion, and even love, in the most unexpected places.

Set in sixteenth-century Korea and richly infused with Korean folklore, The Fox Maidens is a timeless and powerful story about fighting for your place in the world, even when it seems impossible.

First of all, I cannot be more excited about a comic's illustration than with The Fox Maidens. The color palette is gorgeous. Most of the comic book strips are drawn and colored with cool tones of every color but with a splash of bright colors such as red. It's very appealing.

Concerning the writing, it is fast paced with compelling characters and an action packed plot. Kai is the main character. She is presented as a feminist by her desire to fight alongside the men in her village. She is fearful of marrying and having children and hopes that her parents won't force her into marriage. At the end of the story we see her love for another female character. Kai's mother, Meorhu, is a physically fragile woman with a surprising past as a fox maiden. She hopes that her daughter will be able to escape the same fate. Then there is Gumiho. Gumiho is the deadly fox spirit who destroys the lives of all the others with her magic. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story but must say that the first half was more exciting. During this part of the story we read about Kai as a human being. Her life in the village depicted the type of life a girl in Joseon Korea would live. In the second half she becomes a fox and here we really see the fantasy aspect of the story. The author’s note at the end explains her inspiration for writing this graphic novel. I found it as fascinating as the story itself.

4 out of 5 stars.

Ash's Cabin

Ash's Cabin is a coming of age graphic novel by Jen Wang. It was published on August 13, 2024 and has been written for young adults in grades 10 through 12. 

The publisher's summary:

Ash has always felt alone. Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life. The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts her daily life.  But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can she really be happy alone?  

 

The publisher's website states that this graphic novel tackles the topic of gender identity. I was not aware of this until the ending and I looked up the book. A classmate places her hand on Ash's hand and Ash's face lights up. I feel a little stupid for not picking up on the new masculine name but in my defense let me say the reader doesn't know what Ash's name originally was. In fact, in the first chapter I thought Ash was male. Her desire to learn survival skills didn't cause me to suspect anything either. It just sounded like a great adventure. Her withdrawal from her high school classmates didn't make me suspicious either. Half the kids in school are withdrawn. My only clue that she was gay was that hand.

I would not categorize the book as LGBTQ fiction. It's about Ash's six month long plan to camp in the wilderness and then her execution of the plan. She takes her beloved dog Chase with her and, as an animal lover, I enjoyed their exploits. She was only supposed to be gone two weeks but Ash lasted 42 days in the wilderness. After Chase became injured Ash should have taken him home. She didn't and that upset me some.

All things considered, Ash's Cabin was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.