Sheer Shadows and Mischievous Mystery

A typical graphic novel is told in pictures and in words, but what if the story was actually two stories: one through words and one through images? Brian Selznick did it with surprising grace, and now Kiersten White and Jim DiBartolo have done it with In The Shadows, and the result is pretty awesome. 

Cora and Minnie's mother runs a boarding house where they all live together. Minnie has an insatiable desire for adventure (bordering on the side of reckless), while Cora prefers to play it safe, except when Minnie calls her out on her stuffiness and she has to live up to her little sister's expectations. But after Minnie convinced Cora to climb a tree and peer into the witch's window and she got caught, she has never been the same. Her father died the very next day, and Cora knows it was a curse the witch put on her. Arthur was brought to live with them over a year ago after his father disappeared, but the girls suspect there is more to the reason Arthur is with their family. When Charles and Thomas arrive for the summer, the group bands together, all for different reasons, but all for the hope of some fun (at Minnie's direction). Especially when Charles' illness and imminent death is a weight holding Thom down. 

When they visit the witch's house all together this time, Cora is more than just a little nervous. In fact, she is terrified, but the others convince her it will be fine. When they see the witch, Mary, they aren't prepare for what they witness- she hangs herself right in front of them. When they report it, however, something scary happens- her body isn't there anymore. When they see her again in town, she is with the scary man from the boarding house... and a woman Thom is convinced he heard speaking to his father right before he was sent to the boarding house. Something very mysterious is happening in this sleepy little tourist town, and Minnie and the others are going to get to the bottom of, regardless of the risks.

Half this story is the one I have just described. It is written in short chapters like any other typical story. The other half of the story is written in illustrations and follows an entirely different set of characters. I haven't described the illustrated story because it isn't easy to describe it without giving away too many important details needed for the end of the story when everything comes together. But they do, and when they do, it is pretty gosh darned awesome. My biggest issue with this book throughout the entire story was that I had absolutely no idea what was happening in the illustrated story- until the very very end. Now, in hindsight, I can see it was designed that way and that is what made it such a cool story, so I should have just had faith in the authors. 

Another thing I struggled with was the ages of the kids. One moment they struck me as definite middle schoolers. Precocious, adventurous, and usually reckless abandonment regarding concern for consequences. But then the next moment they felt a little older, like young adults. It made them difficult to understand completely. While Minnie was the fun, impish, mischievous one, Cora and Arthur were the ones I really liked. Unfortunately, the story is really brief, so you don't get to spend a lot of time getting to know any of the characters very well. The important thing to know, though, is that this is one serious mystery! It was really a nail biter right to the end, and I did not see it coming. I really liked this story, and I hope White and DiBartolo give this format another shot!

The Cycle of Life

The responsibility of being the last man on earth must be a burden like no other; for Yorick, it appears to be just another day, as long as you don't consider the fact that he is being hunted by multiple groups of women for very different reasons. In the second volume of Y: The Last Man, Cycles, Brian K. Vaughan flexes his muscles in the story of Yorick, the last remaining man on earth. 

Yorick and Agent 355 found Dr. Mann, the woman looking to cure the plague, but they didn't save her research. When her lab and all her research is burned, they decide to head across the country to her secondary lab in California. Unfortunately, there is a whole country full of women who would be very interested to learn about the last man on earth between them and California. They are able to bargain their way onto a train headed West, but they should have expected the trip couldn't be that easy. When they end up in a small, idyllic town, they can't believe how well these women are living. What they don't know is that the whole town is hiding a very big secret. 

This volume does a great job of giving you glimpses into Yorick, Dr. Mann, and Agent 355, and because of that, you become heavily invested in the story after these issues. The first book was fun and exciting, but this is where you get hooked. The story line is complex and there are characters who will blow you mind. The reintroduction of Yorick's sister Hero is the most pivotal point for me. I just can't wrap my head around her and everything she is doing. And yet, why not? The world as they knew it is over. Why not capitalize on the new face of the planet? 

One of the most interesting sides of this part of the story is how different groups of women cope with the death of all the men. Some are falling apart, but some are actually better off, and that is a hard thing to wrap your head around! I loved how much it made me think and process that fact. Of course we would all grieve the loss of our husbands, fathers, sons, and friends, but who would survive best? And how would the world change without them? It is a heady batch of questions, but you will keep asking yourself these and many more as you continue with this fabulous series!

Why Be the Last Man?

Some ladies might think a world without men would be far more peaceful, but there would be huge changes to the structure of the world without men, and the continuation of the species would be the last thing on everyone's mind. In the first volume of Y: The Last Man, Unmanned, by Brian K. Vaughan, the world loses every male mammal... except two. 

Yorick has a smoking hot girlfriend who is currently traipsing around the Outback, but he fully intends on proposing to her. Meanwhile, his mother is trying to hold her own in Congress, and his sister, Hero, is living up to her name as an EMT. Everything seems normal. Normal, until everything isn't. All of a sudden, every man and male mammal in the world dies. Women around the globe watch their fathers, sons, husband, friends, coworkers, etc. drop dead in front of their eyes. Everyone, that is, except Yorick. A borderline agoraphobic, Yorick doesn't really leave his apartment. He offered to train a service monkey to help handicapped people, but so far the only thing he has accomplished is ducking when Ampersand flings his poo at Yorick's head. 

Yorick is a goofball, and certainly not anyone's idea of the epitome of the last man on earth, but he is all the human race has left. With all the men gone, the women have had to step in, but none can agree on how to run things. The Amazons believe the plague was the world's savior, and try to eliminate all chances of a baby boy ever being born. The few remaining members of Congress are trying to hold things together, but the wives of prominent Republicans don't agree with how they "took over the government." Meanwhile, there are millions of bodies of men just rotting in offices and apartments that have to be incinerated. The world has gone to hell in a handbag, and Yorick is the last hope for mankind?!

First of all, I have read this series before. It was quite some time ago, and I loved it so much, I certainly did not take my time to savor it. After having finished all of Vaughan's Saga so far, I needed more of his genius, so I decided to reread this series, and I am so glad I did. It really is brilliant. First of all, Yorick is awesome. He is a total screw-up, but you won't be able to resist his delightful, scampish charm! Seriously. Yorick is absurd and fabulous all in one, and I just LOVE him SO much! So, the idea that this knucklehead is the last man on earth makes this series even more spectacular. 

Add to that the great illustrations (not as stunning as Saga, but pretty darned good) and an incredible story line, and you have yourself one winning graphic novel series here. My only regret for purchasing these is that I couldn't control myself and wait for the hardcovers, because I imagine I will be rereading this series frequently. This volume is the basic backstory leading up to the death of all men, and the beginning of Yorick's travels. It will give you a good snapshot of the world without men, but it doesn't get to the heart of the story... for that you need Volume 2!!

A Sentence Served

Percy Carey lived a life that felt like the average life of a gang-banger, and then also seemed utterly spectacular. In Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, he tells his story, including his rise from the streets and his fall from grace. 

Percy got his first taste of attention from his time on Sesame Street, but it wasn't until he decided to be the baddest emcee that he had a true dream. Yes, he grew up on the streets, but they weren't the kind of streets you hear about. He had an amazing, strong, butt-kicking mother who would do anything to protect her children. He had a good stepfather, and lived in a neighborhood where the mantra "It takes a Village" is more like a lifestyle. But there was another element to his life and world that couldn't be ignored: the gangs. 

Percy was a smart guy, and even though it set him apart, he loved to read and write. When he declared his intention to emcee, he knew it would lead him places, included the ultimate battle. Whether living on the east or the west coast, his life was tumultuous, dangerous, and exciting. And for a smart man like Percy, that excitement was what he was ultimately looking for. Unfortunately, it had consequences he could never escape; far deeper than prison or parole, he suffered a fate he could never have imagined. 

Here is the important thing about this story. It isn't just a glorification of life on the streets. Money, fame, girls, objects, drugs, lifestyle. All those are there, but there is more. That life can't live forever. It burns out quick, and Percy learned that lesson the hard way. After the shooting left him paralyzed, he even found he had no place int he legitimate world. He tried, he really did, but he had no skills. The legit world didn't want him. So he went back to the world he knew: drugs, the streets, and a crew to watch your back.

I liked this story so much because I was constantly surprised. I went into it expecting a story of a kid on the streets who wanted to be Dre or Snoop, but instead ended up in a wheel chair. And yes, this story is that, but it is also so much more. This story is full of paradoxes and confusion as to how Percy got here, but more importantly, it is a story of how our surroundings shape us. If this kid had been born someplace else, he could have become a lawyer or a politician as opposed to learning about law in jail in order to get his sentence reduced. It takes a village, but that village can also define us, and I hope this story is a lesson to its readers of how to break out of that definition. This isn't a pretty story all tied up in bows, but it is a gritty, dark, fabulous story of a man who had to fall before he could pick himself up. 

A March Upon Me

We all learned about the Civil Rights movement, but our generation didn't live through it. We never had segregated bathrooms or restaurants that would take the money of one race and still not let them sit at the counter. However, just because we have never lived through THE Civil Rights Movement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others, it doesn't mean we haven't experienced the battles for Civil Rights first-hand. We watch the rights of one group or another trampled upon regularly, but what kind of person are each of us? Would you stand up against injustice? Or would you be a quiet bystander? Or would you fight to maintain the status quo?

Congressman John Lewis is no standard politician. He was part of the Civil Rights movement that led to the end of segregation in our country. In this simply amazing graphic novel, he tells his story of how life on a sharecropper's farm led to a life of freedom, movement, and justice in a world that didn't like the color of his skin. 

The story starts with a mother and her young boys entering Lewis' office to show the boys where their history started. Lewis, still in the office, begins to answer the boys questions and tells them how he came to be a part of the march on Washington, and how he left that farm in Alabama to serve a higher purpose. It is the first part of a truly inspiring story that I am waiting with bated breath to continue. I have known about John Lewis, but I don't think I could have asked for a better rendition of his life than we get with this story- it is full of history, anecdotes, real sentiments and emotions, and so much more.

The beauty of this graphic history is how it draws out the true nature of nonviolence. We have all known about nonviolent protest and how successful it has been in our history, but have you ever thought of how those people remained so passive and polite when they were being beaten for simply believing they had a right to sit at the local restaurants counter? Seeing this training they all went through was so hard to experience through these words and illustrations, it kept me talking about it for a long time after I was finished. Luckily, my husband had read the story before me and was a captive audience, because this book left a need to talk in me once I had finished. 

Do the people who did and said these awful things every regret their actions? The police who beat passive protestors, are they ashamed of their actions? How do they tell the story to their grandchildren? Do they tell them of how they brought their billy sticks down upon a legend like John Lewis? My husband and I talked about this story for hours, pondering the movement, the purpose of nonviolence, the people behind the fight for Civil Rights, and so much more. If we could be so captivated, I think anyone can. Whether you are a lover of graphic stories, history, strong leaders, or just a good story, this is one for you. Simply amazing, and I really hope the sequel is available soon, if for no other reason than to continue those amazing conversations I enjoyed so much!

There's No Story Like Back Story

Once you are a part of the Morning Glory Academy, you really have no choice but to stay. Not only do they cut you off from your family, but in isn't difficult to make the students realize they have no choice but to stay put. In Volume 2 of Nick Spencer's Morning Glories, the six new students all have a story to tell. 

Everyone has a story, but how important are those stories in relation to the person you have become? For the newest Morning Glories, those back stories directly tie to how they got there, and who they are going to become. If you are a little rich kid who committed an unspeakable act, is there a chance you can find your way out of it, or are you going to have to face your actions in the harshest way possible. When twin brothers are separated, can they ever come together and be the same? When a little girl is taken from her people, will her extraordinary talent lead who she is to become? 

The second volume of The Morning Glories wasn't much different from the first. The story was filled with mystery and intrigue, but I'll be darned if I am not still totally in the dark about what they heck is happening! I expected a few more answers than I got, so the story was a little frustrating when all it did was give me more questions. Still, the mystery continues to be interesting, so I will continue to keep reading, but I want answers people! I have NO idea what is happening! The back story was very interesting, and I was glad to have it, but now I need more about this Academy and what on earth is happening inside it!

Mystery at the Morning Glory

An invitation to join an elite private school is one you can't pass up. It brings six teenagers from very different walks of life together in one place. Morning Glories by Nick Spencer is a story with more than one secret to reveal... but you won't get all the answers you want!

With a population that rivals "The Breakfast Club," six teens with checkered pasts are brought to the mysterious and prestigious Morning Glory Academy. While its clear they won't all immediately become life long friends, they are expected to work together. The school is unconventional, but when one of the girls tries to call home and her father has no idea who she is, they start to get suspicious. The school passes it off as a strategy to keep kids from getting homesick, but it was too real. He didn't even know she existed!

More and more, the kids think there is something deeply wrong with Morning Glory. The school's tactics for sussing out their special "talents" is disturbing at best. At worst, it is downright deadly. When you put six kids together who are known to be the best and the brightest, you can't also expect them to be the most obedient. But Morning Glory is ready for some disobedience. In ways the kids never expected. 

This was another one of those stories where you can enjoy the whole thing, be ready for the next in the series, but you have absolutely no idea what is going on. I know there is something fishy about the school and its administration, and let's just say the teachers make the Trunchbull look like a little kitten, but I never actually got any real answers. Instead, I found myself flying through in order to find any speck of an answer because, by the time I finished Volume 1, I have absolutely NO clue what is going on. 

The mystery is fun, though, and the wildly different personalities of the 6 kids makes it exciting. From the preppy rich kid to the chick with two dads, they are quite a diverse group, and their varied ways of dealing with the circumstances are interesting. I wasn't overly fond of the art in this graphic series, though, and I felt the illustrations were a little flat or generic. I would have liked to see something more unique. All in all, it is an interesting story, and I am intrigued to see where it goes!

A Graphic Canon Collection, Volume I

I have been intrigued by this collection of the literary canon in one, graphic collection, but it is pretty expensive, so it took me a while to break down and buy them. Now that I have, I am really glad I did. Oddly, I was a little disappointed when they first came. Each story has its own style and adaption according to the creator/illustrator/author who adapted that story, either abridged, or in part. Some were incredibly minimalistic, and I wasn't sure I liked that, so it took me a while of pouring through them to see that this was pure genius. 

Volume one starts with Gilgamesh and ends with Dangerous Liaisons. This is the antiquities portion of this series. Some, like Gilgamesh, are written in cartoon-style graphics. Others, like The Odyssey are truly illustrated. Each story is presented differently. For instance, The Odyssey is the piece of the epic poem about Polyphemus. The Sappho entry is a poem within one illustration. Medea is more of your graphic novel kind of illustrations. Some, like Lysistrata or The Flea, contain the kind of illustrations necessary for a story with sexual content, which I have seen some people complain about. I am not sure why reading about the naughty bits is OK, but the minute they are illustrated people get all up in arms, but I didn't think it was anything egregious or gratuitous. It was just the story as it was told! Some entries were all beautiful artwork and no words, like Plato's Symposium. 

There were excerpts from the Hebrew Bible, Confucius, the Aeneid, The New Testament, Beowulf, etc. Beowulf is pretty amazing, and it does an amazing job at creepy without a single word used! I absolutely LOVED the illustrated poems by Rumi, and they were all so different, unique and beautiful. Some I just wasn't thrilled by, like The Divine Comedy or The Canterbury Tales, but overall, I loved the collection. 

Obviously I wasn't familiar with everything in the book (I am pathetically neglectful of my knowledge in ancient Asian text), but I was impressed with the breadth of the literature represented in this collection. You have everything from the usuals to the Popol Vuh. Some even made me want to seek out the originals I wasn't familiar with, like The Visions of St Teresa of Avila. Absolutely beautiful. There is Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, and everyone else who should represent this end of the chronological canon. 

The best part of this series is the little blurb before each excerpt. There is a brief explanation of the original text that might contain historical references, its discovery, the relevance of the excerpt, and the author's biographical information. Some contain the adaptor's reasons for their choices, which I also found fascinating. The coolest function for having this in a library or classroom would be to reach kids and encourage them to read literature they would never otherwise choose on their own. Maybe if they were intrigued by the graphic Lysistrata, they will do a little digging and find the story a tale they never thought would exist in the antiquities!

A Great, Graphic White Whale

Call me Ishmael. One of the most well known stories in all the canonized literature is now in an abridged graphic form that is accessible to any reader. 

The story of Captain Ahab and his nemesis, Moby Dick, the great, white whale, is one we know well, but how many of us have read it? When you think of canonized literature, sometimes you think boring, dry, huge tomes that might be more practical as door stops. Now, if you love literature like I do, you know there is a journey to travel in every book. And the mustier the better! But no matter what you tell your students, they are NOT picking up Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights or A Tale of Two Cities without a grade involved. I am not saying teens must pick their way through the canon to have a true appreciation of reading, but it also makes me sad when they have no familiarity with these stories at all. So why not take something like these Campfire versions, an abridged, graphic version of the story that they can easily read, understand, and digest. While, sure, it isn't the full impact of the story, it is a great snapshot! Then they are familiar with the story and maybe some day, they will remember that graphic adaptation and pick up the real Melville! You know know what kind of seeds a book can plant!

So I really liked this adaptation. The art was OK, not as great as some other graphic novels, obviously, but it was done pretty well. The story itself was abridged well so that you can understand the story with a fast-paced graphic version.  Overall, I would definitely encourage a kid to pick up another Campfire story, and in fact, I think I am going to look into a couple more myself!

And the Saga Continues...

The world we live in is only a speck of dust compared to the universe. Imagine all that could be out there. Including a planet that is just a giant egg ready to hatch. In Brian K. Vaughan's second volume of Saga, Alana and Marko are still trying to find a way to keep Hazel safe.

Alana and Marko might have escaped a spider-woman, found a spaceship made of a tree, and bound their daughter to the upper torso of a little girl ghost to save Marko, but nothing prepared them for what was walking onto their new ship... Marko's parents. When they banish Izabel to the closest planet, Marko insists on going to save the ghost girl. His mother goes with him, not only to make sure he stays safe, but also to harangue him for getting mixed up with a Landfall girl. Meanwhile, Alana and Marko's father are left on the ship to... bond? Hard to do when she makes the ship wrap him up in vines and hang him from the ceiling!

Meanwhile, The Will is getting over the death of the woman he loved and is caught up with saving a little girl from the brothels. Meanwhile, Prince Robot IV is determined to find Marko and Alana before his wife has their child, and he has a plan of exactly where they are going to go. What none of them know is that everything they think they know is wildly and completely wrong. And all of them are thrust into this world because of one little girl. Hazel.

It's official. Brian K. Vaughan is a master. A complete and utter master. And the art by Fiona Staples? A. Maze. Ing. It is so beautiful and so unique, its hard to pry yourself away from the images to keep going with the story, but then again, the story is so awesome, it is hard to keep yourself from flying through the thing without hesitating to enjoy it! Such a conundrum!

I really loved the addition of Marko's parents, too. His mother was tough as nails (any idea why he is so smitten with Alana?!). But his father was the one who really got me. He was a man who was instantly in love with his new granddaughter and still had a dark secret he was hiding. I loved how protective he was of both new additions to his family, and he made this story just that much more special. 

But still, the best of all was the world building. This saga (pun intended) never ceases to amaze me with its different planets and worlds out there. They are weird, creepy, bizarre, and so exciting to see! I almost hope the group keeps traveling because I want to see more, more, more! 

Can Love Overcome Hate?

There is a fallacy out there that a graphic novel can't be serious. People assume they are frivolous and unintellectual. I call BS on those assumptions! And Jay Cantor and James Romberger's Aaron and Ahmed will destroy any assumptions you may have had, too. 

Aaron wasn't a privileged man, but he took advantage of the military to send him to medical school. When the woman he loved was killed in a hijacked plane on 9/11 when it crashed into the second tower, he made a decision fueled by anger and revenge: he chose to become a doctor at Guantanamo Bay. He supervised the torture and made sure the prisoners held without due process weren't tortured to death. While he thought it would be easy to watch these men tortured, he realized even the loss of his love didn't change the man he truly was. 

He proposed an alternate means to get information out of the most closed-off and stubborn inmate: Ahmed. Aaron's idea was to feed Ahmed estrogen and treat him kindly in an effort to gain his trust and open him up. Aaron thought he could change Ahmed, but in reality, something different happened. Ahmed changed Aaron. The humanity, or lack thereof, in what was happening in the prison was affecting Aaron in ways that he couldn't contain any longer. Together they would travel a journey that explored the nature of hate and manipulation that leads to one human choosing to do the most inhuman thing they could- choosing to end the lives of innocent people. 

This graphic novel was absolutely not what I expected going into it. It was so much more. In fact, now that I have finished it, I am having trouble even remembering my preconceived notions because it was so transformative. There is so much to the ideas of humanity and torture and safety and fear, that unless we expose ourselves to those raw nerves, they will never be soothed. It reminded me of the experience I had in a class recently where my students and I were discussing Civil Rights. They were obviously uncomfortable about the frank and earnest discussion at first, but they persisted and the idea of discussion Civil Rights and humanity became easier with each statement. When we avoid talking about the things that make us uncomfortable, we give them power. By talking about them and thinking about them, we can change ourselves and the world for the better. If those people who started and have continued to fight for Civil Rights in this country succumbed to the discomfort of difficult questions and situations, would we still have separate drinking fountains and bathrooms? Confronting the difficult is how we make progress, and Aaron and Ahmed wanted us to think about torture, fear, understanding our similarities and acknowledging our differences so we can find a way to stop the atrocities that are committed by both sides of this deadly and clandestine war on terror. 

I would give this to any older students because the material is very deep, dark, and thought-provoking. It requires a certain maturity and self-awareness in order to make the impression it was written for upon its reader. A more immature reader would fail to connect to the difficult questions being asked. I look forward to sharing this story with appropriate students and am intrigued by the kind of discussions it will no doubt spurn. Now we must continue these tough questions in order to make our present better than our past. 

A Saga Like No Other

Star-crossed lovers are a tale as old as time and a tale we can't get enough of. Whether they be from two feuding families in Verona or two warring planets (well, a planet and a moon, actually), when two souls from the corners of the universe are fighting to be together, we pray for a happy ending. In Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, being hunted by mercenaries might prevent any sort of happy ending. 

Hazel was born on Cleave, but her parents were from some place far away. Alana is a soldier from the planet Landfall and Marko is a solder from Landfall's moon, Wreath. Wreath and Landfall have been at war for so long, they had to take the war out of their backyards in order to save the rest of their civilizations. Alana and Marko were never supposed to meet, let alone have a child together, but when she broke him out of prison, they became the most hunted couple in the galaxy and Hazel, their child, was the most coveted target. 

Alana and Marko just want to be left alone with their baby, but they represent something the powers that be can't stand for, a unity among the races. When the Robot Prince is sent to find them, two mercenaries are offered a king's ransom to kill them and capture the baby, and a war rages around them, all seems hopeless to Alana and Marko. But somehow, by the grace of the inexplicable, they live each night to see the light of a new day. Unfortunately, it is not without consequences. 

Oh, wow! Just Wow! I loved Vaughn's Y: The Last Man series, but I worried I might not like this one. Wrong. Dead wrong. From the magnificent world building, to the incredible characters, to the story that doesn't let you down for a single breath, this was an absolutely incredible graphic novel. Volume 1 is the first six issues, so I have quickly ordered the next two volumes, because I just can't get enough of this story! 

Naughty Bits: OK, we all know it is tough to find a series in this genre without the naughty bits for younger readers, and this is no different. There are only a couple of moments, like the brothel The Will goes to or the Robot Prince's moment with his wife, but this is relatively tame for the genre. I recommended it for a student who read Watchman because I figured if they could handle that rape scene, this nudity and sex would be milder. Still, it is something to keep in mind, perhaps to ask parents first if they object if your student is younger. 

Saga is a great start to what I can only assume will be a wonderful series, and I am excited to dig into the next two volumes. Alana and Marko are my new favorite characters. She is tough as nails, and his devotion to his family (including giving up the sword that will protect them because now that he has a daughter, he doesn't want to take part in the killing of people) is inspiring. While you might not like them, the supporting characters, whether they be mercenary, robot, or ghost, are just as intriguing. This is an amazing new world and you won't be able to get enough of it... LIKE ME!

The ART of War

More and more, the graphic novel is receiving the praise and respect it so deserves. From the time when comics were "just for kids" to now, when a timeless manual like Sun Tzu's Art of War can be adapted into a graphic story that follows its namesake's principles through a gritty dystopian future. Kelly Roman and Michael DeWeese do Sun Tzu justice with this exceptional homage. 

Kelly Roman was punished, but nothing could punish him like his own conscience did. Once released from prison, he discovered his brother, an employee of Sun Tzu, was murdered. For Shane, there is nothing more important than finding the person behind Shane's death. As he starts to dig, however, he finds the darker and more disturbing world that hides behind the surface of the global economy. No longer about just money and ethics, the obsession with power has led men to do or create things that can never be undone. The face of society has changed through the decisions of man, and one lone person will get to the root of the deepest evil, all in the name of revenge. 

I don't want to get too deep into the story behind Sun Tzu's original book because it is just too special, unique, and ground-breaking to steal that opportunity for discovery from you. The story itself could stand alone without Sun Tzu, but throughout the unfolding of the story, you will have little snippets of Sun Tzu's philosophy. Those snippets fold beautifully into the story, guiding you through the key purposes without just reiterating what was already written. Instead, it becomes an interpretation or reimagining. And it is truly something impressive to behold. I had never read Sun Tzu's Art of War from cover to cover in one fell swoop, but I was fairly familiar with it, and this was quite the interpretation and use of those ideas and philosophies. I was pretty surprised with how impressed I was, and I encouraged my husband to read it, who hadn't read the original, and he was equally as impressed. Therefore, this is a great book for anyone who is either well-versed or unfamiliar with the original. It will still have an amazing impact on any reader. 

The story is, of course, incredibly violent and graphic. There were times where I was actually taken aback by the violence, but I felt it was all necessary for this particular story; nothing was gratuitous. This does, however, make the book better for older readers who can handle a good amount of violence. I would certainly recommend this story for any reader, especially a gamer, who struggles to find a story that keeps them going from cover to cover. This story with its incredible two-colored illustrations and terrifyingly capturing story will grab hold of those readers in particular. So if you have a bunch of boys who claim to never have found a book they cared about, try this one out- I think they will have a tough time putting it down!

History Made Accessible

No student should leave their high school without having learned about Charles Darwin and the work he conducted. From evolution to natural selection, Darwin is iconic for a true understanding of organisms and science of the five kingdoms. In this graphic adaptation of The Origin of Species, Michael Keller has taken this relevant book and created a version that preserves the language and true feel of Darwin's studies while making it graphically appealing. I think even Darwin would be proud of this story.

I am not going to go into depth with the story of Darwin and the Beagle because if you are looking at this adaptation, you understand the relevance of the book to begin with. But I do have to say I thought the original story was beautifully captured in this adaptation. Everything from the connections he made to come to the idea of natural selection to the controversy surrounding his theories was beautifully depicted either through the words themselves or beautiful illustrations that told the story in a different and equally as strong manner. Our students don't truly understand the risks Darwin was taking in coming forward with these theories, but this book does that controversy justice. The language holds true to the original, but with the illustrations, I think this story is finally accessible to your average young adult students. 

I have been looking into graphic novels, but in particular, into non-fiction graphic novels, as a means to draw students into more challenging works. For instance, I loved the graphic novel Primates, and plan to delve into Feynman as soon as possible. These books are truly opening doors to information many of our students would not otherwise access. While they would benefit from this information in its original form, they might not necessarily choose a book written so long ago. This type of adaptation bridges that gap, and I am grateful for it. I look forward to finding more adaptations like this! So if you have a student studying biology who really needs to know about the life and studies of Darwin but won't read Origin? Pick up this book!

Ladies: Champions of the Primates

Having just read Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, it seemed fortuitous that I would wander into a local bookstore to find this little gem facing out at me from a shelf in the children's department. Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas is a graphic, slightly fictionalized history of the three women who started with Louis Leakey and transformed the world's knowledge of the great apes.

Jane Goodall is probably the most well known of these three women, and she was the first woman Leakey was successful in sending to study the great apes. When his former secretary wasn't successful with the chimpanzees (or terribly interested), Goodall, a woman with no formal degree or experience in conducting such a study, was sent. It was there that she conducted some of the most groundbreaking research ever done on the chimpanzees.

Dian Fossey didn't wait for Leakey to discover her, she hunted him down and demanded to be sent to study the mountain gorillas. Leakey, still convinced women are better at this kind of research, put her study together and sent her. It was there that the gorillas became the life and death of Dian Fossey. Her refusal to back down from dangerous people's protection of the poaching of the gorillas was her undoing, but even in death, she is a champion for these beautiful animals.

 Birute Galdikas is the least known of these three women. Having come to Leakey after Fossey and Goodall, she was most interested in the illusive orangutans. Lucky for these creatures, their ability to fade into the mist also made them difficult to hunt, which was a protection in and of itself. Galdikas herself was as illusive as her orangutans, but the research she gathered is still unmatched.

This was a lovely little graphic non-fiction mini-biography of how these ladies came to study the great apes and forever shape the way the world viewed them and connected them to the human species. While the book is short and the stories are brief, it is a great starting point if you have a student interested in the study of the great apes. This would be a great paring with Endangered or "Gorillas in the Mist". After they have a taste of these three amazing (and very different) women, it would be fabulous to send them off for further research. I really enjoyed this little book, and I am so glad I happened to stumble upon it! 

Deep and Horrifying Graphic History

There is something about a graphic novel depiction of a horrible situation, war, genocide, etc, that stays with you for a long time. I think it might be the fact that "comics" are assumed to be fun and light-hearted, but graphic novels and even comics have take a whole new approach. They don't limit themselves to fun, slight stories. They can be dark, serious, and very, very real. Jean-Philippe Strassen's graphic depiction of the Rwandan genocide will stay with you long after you have read the last frame. Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda is a powerful book.

The story is told in two parts. It shows the life of Deogratias, a young Hutu man who has been driven mad by the genocide, and it shows his life before the genocide in constant flashbacks. Deogratias was in love with with Appollinaria, but when she turned him down, he started dating her younger sister Benina. He loved both girls. It didn't matter to him that they were Tutsi and he was Hutu, or how their mother made her money to support them. When the President's plane is shot down and the genocide begins, Deogratias hides Benina in his house, but she cannot stay there without knowing what happened to her mother and her sister.

The present time show Deogratias, or what is left of him. He is still a young boy, but he has been driven mad by the things he has seen and the things he has done during the genocide. The people in the village treat him like a pet, a dirty stray dog. At night is when his demons haunt him and he drowns them with local banana beer. It isn't until the very end of the book, after witnessing Deogratias' flashbacks and loss into madness, that you see the return of a foreign priest who fled before the genocide got really bad. With his return, you learn the truth of what happened during the genocide to cause Deogratias' madness.

The illustrations in this book are dark and scary. There are times at the beginning where it is hard to tell what is happening, especially when you see Deogratias start to transform under the stars into a dog. The flashbacks give you part of the story bit by bit, and you have to puzzle everything together. Because you have grown to care and worry about Deogratias, learning the truth about his time in the genocide is very painful. Unfortunately, this is a very true depiction of what happened in Rwanda in 1994. Hutus who lived and worked with Tutsis for their entire lives were forced to kill their family and neighbors to avoid being killed themselves. It is hard to digest, but not because it is a graphic story (although it is), but rather because it is a true story.

I think this story is an incredibly important story for any young adult to read. Because of the horrifying nature of the genocide itself, it would need to be handled with background knowledge and sensitivity for the reader. The introduction by the translator gives a wonderful summary of what was happening in Rwanda during the time before, during and after the genocide. It is perfect for any student who isn't familiar with the events in Rwanda in 1994. The story can be violent and sexually explicit, but that is simply the nature of a genocide where rape was a tool for torture and murder was committed on a scale that is unheard of- 800,000 people in a few short months. So while you might be worried about giving this to a younger student, I understand your concerns, but think the benefits far outweigh the possible concerns, especially if it is taught well and with a strong purpose. I plan to use this graphic novel in my Rwanda unit this year, and am interested to see how my students handle it.

Lord of the Flies Meets Mad Max

They aren't kidding when they say you "pay for the art" when you buy a graphic novel! Sadly, my book budget can't afford too many of them. But alas, my post-apocalyptic craze couldn't keep me away from this gem, and I am glad I couldn't resist it! Tribes: The Dog Years is the start to a brilliant series set hundreds of years after a nanovirus reduces the human lifespan to 21 years. Now the world is run by tribes of teenagers... scary isn't it?!

Sundog belongs to a tribe, the Sky Shadows, who believe the humans were punished for their wicked ways. They live beyond the tumbling ruins and keep to themselves, when they aren't being tormented by a headhunter tribe, of course. When Fallingstar, the girl Sundog loves but can never have, is promised to the new chief, Sundog accepts his fate and continues his duties. On watch one night, he sees a marvel he can't understand- a helicopter is flying directly at him! Helicopters haven't flown in centuries! When Sundog finds the crash site, he sees an ancient- a man clearly in his fifth or sixth decade who can't be real.

When they take him back to the tribe, the shaman of the tribe wants him killed, so Sundog and Fallingstar break out the old man and run away with him. They travel to the lab the old man claims has the only cure to the nanovirus that has run the world for 300 years. On their way, they are captured by the headhunter tribe. In a holding cage they meet two other kids from two different tribes: one from a tribe that specializes in gadgets and tinkering and another who lost her entire tribe to the headhunters. Together, they escape and continue to the lab, but the headhunters follow them. Now they must find a way to escape and get the cure to the old man's people in the city beneath the sea. Can they survive long enough to get there? To be continued...

Not only is this a BEAUTIFULLY illustrated graphic novel, but it also has something you don't find often in graphic novels- it would only be rated PG-13! Do you understand how difficult it is to find a graphic novel that doesn't have very adult language and situations? I have a great PA graphic novel series called Y: The Last Man that I would love to give to students, but it really is a fairly mature series. The beauty of Tribes is that it is exciting, incredibly illustrated, and clean! This would be a perfect book for students of all ages!

The writing is fairly simple. The only possible confusion is the pattern the frames run in. Most graphic novels run in panels left to right, up to down, but this one deviates from that often. There are a lot of small insets and confusing frame patterns. I can imagine it might confuse or distract a student occasionally, but this doesn't detract horribly from the merits of this story. I think the series (and I can't wait for the next volume) would be perfect for boys and girls alike, but especially boys. There is enough action for everyone!

Stitches

Graphic novels have taken the literary world by storm, and they're become increasingly popular among the young adult set. The emphasis on the visual and use of text only when it's necessary can make these novels especially appealing to young adults with reading problems. When you first pick one up, your reaction may be "But this is just a comic book." You would be wrong, oh so wrong. I still haven't read as many graphic novels as I would like, mostly because that misconception jumps out of my brain, slaps the graphic novel out of my hand, and points me to something more like a "real book." However, the graphic novels I have taken a chance on have impressed me with their content, which in no way resembles that of an Archie or Bat Man comic.  Yes, the comics are out there, but like everything else, we need to be judicious consumers. Pick up Persepolis or American Born Chinese, and I defy you to compare them to comic books. Today, I add to that list Stitches, by David Small.

Stitches came to my attention because it was one of ten books that won this year's Alex Awards. Awarded by the American Library Association, the Alex Awards are given annually to books written for adults that have special appeal for children, age 12 to 18. Each spring and summer I try to read my way through the most important of the children's book awards, which help guide me when buying books for school or selecting books for individual young adults.  Of course, it's also just plain fun. I try to get through as many of the Alex Awards as possible because they usually provide me with good choices for our higher skilled readers; in general, they hold appeal because young adults can relate to the themes or the characters, but the language is more sophisticated. 

Stitches is a memoir of illustrators David Small, recipient of the Caldecott Medal, the Christopher Medal, and the E.B. White Award for his work in picture books, including Imogene's Antlers, So, You Want to Be President, and The Gardener, one of my favorite children's books. Stitches is a dark book. Small grew up in an angry family with a cold and authoritarian mother and a distant father who lived for his work. As a child, David suffered from respiratory problems. His father, a doctor, believed he could treat David with heavy doses of radiation. Years later, David developed a growth in his throat. His parents delayed getting him to a doctor, but one day he woke up from an operation to find that he had stitches across his throat and could no longer speak. Even though David was horribly scarred and mute, his parents hid his cancer (probably caused by the radiation) from him until became old enough to figure it out for himself. Stitches is a coming-of-age story that follows David's childhood struggles with his parents and health issues, his transition to an adolescent who runs away from home to escape, his journey to becoming an artist, and ultimately coming to grips with his family's past.

Stitches opened my eyes to yet another way images can be used to tell a story. It was quick read for me (I read it in an hour before bed), which makes me think it would be a reasonable book for a young adult with difficulty reading. The use of text is limited, but the print is fairly large and in capital letters, which makes it easy on the eyes. For the struggling or reluctant reader, it also offers the advantages of being an adult book (much easier than trying to sell a high school kid on a 4th grade novel) and being a true story, which many of my students appreciate. Small's story is grim-bordering-on-gothic, but he rises above his troubled childhood to become a successful illustrator so it also has elements of triumph and success. You may want to pick up a few of his children's books so that you can see the contrast between the images in Stitches.  If you need a good memoir, or you want to try a graphic novel for the first time, or you have a little time to while away, give Stitches a try; you can't lose.