Review of Pizza Face, by Rex Ogle & Dave Valeza

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review 0

Pizza Face

by Rex Ogle & Dave Valeza

Graphix, 2024. 222 pages.
Review written October 3, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I continue to maintain that graphic novels are the absolutely perfect format for middle school memoirs – the perfect way to express the angst we all went through.

In this follow up to Four Eyes, the morning Rex starts seventh grade, a giant pimple erupts in the center of his forehead – the first of many. So yeah, this is a graphic novel about a boy beginning to go through puberty, and feeling behind everyone else – he was only twelve in seventh grade, but his friends were all thirteen or turning thirteen. So he was the smallest, had the least hair, and had the highest voice.

And then come the bullies, the misunderstandings with friends, the saying something to try to be cool that hurts a friend’s feelings – and we’ve got a classic story of middle school angst.

There’s plenty of nuance going on here, such as becoming friends with the biggest kid in seventh grade, who starts out pushing Rex around, but ends up confessing he feels out of place, too. And gaining some insight about another bully when they’re both on in-school suspension.

This story captures the despair and hope of middle school, and does it with humor and compassion.

rexogle.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Homebody, by Theo Parish

Biography, Graphic Memoir, Teen Nonfiction 0

Homebody

by Theo Parish

HarperAlley, 2024. 224 pages.
Review written June 7, 2024, from a library book.

Homebody is a graphic novel memoir about the author’s search for home in their own body — their coming-out journey as transgender nonbinary.

I’ll be honest — it’s harder for me to understand nonbinary gender than other transgender journeys. But Theo telling their own story helps me understand better. I love their depictions of gender euphoria — of feeling happy and at home in their own skin after realizing that nonbinary was the right fit for them.

As a graphic novel, this is a quick read. I had trouble distinguishing between different people in the pictures — they mostly looked alike to me, but the most important character is Theo themselves, and I could tell which one they were.

This book tells about Theo’s journey feeling at home in their body, and mentions they are attracted to women (so first thought they were lesbian), but there is no mention or depiction of sexual experiences, unlike Gender Queer, which is a favorite target for book banners. I’m guessing they’ll still take offense at someone explaining how they know nonbinary is the right description of their gender, but let it be known that this book is not about sex.

And it is a book about joy. Reading this book lifted my heart with gladness for Theo learning to make her own body feel like home.

EpicReads.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of ¡Ay, Mija! by Christine Suggs

Biography, Graphic Memoir, Teen Nonfiction 0

¡Ay, Mija!

My Bilingual Summer in Mexico

by Christine Suggs

Little, Brown and Company, 2023. 328 pages.
Review written April 27, 2023, from a library book

¡Ay, Mija! Is one of those wonderful creations – a graphic novel memoir looking back on what it was like to be a teen figuring things out.

In this book, Christine Suggs tells about traveling on their own to visit their mother’s family in Mexico. Their Spanish wasn’t very good at the start, but they loved these people, and that love was returned. We see them carrying out more interactions as the visit goes on.

They also, naturally enough, have questions about their identity. They see things in their Mexican family that they’ve inherited, like a love of pan dulce. But their father is a pale white American, and their skin is lighter than any of their relatives in Mexico. And their Spanish isn’t very good, so they don’t always understand what their relatives are saying.

I love their drawing style, simple and loose. I could mostly keep track of who was who, and I enjoyed the little character they used to express their own thoughts and feelings in dialog.

I have never taken a Spanish class, though when I was in grad school I lived in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood of Los Angeles, and part of the time reading this book felt like that. I started to let the Spanish words rush over me. Though I think that accurately reflects how the author felt.

I do think this book would be perfect for someone who’s studied Spanish a little bit and would help them progress. There are a few English translations given, but mostly what’s on the page progresses as Christine progresses – and I was left a little behind by that. Though in a graphic novel, the pictures convey enough of the story, I didn’t feel lost. So I do think this strategy worked for this book, even though for me personally I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I would have if I felt like I understood more of the words used.

But even with my lack of Spanish slowing me down, I still thought this was a lovely story of making family connections and a teen making their way outside their comfort zone.

christinesuggs.com

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Review of That Can Be Arranged, by Huda Fahmy

Graphic Memoir, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

That Can Be Arranged

A Muslim Love Story

by Huda Fahmy

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2020. 175 pages.
Review written August 10, 2020, from a library book

That Can Be Arranged is a sweet and funny graphic memoir about how the author found love – and an arranged marriage – at the ripe old age of 25.

She clears up several myths about Muslim culture and arranged marriages in general. She makes some funny observations about the men she encountered before she found her future husband, including some her father ruled out – which turned out to be a very good thing.

This is a quick read, and it has just the right dose of humor. We’ve got a universal quest – to find love – and it’s fun to see the things that were the same – and different – for a modern American girl from a Muslim community.

You can tell by the cover that things end happily for Huda, and the reader will cheer. Or perhaps perform zagharit.

andrewsmcmeel.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books!

Review of Mexikid, by Pedro Martín

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

Mexikid

A Graphic Memoir

by Pedro Martín

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. 316 pages.
Review written January 3, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review
2024 Newbery Honor Book
2024 Pura Belpré Award Winner for Illustrator and Author
2024 Odyssey Award Honor Audiobook
2023 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #8 Children’s Nonfiction

It’s no secret that I think graphic novel memoirs celebrating middle school years are the best thing ever. In this one, the author looks to be a little younger than middle school, and he and his family went on an amazing adventure. Pedro’s the 7th of 9 children, and his whole family hit the road in a Winnebago in 1977 and drove to Mexico to pick up his Abuelito and bring him back to California. Hijinks ensue.

Honestly, I can’t do justice to all that’s in here. Pedro loves to draw, and imagines his Abuelito as a superhero, based on the stories of his time during the Mexican Revolution. But then when he sees Abuelito, he does some feats of amazing strength.

Seriously, if you don’t think traveling in a Winnebago with a whole bunch of kids has all kinds of funny things to write about, you’ve never done it. Hmm. My family did that a few years before Pedro’s family, when there were probably 8 kids. But we didn’t have to deal with crossing a border and getting toys confiscated and nothing to listen to except “Shipoopi.”

You’re going to have to trust me that this book is hilarious and fun and full of adventure, because I don’t even know how to start describing details. It’s also about family – siblings and cousins, parents and grandparents, and a classic road trip bringing them all together.

mexikid.com
Penguin.com/kids

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Four Eyes, by Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir 0

Four Eyes

by Rex Ogle & Dave Valeza

Graphix (Scholastic), 2023. 222 pages.
Review written July 31, 2023, from a library book.

I’m always a fan of graphic novel memoirs about middle school – it’s the perfect format for expressing the emotions, the humiliations, the ups, and the downs. And it’s a format the target audience loves, so everything together makes it a great choice.

I’ve read Rex Ogle’s memoirs such as Free Lunch and was bracing for a portrayal of abuse. But this book, has a lighter feel and showed the loving side of his home life. Which I enjoyed seeing. His family helped him get through these middle school difficulties.

What he did have to put up with was needing glasses at the start of middle school and not being able to afford a good pair.

Now, I wore glasses from fourth grade on. I don’t remember ever being bullied or even teased about them. Nor do I remember feeling different because of them. It was strange for me to see a school portrayed where Rex was the only one wearing glasses. Though maybe it felt that way.

So I took that with a grain of salt. However, the part about Rex’s best friend making friends with the cool kids — and those kids at the top of the pecking order finding reasons to reject Rex — that part made sense. And then I could believe that his glasses caused social stigma. Add to that the glasses getting broken and having to use tape to hold them together… and yeah this is the relatable stuff you can expect to find in middle school graphic novel memoirs.

May it, too, help kids know they’re not alone.

rexogle.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Banned Book Club, by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, art by Ko Hyung-Ju

Biography, Graphic Memoir, History, Teen Nonfiction 0

Banned Book Club

written by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada
art by Ko Hyung-Ju

Iron Circus Comics, 2020. 198 pages.
Review written September 22, 2020, from a library book

I didn’t realize until I’d finished the book that this is a graphic memoir, not a graphic novel. Even thinking it was a novel, I realized I had no idea that free speech had been suppressed in South Korea in 1983. This book points out that I need to separate out nonfiction for teens from my children’s nonfiction page – this has gritty and difficult material, more suitable for teens and adults than children. [Note: I’m posting this much later, and did, in fact, make a page for Teen Nonfiction.]

The setting is South Korea, 1983. Yes, that’s South Korea, not North Korea. I had to go back and check. Hyun Sook was a teen wanting to start college. Her mother didn’t want her to go because there had been student protests, which were being stopped by the government. Her father was supportive, so she does head off to school, trying to separate herself from the protesters.

Sure enough, when Hyun Sook gets to college, she tries to stay out of trouble. She even joins a Masked Folk Dance Team to do something that’s not political. But she learns that they do folk dances with stories that have political ramifications and are a cover for protests. Then the friends she makes on the team pull her into a Banned Book Club with a contact at a bookstore who gets them banned books.

I was amazed at the range of books that they were not permitted to read. Both western literature and Communist literature from North Korea were on the list. There is a spy in the group, and some of her friends get arrested and beaten and she herself gets interrogated by police and I won’t say more about the plot to not give spoilers. I will say that I was shocked by basic freedoms that were violently repressed.

The book ends with a reunion of the Banned Book Club in 2016. We learn about the history of fascism in South Korea when one of her friends outlines the protests he’s been part of since 1983. In 2016, they were protesting for the removal of a president who was the daughter of the dictator they protested against in 1983.

A note on the final page tells us what happened after the close of this book:

In March 2017, President Park Geun-Hye was impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned for corruption. The final vote was struck by her own judges, many of whom she had personally placed in office. A special election was held, and the new president was Moon Jae-in.

This book is frightfully timely and tells a true story of fascism that is not from 1930s Germany. It makes the reader value their freedom to read and freedom to speak up. May we never let those go. Please don’t tolerate book banning, whatever the excuse.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Muhammad Najem, War Reporter, by Muhammad Najem and Nora Neus, illustrated by Julie Robine

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review 0

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter

How One Boy Put the Spotlight on Syria

by Muhammad Najem
and Nora Neus
illustrated by Julie Robine
colors by Shin-Yeon Moon

Little, Brown and Company, 2022. 314 pages.
Review written May 10, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

This amazing graphic memoir tells the story of a Syrian kid who decided to let the world know what was going on in Syria — from the perspective of kids who lived there.

The war in Syria began when he was only eight years old. When he was thirteen, his father was praying at the mosque and was killed by a missile. His father had always been one to listen to everyone he met. He’d bring home their stories and tell his kids, “Everyone has a story.”

So when Muhammad got to be fifteen, he wanted to imitate his father and tell the world the stories of kids still living in the war zone of Syria. He began taking videos and posting them online. People warned him not to show his face, but he wanted to prove that real kids were being affected by the fighting. He hoped if the world knew what was happening, they wouldn’t be forgotten.

And then one day, Nora Neus of CNN contacted Muhammad. It turned out to be a few days before a big siege of Eastern Ghouta, where he and his family lived. But they moved to another part of Syria during a cease-fire, and CNN did an online article about him. That article went viral, and the world began to pay attention. Though there’s plenty of tension, because the fame makes Muhammad a target, and throughout the book his life is in danger.

This graphic memoir tells Muhammad’s story in a riveting way. It’s a story of a kid making a difference while lives were being uprooted all around him.

muhammadnajem.com
noraneus.com
julierobine.com
lbyr.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Sunshine, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Biography, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Sunshine

How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope

by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Graphix (Scholastic), 2023. 240 pages.
Review written May 6, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Sunshine is another graphic novel memoir from the brilliant Jarrett Krosoczka. But this one, unlike Hey, Kiddo isn’t about his difficult growing-up years so much as about a transformational experience he had the summer he was sixteen — working as an intern at Camp Sunshine, a camp for families who have a child with a life-threatening illness.

I’ll say right up front that I did not read this at a good time, and don’t actually recommend it to anyone in my family. It’s too much right now. Because two weeks ago my six-year-old niece Meredith was diagnosed with relapsed leukemia. After being initially diagnosed at three years old, she’s been through two years of treatments, and then a year we all thought she was fine, and now she’s relapsed. So when the sweet little kid pictured on the cover of this book had the exact same diagnosis as Meredith — and in the last chapter relapsed and died (some time after the camp experience) — it just had me sobbing.

It is a terrible thing when kids die.

But the beauty of the camp experience was that they gave those kids a chance to be the normal ones, a chance to goof off and play with friends and just be kids. And a chance for their personalities to shine through, way past the fact that they were sick. And a chance for people working at the camp to come to love them.

The author says right at the start:

Just about everyone who asks about the experience seems to have the same knee-jerk reaction: It must have been so sad.

But that could not be further from the truth. I mean, a camp for pediatric cancer patients shouldn’t be sad — those kids already have enough to deal with.

No, camp was happy, the happiest place I’ve ever been. It was a space where illness didn’t define the campers while they defied their diagnoses. It was uplifting, celebratory.

The kids I met weren’t dying — they were living. Living life to its fullest.

All these years later, there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think of them.

So yes, this book will touch your heart. And even though it struck way too close to home for me, I’m glad I read it. And I love the way he celebrated the lives of those kids. And showed that even kids whose lives are way too short make this world a better place, just by being ordinary kids.

[And medicine is constantly getting better and that was many years ago and we don’t even know Meredith’s prognosis yet.]

Excuse me, I’m going to go cry a bit more.

studiojjk.com
scholastic.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Tryout, by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review 0

The Tryout

written by Christina Soontornvat
illustrated by Joanna Cacao
colors by Amanda LaFrenais

Graphix (Scholastic), 2022. 272 pages.
Review written January 12, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

I will keep saying it: Graphic novels are the perfect format for memoirs of middle school. And memoirs of middle school are perfect reading for kids currently going through it, to understand they are not alone. The Tryout will take its place with Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, and Shannon Hale’s Real Friends as wonderful encouraging books for middle school readers, looking at the middle school years from the perspective of adulthood.

This graphic novel memoir tells about Christina Soontornvat’s experiences in middle school in a small town in Texas, where she and her best friend Megan were among very few students of color. Her father was from Thailand and her mother’s whole family from Texas. Megan’s father was from Iran. They’d been kindred spirits for years, and both decided to try out for cheerleading.

But they didn’t have classes together, and when they both decided to try out for cheerleading, Megan chose a different partner. Was Christina going to lose that friendship?

The tryout itself was the same as happened at my high school — the kids tried out in front of the student body, in this case, the whole seventh grade. Yes, that was as much pressure as you can imagine. Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao beautifully portray the anguish all the potential cheerleaders experienced.

With these books, it’s always fun to see pictures at the back of the author when she was actually in middle school, and I really enjoyed these. Yes, she survived the experience!

A wonderful graphic memoir about middle school that kids are going to love.

scholastic.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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