Two Tribes
by Emily Bowen Cohen
with colors by Lark Pien
Heartdrum (Harper Alley), 2023. 252 pages.
Review written September 21, 2023, from a library book.
This graphic novel is about Mia, a middle school girl who has recently started attending Jewish school after her mother remarried and is getting serious about Judaism. Mia is enjoying many things about the new traditions, but she feels like an outsider because her skin is brown, inherited from her father. Her father is a member of the Muscogee nation. He left their family when Mia was 3 and now lives far away from them with a new wife and kids in Oklahoma.
Mia wants to find out more about her indigenous heritage. She checks out a book from the library and sees awful stereotypes.
So she comes up with a plan to use money from her Bat Mitzvah to take a bus to visit her father in Oklahoma. But she tells her mother she’s going to Shabbaton, a special Jewish camp.
She has a wonderful time in Oklahoma and learns much about her heritage. But it’s inevitable that her mother will figure it out….
Overall, this book is heart-warming. There are some tough moments for Mia, but most people she encounters are good-hearted and willing to correct when they make mistakes. It’s a lovely story about coming to grips with a dual heritage, and the graphic novel format pulls the reader right in.
emilybowencohenauthor.com
harperalley.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/2_tribes.html
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