An understated and utterly believable account of a personal and creative journey.
An exploration of one girl’s changing relationship with ballet.
Fans of the author’s 2006 graphic memoir, To Dance, will enjoy revisiting her life. As a girl in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1974, Siena began taking ballet classes, reveling in the strength and freedom she found in the art form. Eventually, she auditioned for a spot at the School of American Ballet and began training in New York City, where she made friends, relished the opportunity to immerse herself in ballet, and dreamed of dancing for the New York City Ballet. But as Siena grew older, her attitude toward ballet was no longer so uncomplicated, straining her relationships with her friends and her mother, who was embroiled in her parents’ bitter divorce, and causing her to question what her future would really hold. Through straightforward prose and narration, this work shows many of the highs and lows of ballet. While the narrative never veers into the melodramatic, it nevertheless portrays the complicated feelings that come with early dedication to this craft, including issues with body image, injury, and more. Small moments, such as mastering a step—but only on one side of the body—ring especially true. Evocative, purple-toned illustrations bring to life both the dynamism of ballet and the fearful images lurking within Siena’s head. Siena’s father came from Cuba; her mother’s ethnicity is not specified.
An understated and utterly believable account of a personal and creative journey. (Graphic memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8666-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A tribute to young people’s resistance in the face of oppression.
In 1983 South Korea, Kim was learning to navigate university and student political activism.
The daughter of modest restaurant owners, Kim was apolitical—she just wanted to make her parents proud and be worthy of her tuition expenses. Following an administrator’s advice to avoid trouble and pursue extracurriculars, she joined a folk dance team where she met a fellow student who invited her into a banned book club. Kim was fearful at first, but her thirst for knowledge soon won out. As she learned the truth of her country’s oppressive fascist political environment, Kim became closer to the other book club members while the authorities grew increasingly desperate to identify and punish student dissidents. The kinetic manhwa drawing style skillfully captures the personal and political history of this eye-opening memoir. The disturbing elements of political corruption and loss of human rights are lightened by moving depictions of sweet, funny moments between friends as well as deft political maneuvering by Kim herself when she was eventually questioned by authorities. The art and dialogue complement each other as they express the tension that Kim and her friends felt as they tried to balance school, family, and romance with surviving in a dangerous political environment. References to fake news and a divisive government make this particularly timely; the only thing missing is a list for further reading.
A tribute to young people’s resistance in the face of oppression. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-945820-42-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Iron Circus Comics
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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PERSPECTIVES
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