Shrewd, empathetic observations distinguish this Québecois import.
A teenager wrestles with complicated feelings, family secrets, and deep frustration in this title translated from French.
When 14-year-old Franny’s widower father, a hobbyist inventor, gets the chance to travel to Kyoto to participate in a contest, she’s uprooted from Montreal to the “suburban hellscape” of St. Lorette to live with maternal relatives she never knew she had. To say that Franny resists is an understatement. Ruefully acknowledging that she has “a knack for acting first and thinking…later,” Franny navigates her transition with one instance of self-sabotage after another. But she eventually overcomes her aversion to new classmate Leona’s dorkiness to make friends and warms up to her aunt Lorette’s stepson, Henry. The three kids buckle down together to solve the mysteries surrounding Franny’s mother’s death. Franny chronicles the events (which span a few months rather than a year) in her diary, the extremely busy design of which involves color-coded dialogue, faux-handwritten annotations, and occasional sketches, courtesy of Ferrer. The illustrations suggest an all-white cast. It isn’t at all convincing as a simulacrum of a diary, but there’s no denying it’s eye-catching. Boulanger’s translation from French is mostly smooth; in it, Franny’s voice is abrasive and frequently includes ableist language, but amid the anger and hurt gleam piercing, often beautiful insights: “Adults are like that. They shape the truth like modeling clay, until things are marginally bearable.” It’s in moments like these that Franny shines.
Shrewd, empathetic observations distinguish this Québecois import. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9781646900244
Page Count: 370
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A charming adaptation.
A miscommunication leaves Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert responsible for a plucky, effusive orphan girl instead of the boy they’d expected to help maintain their farm.
Retold in traditional manga format, with right-to-left panel orientation and detailed black-and-white linework, this adaptation is delightfully faithful to the source text. Larger panels establish the idyllic country landscape while subtle text boxes identify the setting—Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the 1870s. The book follows redheaded Anne Shirley from her arrival at Green Gables at 11 to her achievement of a college scholarship. In the intervening years, Anne finds stability, friendship, personal growth, and ambition in Avonlea and in the strict but well-intentioned Cuthbert siblings’ household. The familiar story is enhanced by the exciting new format and lush illustrations. A variety of panel layouts provides visual freshness, maintaining reader interest. Backmatter includes the floor plan of the Green Gables house, as well as interior and exterior views, and notes about research on the actual location. A description of the process of adapting the novel to this visual format indicates the care that was taken to highlight particular elements of the story as well as to remain faithful to the smallest details. Readers who find the original text challenging will welcome this as an aid to comprehension and Anne’s existing fans will savor a fresh perspective on their beloved story. All characters appear to be White.
A charming adaptation. (Graphic fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947808-18-8
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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