Illegal

Illegal

Written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

Illegal provides a powerful, poignant reminder of the sacrifices undocumented immigrants face when risking their lives for a better future. Told from the perspective of Ebo,a twelve year old boy, Illegal details his plight of leaving Niger, as an undocumented immigrant, in the hopes of reuniting and starting a new life with his older brother and sister in Europe.  Ebo meets many kind strangers along his journey who continue to fill him with hope; despite the many setbacks he also faces along the way.

An important theme that stands out to me throughout this story is that migration is an arduous, life threatening journey.  People of all ages are willing to work tirelessly in order to raise enough money to escape for the chance at a better future. They then use their money earned to pay large sums to strangers, in order to risk their lives for a tortuous journey towards a better future. In addition, this story opened my eyes to the business of migration. I will admit that before this story, I was unaware that undocumented immigration is a money making scheme for many people. These scammers promise immigrants a journey to safety, but one they have collected their money, the lives and safety of the migrants is no longer of  concern to them. The transports withhold water, shelter and basic decency, despite the fact that many of the migrants are handing over their life savings all for the promise of a more desirable future.

The visual aspect of this story illustrates, as told through a graphic novel format, provides an emotional perspective that can only be told using illustrations and pauses to draw inferences between panels.  The emotional tone of the story is one that truly could not be described using words.

I would recommend this book for middle school readers and beyond.  Now more than ever, readers need to be exposed to stories of immigration in order to help all people empathize with the plight of undocumented immigration.  Illegal is the perfect reminder that everyone of the undocumented immigrants in this world is a human being. Be sure to pre-order this book from your local independent bookstore.  Illegal will be for sale on August 7, 2018.

I was granted an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow

by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland

It’s been three years since a strange event destroyed Addison and Lexa’s hometown. The spill zone has now been blocked off by the government due to the zombie-like creatures and lethal dangers that were left behind. Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is the much anticipated second book of this series, and readers are able to catch up with the adventures of Addison and her younger sister Lexa as they learn to move on with life after the spill.  

After becoming selectively mute in book one, Lexa is finally talking to her older sister Addison, and has even shared her secret about her doll Vespertine.  Addison is now ready to do whatever it takes to move as far away from this town, and its strange happenings; including working for the North Korean government.  However, Lexa is not as willing to leave the zone because that means parting with her friend and doll Vespertine. It’s through this struggle that readers learn Lexa and Vespertine may have had more to do with the destruction of the town than anyone ever suspected  

Within The Broken Vow, readers are introduced to a new character, Don Jae, from North Korea who experienced the same strange event within his own town.  Unexpectedly, Don Jae and Addison team up to try to save Lexa from a path of possible lethal destruction. As a reader, I was hoping for more background information and character development on Don Jae’s character, but I was left with many unanswered questions at the end of The Broken Vow.  However, given the way the story ended, I suspect there will be a third book in the story that will tie many of the loose ends all together.  

In terms of the graphic novel aspect of this story, the speech bubbles were one of my favorite visual aspects.  Alex Puvilland did an incredible job using the speech bubbles to reveal personality traits of each character, but specifically to illustrate the relationship between Vespertine and Lexa.  As a reader, science fiction tends to be a genre that I struggle to read in text only novels. Visualizing complex science fiction events, such as the fallout from the spill, would be difficult for me if it wasn’t for the illustrations in this story.  The Broken Vow does a fantastic job using illustrations to help readers visualize moment to moment conflicts within each panel and between the gutters.

I would recommend this series to all readers middle grade and above; especially those who prefer science fiction/horror stories.  Readers who enjoy The Walking Dead would especially appreciate the plot and illustrations within this series.  I would recommend you read Spill Zone (Volume 1), to get caught up on this series, as Spill Zone: The Broken Vow became available on July 10, 2018 at your local bookstore.

I was granted an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.