Buja's Diary - Seyeong O

Genres: Graphic Novel, Short Story
Grades 10 & up

At this point some of my more observant readers will have noticed that this is the third graphic novel I have read in the past four weeks. Rest assured I have not gone completely comic book nerd on you (not that there is anything wrong with comic books or nerds). I have been fortunate over the past few weeks to have the opportunity to read some great graphic novels - I have read graphic novels in the past but it wasn't until recently that I began to fully appreciate what this format has to offer. Buja's Diary by Seyeong O, with its exquisite artwork and engaging stories, is a great example of what a good graphic novel can be.

As I mentioned before O's drawing are fantastic. In some of the stories the drawings themselves tell more of the story than the words do. The stories in this collection run the gamut from the morbidly weird Fire to the sweet and moving The Little Alley Watcher. Other favorites included the funny Observe and the disturbingly sad Cockfight.

All in all I thought this was a good book. While I found most of the stories entertaining there were others I simply did not get, either due to their sheer weirdness or perhaps my ignorance of Korean culture. I would recommend this to mature high school students due to the sophistication of the stories as well as some nudity and sex.

Kampung Boy - Lat

Genres: Graphic Novel, Humor
Grades 4 & up

When I was a younger young adult I traveled quite a bit. I wouldn't take huge trips - in fact I had never been outside of the United States until three years ago - but my friends and I traveled to different parts of the country fairly often. While on these road trips it was easy to notice the differences from one place to another - license plates, road signs, clothing styles and accents all varied from place to place. Then one day I came to the realization that no matter how different places were from each other there was always more similarities between places than difference. License plates and road signs may loom different but the cars and the roads are the same. People may be dressed different and sound different but they were still people - they have the same wants and desires regardless of where they live.

Kampung Boy is a comic that tells the story of a boy growing up in a small village in Malaysia. The story gives the reader a lot of insight into the culture of these Malaysian villagers. Their culture is very different than the average Americans. Still, the little boy is very similar to boys in America - his curiosity gets him into trouble with his parents, he goes to school, he likes to hang out with his friends and swim and fish.

This book was a very quick and entertaining read. The story was very funny and the drawings were great. I would recommend this book to any kid particularly those interested in learning about different cultures and young boy that always find themselves getting into trouble.

Let it be Morning - Sayed Kashua

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Older Teens

We take a lot of things for granted in the United States. Nearly everybody has electricity and running water. Despite the turbulent state of American politics our government is a rather stable entity. We do not see soldiers walking through our streets. While there are certainly poor people in our country, for the most part the poverty they face is not as extreme as that seen in other parts of the world. Generally speaking Americans are not desperate for the essentials of life: food, shelter and safety.

Let it be Morning tells the story of an Arab journalist living in Israel. For the past ten years he had been living with his wife in an Israeli city. Because of the changing political and social climate he decides they should move back to the Arab village where he grew up. Shortly after their return the village is closed off by the Israeli military - the electricity and water are shut off and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Over the course of just a few days the conditions within the village deteriorate rapidly - people run out of food and water and desperation sinks into the village. This book is a frightening look at what happens to people when they get truly desperate - a type of desperation that is hard for the average American to imagine.

This book didn't really do much for me. I'm not exactly sure why. It might be that I found the pace very slow. This may be due to the fact that this book was originally written in Hebrew then translated into English. It may also be that I am not very knowledgeable about the history and details of the Israeli-Arab conflict. There were a few parts where I was emotionally pulled into the story but by and large I found it a very dry read. I would have a very hard time recommending this book to the kids in my neck of the woods - unfortunately I think that the political undertones of this book would be lost on most of them and they would have a difficult time empathizing with the characters. If I lived in a different, more diverse area I may recommend this to older high school students, particularly to those of Arab or Israeli descent. They may have a connection to this story that makes it more enjoyable for them.

American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang

Genres: Fable, Graphic Novel
Grades 7 & up

Every once in awhile I think about how great it would be to go back in time and, knowing what I know now, relive my middle and high school years. Then I come to my senses. Kids today are dealing with a whole slew of issues that I never considered 10-15 years ago. It is almost cliche to say it but the world is moving so much faster these days and it has had a dramatic affect on the lives of kids. Lots of things have changed since I was in school but one thing has not - the need for kids to fit in. For some kids this is really easy - they can just be themselves and they fit right in. For others it is a bit more difficult - they feel that they need to be something else, something better than what they are for people to like them. The irony is that when a person changes to be accepted by others, they often change into a person that they don't like. In the end they realize (as I did) that by being yourself you are being the best person you can be and that people will like you for this.

American Born Chinese illustrates this point exquisitely. The book is three stories in one. The first deals with Jin Wang, a typical kid that just wants to fit in. He is self conscious about his Asian background, especially his looks, and wishes to be more American. The second story is a take on the old Chinese fable of the Monkey King, a monkey that wants to be more human so that he can attend a dinner party with other human-like deities. The last story is drawn like a sitcom starring Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee is every bad Chinese stereotype wrapped into one person - he's got buck teeth, slanted eyes, wears a queue hairstyle and traditional Chinese-style robes and says harro instead of hello. The three apparently separate stories all come together for a surprise but very satisfying ending.

American Born Chinese was a fun book to read. The artwork for this graphic novel is great - very colorful. This book reads very quick. I would recommend this book to any kid, particularly those that like comics or those that feel like they are having trouble fitting in.

Battle Dress - Amy Efaw

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grades 7 & up

At my school we subscribe to the philosophy of habits of mind - if you train yourself to think in certain ways you will be better prepared to behave intelligently when faced with a problem. Persisting is the first habit of mind we talk about. We often face problems that will not be solved immediately - understanding that sometimes the solution isn't immediate and that despite this we must persist on and finish what we have started is a trait we would all be better off to have. If I could summarize Battle Dress by Amy Efaw with one word that word would be persistence.

The story starts with Andi Davis, a seventeen year old girl from the suburbs of Chicago, and her family getting ready to drive to New York to drop Andi off at the United States Military Academy at West Point. You quickly realize why Andi is excited to be leaving home. Andi's parents are whacked. Her dad is emotionless and completely detached from reality - her mom is suffering from some sort of mental illness. The parental dysfunction comes to a head during the trip when Andi's mom, angry that the dad won't stop, grabs the steering wheel and tries to pull the car off the road. After the father pushes the mom away the mom grabs dads glasses and throws them out the car window - all of this while they are traveling down the interstate at highway speeds. When Andi arrives at West Point she realizes that her family is the least of her problems. Andi, like all other new cadets, must go through a six week boot camp known as the beast. During this six weeks Andi and the other new cadets will be pushed to their physical, mental and emotional extremes. Andi's problems are compounded by the fact that she is a woman at a military school that is 90% male.

This was a good read. Amy Efaw writes from Andi's perspective with great conviction - Efaw is helped by the fact that she is a West Point graduate. I would recommend this to older middle level or high school aged kids, particularly girls or those that are interested in military life.