Book Review --- Jerusalem

Jerusalem: A Family Portrait

Boaz Yakin and Nick Bertozzi 

FirstSecond

April 2013

*note I owe an apology to FirstSecond for being so slow to get this review out, please don't hold it against this wonderful book*

The year is 1940. The place is Jerusalem. And there is war all around. Not only is World War II continuing and taking away the men and boys of Israel to fight Hitler’s armies, but Jews and Arabs are fighting once more within Jerusalem. This story follows three generations of the same family, 15 members in total, from 1940-1948, through war, through jail, through faith, and through death. This is a story that will not let you go.

This has been one of the most difficult books for me to review, not only because of the content (which at times draws close to some buried family secrets) but also because of the way the story is told. Boaz is a filmmaker at heart and it shows in how he writes and plots his stories as he moves from one person to the next and then back again to pick up the characters tale. It’s a powerful and interesting way to create a story, but at the same time there were times I got lost and needed a scorecard to keep up with the characters (of which thankfully there was one in the front.)  It took me two read throughs to see the entire story, which is probably more my reading style than that of Boaz's writing.  That aside though, this is a powerful story and is one that you’ll want to read again and again to see what you might have missed. Although Boaz fictionalized parts of the story, much of it still has the feel of a biography which makes it even more interesting to read.

Nick’s black and white illustrations make it feel like we’re watching one of those old classic black and white films and gives the film a sense of heaviness, of reality that grounds the story and helps keep it real. We watch as the characters grow and change during this 8 year time period and come to life. Although the illustrations are relatively simple, Nick adds details to keep visual interest that will keep the reader looking for visual imagery that enhances the story.

This is one of those books that you need to have a box of tissues next to you and a computer handy so that you can lookup aspects of the history, not to verify anything, but to enhance your understanding of the story and the places discussed. And once you get done...read it again. And then pass the book onto someone else. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.


ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review -- Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
FirstSecond
May 2013

Even though they they are social opposites, Nate and Charlie have been best best friends since a young age, and together they’ve braved the high school world....until Nate runs for school president to get the money his team needs to go to a robotics competition. And Charlie’s former girlfriend, a cheerleader, has other ideas on where the money can go, and a battle ensues that puts Charlie in the middle of opposing groups, with somewhat disastrous and hysterical results.  When the school's money is put out of their reach, the two groups must put aside their differences and come together to win the biggest, baddest, robot competition of all time.

This is the first time I’ve read any of Prudence’s work and I’ve got to say I really, really enjoyed it.  In large part because the story focuses on two male friends and there just aren't that many books out there like this that don't make it so that the guys are in a competition for romance or have weird plot twists to them (like one of the guys being alien...or a girl.)  This book just captures that sense of being on opposite ends of the social spectrum, but still being able to be friends.  And even more importantly is that even though these guys are on opposite ends, its not made out to be a detriment and we never see anyone making fun of either character for hanging out with the other because one is a jock and the other is a geek.  Overall this was a just a nicely written story with some fun twists to it and excellent robot action.

I really like Faith's art style and it works well this story, as she just has this way of capturing teenager characters well as illustrated in her own book Friends With Boys.  In this book she again just captures the movements of teenagers well, that slightly cocky, yet unsure of themselves style of walking, talking, and even fighting.  They have a lot of depth to their expressions so that even without the words of the story you can tell what’s going on. Faith also has a way of capturing the feelings and movements of being in high school. That sense of being crowded and all alone at the same time. I especially love the robotic fights, and the expressions on the character’s faces as they battle it out.

I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars, I’d recommend it to the male teenage population in both middle and high school. The story is engaging, fun characters, and best of all a great robot battle at the end.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review---Primates

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas
Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks

FirstSecond

June 2013

Prior to 1950 the world knew very little about primates.  While many researchers tried to understand and observe these creatures in their natural habitat, they all failed and came back frustrated and dejected. And then....three women, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas, all students of Louis Leaky, changed everything that we knew about primates and changed what we understood about ourselves. While they worked on different continents with different primates at different times, these three women challenged the world and showed us just what we have left to learn. This book weaves a story and introduces the reader to the woman and their work...and leaves us wanting more.

For me Maris Wicks artwork is what sells this book. Don’t get me wrong Ottaviani’s writing and storytelling are par none, but Maris’s art takes this story and makes it special. In fact when I heard she was going to be illustrating this book I couldn't wait to see it because I love her style.  Not familiar with who she is?  Well check out her illustrations for this book and you'll see why I love her style so much.  Her character design effortlessly captures the movement of not only the human characters, but the grace of the various primates they studied. It feels like we're out in the jungle with Jane, Dian, and Birute watching these amazing animals with them.  Maris's color choices are bright and vibrant and help breathe life into the story making it feel like we can reach out and shakes hands with Jane or brush the fur of a great ape.  If I were to make a comparison of who Maris reminds me of it would be Smile by Raina Telgemeier.  

Ottaviani’s writing style is pitch perfect for this type of book and helps the reader feel like we’re a part of the adventure vs. reading a history book.  We're actively participating in the research and the adventure and learning along with these three women.  What I really like about this book is that he intertwines their stories together to help create one cohesive narrative and flowing story. In fact he leaves me wanting to know more and makes me want to tell other people to go read about these three amazing scientists.  

Were parts of the story imagined to make a good story? Yes, but it helps readers better understand these three powerful and free thinking women who challenge preconceived notions on how things should be and helped make the world their own. Ottaviani’s and Maris provide a biography and an explanation of how the book was created to help readers understand what was changed and how they can learn more. I highly recommend this book for all ages and anyone that wants to learn more, not only about primates, but about the three amazing women that helped us begin to understand them.  5 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Book Review--Odd Duck

Odd Duck
Cecil Castellucci & Sara Varon
FirstSecond
May 2013

Theodora is a perfectly normal duck, thank you very much. She swims with a teacup balanced on head to help maintain perfect posture and stays north when the rest of the ducks fly south for the winter (why would she want to leave her home??) and there’s nothing strange about that. Chad, her newest neighbor, on the other hand is a bit odd. I mean he dyes his feathers weird colors and has all kinds of weird art projects around. But...they do like some of the same things. But can Theodora ever be friends with such an odd duck as Chad?

While this is an age old story, being yourself and making friends, Sara Varon and Cecil Castellucci bring their own unique twists to the story. By creating ducks as characters that are both clearly a bit different, Cecil lets the reader see that differences can seem perfectly normal to the other person. Even better though, is that Cecil shows that being the different...isn't all that bad. In some ways its a good thing, because it means you get to experience things differently than everyone else. And you might just have a friend to acompany you along the way.

Sara Varon’s normal color palette of soft pastels works well for this book, making it feel like a book from 30+ years ago. Especially with the end papers of the book, they are just absolutely beautiful and I feel like I could spend hours just looking at them. I mean they don't have a lot of detail, repeating patterns of duck characters, but the memories associated with that type of design and color are fantastic. Sara also had lots of nice details hidden in the images, such as Theodora’s carpet in the bedroom that looks like moving water with a dolphin and seahorse swimming around. All in all it's just a beautifully illustrated book.

In many ways this book reminds me of one of my favorite all time picture books The Big Orange Splot.  Together these two create a vibrant and colorful story that readers young and old will greatly enjoy. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.

ETA: Please note I misspelled Sara's name when I first posted, it should be Varon, not Varnon.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond