The Grot: Book One in the Story of the Swamp City Grifters by Pat Grant with colouring by Fionn McCabe. Top Shelf, 2020. 9781603094665.

In The Grot a family (two brothers and a mother) sets out to make their fortune in Falter City. Most who go are out to find some of the valuable algae. The rest are grifters, with the exception of the family — they’re out to start a yogurt business. Misguided? Probably.

The most beautiful thing about the swamp around Falter City is that it seems to run on pedal power. Everything else is gross, from the yeasty air to the plague to the stinking mud that’s everywhere. It’s a place filled with misery and animal fights. The family should have paid more attention to the fact that so many people on the road were headed the other way, apparently with good reason.

It’s twisted fun to watch idiots get conned, and the filth didn’t leave me feeling too grimy. That was because the art is wonderful, largely due to the little details and McCabe’s colors. Grant really knows how to draw a sickly chicken and a yeasty poultice.

You can still read The Grot at http://thegrotcomic.com/

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020. 9780525553915. 264pp including an afterward to the graphic novel and author’s notes by both Mohamed and Jamieson, plus photos of Fatuma, Hassan, and Omar.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, live in a Dadaab, an enormous refugee camp in Kenya. When they fled Somalia years earlier, they lost their mother, and they hope to find her again. Fatuma, a woman from Somalia who is alone in the camp, functions as their foster mother. Theirs is a miserable, boring existence much of the time –fetching water, rationing what little food they get, trying to ignore their hunger — but Omar and Hassan play together and with other friends, particularly Omar’s best friend Jeri.

Omar sees it as his job to take care of Hassan, who is kind but needs looking after; the only ever says one word, “Hooyo!” So when Omar has a chance to start going to school, he’s not sure studying is the right decision for them even though it may lead to a better life, and even if they spend their entire lives in the camps. And after he does start school, it’s difficult for him to continue studying. (It’s not much of a spoiler to let you know that Omar is quite a student.)

When Omar and Hassan finally get an interview with the UN Resettlement Agency, it doesn’t lead straight to resettlement. There’s jealousy and hurt feelings as some folks that they know get to leave the camp, and a lot of waiting and uncertainty and heartbreak. It’s all broken up by bits of joy though. One of my favorite parts of the book is when everyone, after fasting for Ramadan, gives the kids candy on Eid Al-Fitr.

A few years ago, Jamieson began volunteering as a cultural liaison for refugees, and met Omar Mohamed through his work. The result is this slightly fictionalized version of Mohamed’s life story, an amazing, touching graphic novel about love, friendship, hope, and the value of education that belongs in all school and public libraries.

Here’s a link to the organization Mohamed founded, Refugee Strong. http://www.refugeestrong.org/

Livi & Nate by Kalle Hkkola and Mari Ahokoivu. Translated by Owen F. Witesman. Owlkids, 2019. 9781771473729. 72pp.

In this Finnish graphic novel the two title siblings live with their mom and grandpa. The landscape is covered in snow. Livi is pretty freaked out by noises outside and her thoughts that her mom and grandpa might die. But the kids have a great time sledding outside and then adventuring in their dreams, which feature a big friendly snow bear, their super powered mom, and oh so many butterflies.

I can’t think of another graphic novel for little kids with this combination of magic, delight, love, and real world fears.

Ralph Steadman: A Life In Ink by Ralph Steadman. Chronicle, 2020. 9781797203003. 320pp.

“It seems I have done a lot of pictures over my life, and pictures explain quite a lot about life that words do not.”
— Ralph Steadman, at the end of the book, in a short statement opposite a recent illustration of himself in a surgical mask.

At the beginning there’s an introduction by Steve Crist, then an interview with Steadman. Along with these are photos of the artist, both at work and posing his ass off. The rest of the book is drawings, mostly chronological, along with a fair amount of collage. There are titles and dates below each, and some have a quote from Steadman, usually about the work. The book has a great design in that these words are totally ignorable — you can just look at the pictures.

It has a few bits from work I remembered — Alice in Wonderland, Animal Farm, and assorted pictures of Hunter S. Thompson (including one of Thompson as a woman). There are hundreds of pages more, including quite a few that have word balloons and look suspiciously like comics. I like the images that fit tidily onto a single oversized page — it’s annoying to lose some of the art in the gutter — but overall this is an amazing collection. Of the pieces I don’t remember having seen before, many of my favorites had bookish subjects like the Frankfurt Book Fair and Fahrenheit 451, though I also loved the drawings of characters from Breaking Bad and the creepy black and white drawing of Disneyland mascots, which Steadman describes as “sinister.”

The paper is thick, the reproductions are marvelous, and it’s worth checking this out from your public library even if you don’t feel inclined to buy a copy for yourself.

Lightfall Book One: The Girl & The Galdurian by Tim Probert. HarperAlley, 2020. 9780062990464. 248pp.

Beatrice, a human girl, lives with her gramps, Alfirid the Pig Wizard. He sends Bea out into the woods to look for ingredients for an elixir, and when she needs help she meets Cad, who is looking for her uncle. Cad is a Galdurian, one of the people who constructed the lights that illuminate their world after the sun was destroyed — he’s looking for his people, and he needs the help of the Pig Wizard to translate some papers.

But the forgetful Alfirid has left to take care of something important that he suddenly remembered, the Seal of the Restless Sleeper. Bea and Cad follow, which becomes the adventure that takes up the rest of the book (and leads into the next). The entire landscape is magical, with evidence of past civilizations. Their journey involves a rat thief, giant crabs, a cursed temple, hungry bandits, and a few great, cartoony fight scenes. (The “restless sleeper” probably has something to do with the sinister bird in the dark place, which we see in interstitial scenes that take place well away from Bea and Cad. Is that the bird that destroyed the sun?) And how important is Bea’s jar, with its magical flame, going to prove to be in the end?

Probert’s art is just wonderful and adds to this graphic novel’s magic. This one is a clear readalike for Kibuishi’s Amulet series (and a great diversion while we’re all waiting for the last book).

My Cat Looks Like My Dad by Thao Lam. Owlkids, 2019. 9781771473514.

The cat not only looks like the dad, they have much more in common including morning yoga and a love of boxes. Lam’s beautiful papercut illustrations are silly and very textured. If you haven’t seen her book Wallpaper, you should check that out too.

Dragon Was Terrible by Kelli DiPucchio, pictures by Greg Pizzoli. FSG Books for Young Readers, 2016. 9780374300494.

A dragon scribbles in books and takes candy from baby unicorns and does other rotten things. The king has had enough, but not even the knights (or anyone else) can tame him. But maybe a great story can…

Supertato by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet. Aladdin, 2020. 9781481490375.

An evil pea escapes from the freezer, and the masked Supertato is the other fruits’ and veggies’ only hope. Can it defeat its tiny green nemesis, or will it get mashed?

Unicorns Are The Worst by Alex Willan. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. 9781534453838.

A bunch of unicorns just moved in next door to a very serious, hard working goblin who is not impressed. What’s the big deal with unicorns? Why does everyone love them so much? (He finds out.)

Return of the King (A Queen’s Thief Novel) by Megan Whalen Turner. Greenwillow, 2020. 9780062874474.

This is the conclusion to a six book series that I started reading way back in library school. Every book in the series is great, though this, along with The Thief, is tied for my favorite.

Without giving anything away, these are historical fiction set in a post mythological era version of a country like Greece where gods still have great sway, and sometimes exert great influence. The Thief of Eddis, Eugenedies (Gen) is favored by his god, and he’s at the center of the books — an adventurous, boyish man who lives for perfect moments, of which there are many. (He also settles, somewhat reluctantly, into responsibility and love, and it’s amazing to go along for the ride.)

This book is narrated by the sickly, mute son of a noble family sent to court as an insult. As he comes to love Gen and to try to serve him, he becomes embroiled in the politics of the court, is educated by its spymaster, and helps prepare for the coming war. And that’s all wonderful, but Gen is still at the heart of the book, and this is a beautiful ending to the series. And it’s all the more amazing for its middle — it never drags, it’s an utter delight, and it made me laugh out loud more than once.

I always ask myself why these books continue to be marketed as YA. (Because Gen was a young adult in the first book?) They would appeal to any adult reader of historical fiction that I know, and, I bet, to more than a few romance readers. I fit into neither category but still love them, which says a lot about how great they are. Some might say the books can be read out of order, but I disagree. Start with The Thief. It’s so good.

Paying the Land by Joe Sacco. Metropolitan Books, 2020. 9781627799034. 272pp.

Sacco (Footnotes in Gaza, Palestine, Safe Are Gorazde) heads north from Yellow Knife into Canada’s Northwest Territories in a borrowed truck with his guide, Shauna. They travel to places that can only be accessed on winter roads when the ground is frozen. There Sacco meets and interviews many of the Dene. “”Dene means ‘the People’ and in Canada’s North the term refers to the related group of First Nations whose culture is rooted in the land.”

In Tulit’a, they find a small town of 600 where the oil boom is on pause. Unemployment is high. It’s clear there are folks on all sides of the resource extraction issue, and that this community (and others he visits) are dealing with the history of the territory and what was done to their people, from the Catholic Church to the residential schools and the abuse (substance, physical, sexual) that is still rampant. But there are people who remember living a subsistence lifestyle, and others who see what living on the land once meant and what it might mean to do so again.

“Unmooring the indigenous people — in fact, erasing the essence of their indigeneity — was long Canada’s official policy.” And now the Dene are trying to get justice for themselves and their communities. Opinions vary from community to community, and from person to person, on the best way forward. Handouts and government aid seem to have many downsides, but the government is the most reliable employer in many areas. It’s clear that many find power in connecting with their ancestors and the way they lived, and in feeling that they have something to offer to their communities both in the present and the future.

As always, Sacco draws himself into his book. One of my favorite parts of an otherwise heavy work of graphic nonfiction is a light moment when he refers to himself as Joe of the North, as he tries to drag a fishing net from beneath a frozen lake. Mostly he’s here as a listener and a recorder, helping us get to know the folks he speaks with by drawing and quoting them with a level of care I see in nowhere else. If Sacco took the time to put someone into one of his books they are important; I know they’re worth listening to. (This book, like Sacco’s other nonfiction, begs to be read again and again.)

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab. Tor, 2020. 9780765387561. 448pp.

Adeline LaRue, born at the end of the 17th Century in Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, is not content with the village life ahead of her. She wants to travel and discover new things. She’s given some great advice: “Never pray to the gods who answer after dark.” Of course she doesn’t take it.

The darkness comes to her in the form of a handsome man she once drew, Luc, and they strike a bargain: when she’s done with her life, he can have her soul. She’s made a mistake; she’s immortal, but also erased from everyone’s memories as soon as she’s out of their sight.

Her eternal life is lonely. No one remembers her, but she’s finally free to wander the world. Her curse means she can’t put down roots or have a place of her own or really anything at all. She can’t leave a mark on the world in any medium (even stains she makes disappear), and she can’t tell any of her story or even her real name. And even when she can form a bond with others, even if she spends an entire day and night with them, they never remember her in the morning. (Her curse does make stealing fairly easy though.)

Luc tries to get her to give up over and over again, tempts her to give in and give him her soul. But art, and books in particular, give her the strength to go on. And so does pushing at the edge of her curse, trying to find subtle ways to leave evidence of her existence in the world.

And then one day Addie meets a young man who remembers her, and to whom she can tell her story. It’s a love story tinged with the inevitability of loss and the return of Addie’s loneliness, and it’s told in parallel with stories of Luc trying to seduce Addie again and again.

Shirley & Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goerz. Dial, 2020. 9780525552864. 224pp.

Jamila’s mom wants to send her to science camp, but Jamila wants to spend the summer playing basketball at the court five blocks away. Her mom thinks that’s too far for her to go alone.

Shirley’s mom wants to send her daughter to dance camp. Shirley tells her she just wants to be able to go out in the daylight in their neighborhood.

The two ten-year-olds meet at a garage sale, and soon they come to an agreement with their moms: they can hang out at the basketball court together all summer. Shirley’s mom is delighted — her daughter has a hard time making friends. And it’s not hard to see why: she’s brilliant but uncommunicative. She’s also Sherlockian in her observations, which helps her solve kids’ problems and mysteries adults can’t or won’t help with.

Then a “big” case comes up. Someone stole Oliver’s lizard, Enoch, while he and his sister were swimming at the public pool. Shirley takes the case, even though it means violating the promises she and Jamila made to their moms. Trouble ensues, along with frustration on Jamila’s part because she wants to be part of solving the crime.

This is a great juvenile mystery and a beautifully crafted graphic novel with friendship at its heart. I’m hoping for several sequels.