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Read a Banned Book: This One Summer

30 Sep

Summer is over but if you want to enjoy a graphic novel about a coming of age story then you should read This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. The story begins with two friends who meet each other every summer in a small beach town. The best friends Rose and Windy are like two inseparable sisters. They have many adventures down by the beach. They always look for distractions to ignore the drama that they both have in their everyday life. They learn that life is hard and full of many sorrows. The two girls learn that there is more to life than just boys and candy. They both begin to understand the meaning of becoming older and the value in real friendships. I highly recommend this graphic novel. I would rate it five out of five stars! 

Banned Books Week runs from September 27-October 3, 2020, this annual event celebrates the freedom to read. It draws attention to censorship by highlighting works that have been targets of removal in libraries and schools. You can read more about Banned Books Week from the American Library Association. Despite This One Summer winning several awards including The Caldecott Honor the year before, in 2016 the Office of Intellectual Freedom listed This One Summer as one of the top 10 Banned Books. It was “challenged because it includes LGBT characters, drug use and profanity, and it was considered sexually explicit with mature themes.” Celebrate your freedom to decide and read what you feel is appropriate for you and your family today!

Review Written by:
Michelle Valle
Circulation Assistant

Banned Book Week Information by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

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Looking for Art, Adventure, Mystery and Suspense?: Find It in The Nameless City!

13 Apr

If cel-shade art, adventure, mystery, and suspense are aspects that you feel are missing from your life, then The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks is the book series for you! The art is a unique style that is rarely utilized in media and blends into the tone of the narrative as well. Its cel-shade art, blending colors with thick dark shades that emphasize the world and characters around it, are eye candy for first-time readers who are just getting into graphic novels or for someone looking to have an aesthetically pleasing reading experience. 

Set in a parallel version of Ancient Asia, the story unfolds when a boy named Kaidu moves into, yep, you guessed it, The Nameless City! Kai is sent on a ship with other young men to train as soldiers of the city. Kai discovers that the reason behind the city’s unique name is because it has been conquered countless times. Each conquest meant a new name until it grew its infamous name, The Nameless City. As Kai explores the city, he bumps into a girl named Rat, a child of the streets and an orphan, who sees Kai as an intruder since he is not a familiar face and does not respect the city and its culture.

Kai and Rat start rough yet find themselves growing closer while helping each other. In time their chemistry evolves, as they run across the rooftops, trade skills, and goods to survive. I enjoy Faith Erin Hicks’ choice in showing a calendar every chapter to show how many days have passed. You can tell through the days that Kai soon goes from skeptical about the city to falling for the nameless city, and sneaks in as much as possible to explore new locations. One afternoon Kai and Rat find vital information that forces them to work together to stop a disaster that can end the little peace that the Nameless City has. Can they stop this threat? Who is trying to destroy the nameless city? Why don’t you find out today? You can read The Nameless City right now available on eBCCLS and other comics by Hicks on Hoopla.

Written by:
Andre Lebron
Circulation Assistant

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