Out There and Crabgrass

Miller, Seaerra. Out There.

June 27, 2023 by Little, Brown Ink 

E ARC provided by Netgalley

As summer approaches, Julia is supposed to go on vacation to Hawaii with her friend Sara, but cancels so that she can take a three day road trip to Roswell, New Mexico with her father for the 70th anniversary celebration of the aliens landing there. Julia's mother isn't pleased; after a period of time where the parents were fighting a lot and the father, David, experienced an alien abduction, the mother asked the father to leave the household. He's had some trouble keeping things together ever since. He arrives late for meetings, doesn't get his car serviced, and still really believes that the aliens have a message for him that they will deliver at Roswell. He has located the exact site of the landing 70 years ago, and is determined to go there and wait for the message. Julia believes her father, mostly, and is reading a book he got for her about the Roswell experience. While at the celebration, the two meet a couple who really believe in aliens, and their son Josh, who does not. At first, Julia feels insulted by his comments, but the two quickly bond over their shared experience with parents who believe in something that many people think is crackpot. Julia wishes that she were with Sara; she doesn't even want to post pictures on social media of herself at Roswell. The parade in town seems super goofy, and Julia doesn't quite understand why the crowds of people aren't taking things as seriously as her father is. The two head out into the desert to meet with the aliens, but sicne David hasn't had the car serviced as needed, there is a clog in the radiator hose that causes the car to break down. They get it fixed and reach their destination, but have a fight in the car. Julia lets her father go wait in the desert by himself, although she eventually comes out to talk to him. He's unhappy that the aliens don't contact him, but takes some solace in a meteor shower that seems like a partial message. The two prepare to make their way back home, having made some peace with each other. 

Strengths: It doesn't take much for a middle school student to be embarassed by a parent, and Julia's father is so resolute in his feelings about his alien abduction that even Sara opines that maybe he had a break down because of the marital woes. It's one thing to believe in something, and yet another to be trumpeting it to all and sundry, and while Julia wants to share this experience with her father and bond with him over it, she just... doesn't want anyone else to know! That perfectly describes so many child/parent interactions at this age. The depiction of the tourist culture in Roswell is interesting, especially seeing it from Julia's point of view as a believer in the events. Of course, when she attends an "abduction survivors" group, she has a little less belief in it herself. The artwork is vibrantly colored and attractive. I think this will be a popular choice with my students. 
Weaknesses: Julia's nose (which she inherited from her father) looks very different from noses on the other characters and distracted me. I am very easily distracted by noses in illustrations, but it seemed like an odd choice. I have to say that I'm of the opinion that Roswell was a hoax, having read Fleming's Crash from Outer Space, so had little sympathy for the father's bad parenting, although I suspect that we are no longer allowed to judge people's parenting. Let's just say that David could have used some assistance in organizing his life. Taking a car into the desert with your tween daughter when you knowingly neglected maintaining it? I can see why Julia's mother is angry. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like graphic novels with problematic parents, like those in Knisley's Stepping Stones or Mass' Lo and Behold, although it is also similar to (although more realistic than) Gardner's Long Distance. 

Bondia, Tauhid. Unsupervised: A Crabgrass Adventure

September 19, 2023 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kevin and Miles are best friends even though they are very different. Miles is in the gifted program with Mr. Wienersmith and has two very overprotective parents who are a truck driver and substitute teacher. Kevin makes ill considered decisions and wears a white tank top no matter what the weather is, and is being raised with an older brother, twin sister, and baby sibling by his single mother, who works as a nurse and frequently needs to come to school to deal with his behavior problems.  This is only the second volume in the Crabgrass Comic Adventures and I'd be more than happy to see Mr. Bondia adapt his characters into Big Nate style chapter books! We see Miles working on a project about clouds with a classmate, Carla, whom he rather likes; Kevin having Miles draw a tattoo on him, which he proudly shows off at school while wearing no shirt all day (!), and the boys having an adventure at a pro wrestling event for which Kevin's father buys tickets but then can't take them, so Miles' father steps in. 

My local paper replaced a recently disgraced comic that shall not be named with Crabgrass, so I've been able to read the daily adventures of these engaging characters. My ony concern about it is that Kevin, with his tank top, often comes perilously close to some stereotypes about a certain type of lower income family for which there is no longer a name, but which is part of my cultural identity. I hope Mr. Bondia manages to stay on top of trends and not run into any problems!