Between 1955 and 1963, there was a 36 book series of historical fiction called WE WERE THERE. These were usually from the point of view of two children, often a brother and sister, who had a small role in different historical events. These I Witnessed graphic novels (the first being I Witnessed: The Lizzie Borden Story: A Graphic Novel – A True Crime Mystery About the 1892 Murder Trial for Kids by Jeramey Kraatz (who also wrote The Cloak Society and Space Runners series) feel very much like those books to me.
Marilyn runs away from her home in Scotland in 1963 because she has an argument with her mother, who wants to pull her out of her school and send her to a remote boarding school because her behavior is bad. She heads to London, where her father works as a newspaper reporter, since she has journalistic aspirations herself. Since she can't afford a train ticket, she stows away on a mail train. Unfortunately, the train is carrying a lot of money and is robbed. Marilyn has a list of suspects, and sends this to the police anonymously, and later identifies the remaining robber who eluded authorities. She grows up to become a reporter herself.
This was rather cleverly done, and an author's note at the end explains that while most of the characters and events in the book are based off the real 1963 robbery, Marilyn is a fictional character used to explain how anonymous information was turned in to the police.
The illustrations have a retro feel and are all in green, which makes us think of money in the US, even though pound notes were probably a variety of colors.
Great choice for readers who liked Tom Sullivan's Unsolved Case Files.
February 10, 2026 by Random House Graphic
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Georgina and her parents move to a new house in Australia just before she starts high school. Luckily, she has a huge new room, and there's plenty of space for her father, a doctor, her mother, who works with people with disabilities, and her younger brother Rob, who has autism and is mainly nonverbal. Rob often gets into the refrigerator or Gina's room, and can't be allowed out of the house on his own, so there are lots of locks on the doors. He does get out of the house through the playroom window, and the neighbors bring him back after finding him snacking in one of their easy chairs! School is a bit rough. Gina, who likes to wear clothes from the boys' department at Target and doesn't shave her legs, is given a hard time by some of the girls in her class. She does meet a girl in band, Callie, who admires her drawings and wants to hang out. Since it's hard for her parents to drive Gina places when Rob is home, Gina invites Callie to her house. Callie is very understanding about Rob's behaviors, even when he bites her when he is agitated. Gina does a good job explaining when Rob's autism and learning differences mean for his behavior. There's a group science project that the girls work on with classmate Tom, but Rob ruins the comic about volcanoes that Gina draws. This causes some trouble at school and with Callie, but is worked out in the end. Family photos and information about the author's family since the early 2000s is included.
I appreciated that Chadderton starts this memoir with a note explaining that people with autism are treated differently now, and that customs around the world might be different as well. This is a good choice for readers who like Briglio's Thunderboom and is a better choice for modern readers than Lord's 2006 Rules.
No comments:
Post a Comment