The Best We Could Do by
National bestseller ABA Indies Introduce Winter / Spring 2017 Selection Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Spring 2017 Selection An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui. This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves. At the heart of Bui's story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent - the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home. In what Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls "a book to break your heart and heal it," The Best We Could Do brings to life Thi Bui's journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past.
Hey, Kiddo by
The powerful, unforgettable graphic memoir from Jarrett Krosoczka, about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two unforgettably opinionated grandparents.In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what's going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father. Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.
You Can Do a Graphic Novel by
A guide to creating graphic novels.
The Complete Persepolis by
Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir "of growing up as a girl in revolutionary Iran.... That Satrapi chose to tell her remarkable story as a gorgeous comic book makes it totally unique and indispensable" (Time). Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom--Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
Graphic novel is a book-length story that combines pictures and text. Graphic novels resemble comic books. However, graphic novels are much longer and often bound in heavy paper covers like paperback books. Graphic novels aimed at adult readers generally tell more complex stories than comic books, and their subject matter is often more serious. Such graphic novels may explore adult themes, such as oppression, alienation, and terrorism. They may also portray sexual behavior and violent acts more realistically than comic books directed at younger readers. However, many graphic novels are created specifically for young readers from elementary school through middle school or high school. Authors usually create both the text and illustrations, though some only write the stories and collaborate with artists on the visual material.
Graphic novels became the fastest-growing segment of book publishing in the early 2000’s. Their popularity spread with the success of several motion pictures adapted from graphic novels. The films include The Road to Perdition (2002), originally written in 1998 by the American author Max Allan Collins, and Sin City (2005), from a series of graphic novels begun in 1992 by another American author, Frank Miller.
The origin of the term graphic novel is uncertain, but the American graphic novelist Will Eisner is generally credited with popularizing the term. In 1978, Eisner wrote and illustrated four related stories in a book called A Contract with God, which included the term on the book cover. Graphic novels gained mainstream acceptance with the publication of the American author Art Spiegelman’s two-volume Maus: A Survivor's Tale. It describes the experiences of Spiegelman’s parents during the Holocaust, the systematic killing of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II (1939-1945). The first volume, subtitled My Father Bleeds History, was published in 1986. The second volume, subtitled And Here My Troubles Began, was published in 1991.
Source:
Yezzi, David. "Graphic novel." World Book Advanced, World Book, 2022, www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar752439. Accessed 27 Apr. 2022.