My Friend Dahmer

 

Derf Backderf was a classmate and semi-friend to Jeffrey Dahmer.  My Friend Dahmer is a graphic novel recounting the high school and familial experiences that played a role in shaping Dahmer's murderous future.   The reflections on Dahmer's high school years not only foreshadow what is to come, but also cause the reader to question why no adult interfered to help the situation. Are they to blame for what happened? Can anyone but Dahmer even be blamed?  In the novel's introduction, Backderf emphasizes that he feels no sympathy for Dahmer post-murders, but while reading his presentation of Dahmer's early history, you can't help but feel sorry for what he lived with and wonder what could have been done to prevent the monstrosity to come.

This excerpt from the earlier parts of the novel is very "The Road Not Taken."

Backderf accounts for all of his sources that he relied upon to put this work together, including interviews with teachers, students, FBI files, and his own memories.  He does his best to present facts, not speculation, and he makes notes throughout the novel to explain the few artistic liberties taken (i.e. leaving Dahmer's younger brother out of the story).  The artwork is spooky and bears a great (and nerve-wracking) resemblance to Dahmer. 

This graphic novel can work on so many levels.  It's great for readers of history, graphic novel enthusiasts or novices, and readers interested in serial killers - fictional or nonfictional.  I especially believe that teens who enjoyed titles like I Hunt Killers and The Name of the Star, recent popular YA novels that feature serial killers,will also enjoy this graphic novel.

Drama

Drama, by Raina Telgemeier, is a graphic novel that follows Callie, a techie in her middle school drama club. Because drama club is the center of Callie's life, the club and her personal life frequently collide.  As such, the drama referenced in the title applies to both the drama club and the teenage drama Callie experiences in her daily routine: unrequited crushes, panic attacks over text messaging, potential gay-bashing bullies, etc.

The angst is very peppy.  If anything, Callie reminds me a bit of a young, stressed out Liz Lemon:

This approach effectively blends the campiness that surrounds all drama clubs with the personal angst; it would be incredibly jarring if the two didn't mesh. It doesn't beat the reader over the head with the drama, but still maintains its relatability.  It's great for middle schoolers looking for a graphic novel that is bright and funny with an emotional core.  However, for a teen looking for a more gripping, less peppy graphic novel, they'd be better off with selections similar to Anya's Ghost.

Also, the depiction of the drama club is spot on.  Tweens/teens who participates in theater will appreciate how well Telgemeier captures the spirit.

Review: Chopsticks

This book was recommended to a class on YA Literature, so I had to pick it up when I finally saw it on the shelves of the library that I recently found out is a 10 minute walk from my apartment.  I was so excited to find it and not surprised to find out that I loved it.

Chopsticks, by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral, is a graphic novel in the nontraditional sense.  That is, iIt's not presented in panels with thought and speech bubbles and drawn out characters.  Instead, it is a collection of photographs, letters, Youtube videos, mixtapes, iChats, artwork, etc. that detail the relationship between Glory, a musical prodigy, and Frank, a boy who just moved to NY from Argentina. 

The concept is simple and the entire book can take about an hour to complete.  However, throughout the novel, there are hints that their relationship isn't all that it may seem.  A closer examination of items like letterhead and wine bottles show cracks in their story and the reader has to make his own decision on who to trust. 
 

I tend to spend a lot of time reading graphic novels, despite flying through prose novels.  I think Chopsticks is best appreciated when you take the time to examine all the details, but even if you don't, the photography and artwork can be pretty breathtaking. 

Banned Graphic Novels/Comic Books

Excerpt from Persepolis

I've gotten really into graphic novels as of late, both academically and recreationally.  Academically speaking, graphic novels and comic books are great for boosting vocabulary, spatial reasoning, and interest in reading.  They also provide a fascinating way to read stories and learn information.   Recreationally speaking, I just finished reading the first volume of the Fables series and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and I loved both. 

 

But like all things good, graphic novels and comic books are frequently challenged.  Many people see them as juvenile reads and are often upset when "that kid book" is full of nudity, foul language, and other graphic content.  In honor of Banned Books Week, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund put together a list of banned and challenged comics.  Here are some highlights from their list:

-Dragon Ball, by Akira Toriyama:

The library review committee recommended that the public school libraries in Wicomico County, Maryland remove the books from all school levels, even high schools, despite the publisher's recommendation that the books were for a 13+ audience.

-League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

This one is interesting.  In a Public Library in Kentucky, two library employees were fired for witholding the copy from patrons because of sex scenes.  Even librarians have their own agendas.  Some are in it to censor others based on their own beliefs.

-Maus, by Art Spiegelman

 

In Pasadena, California, the home of the Big Gang Theory characters, a Polish-American man was offended by the book's content and challenged it on the grounds that it was anti-ethnic and unsuited for its age group.  A library employee described the man as being uncomfortable with the book and wanting to keep others from reading it, which is censorship and an act that parents aren't allowed to extend to children who are not their own.

-Sandman, by Neil Gaiman

This is challenged in multiple locations for anti-family themes and language.  These challenges don't faze Gaiman because he knows that one of the best ways to get teens to read something is to ban it. #Footloose

-Sidescrollers, by Matthew Loux

In Enfield, Connecticut, this book was challenged in the public schools for it's language and sexual content.  The school's removed it from summer reading lists despite how their policies state that parents aren't allowed to dictate what other children should read based on their own personal beliefs.

-Stuck in the Middle, by Ariel Schrag

The Dixfield Maine public school system kept this book on their shelves, but on account of the sex, drugs, and language, requires students to get parental permission before they are allowed to check it out. 

Check out the rest of the list here!

#TheList, No. 896: Nausicaa

Since beginning Library School, I've become a huge fan/supporter of graphic novels.  Once I become a real librarian and not a pretend one, campaigning for large graphic novel collections will probably be my main focus.  They help increase spatial reasoning, strengthen inference making skills, build vocabulary, etc.  I love telling this all to people who think graphic novels are somehow of lesser value than prose fiction, but will happily dissect all of the hidden meanings in comic book movies.

Nausicaa, a series by Hayao Miyazaki, while not my favorite book, definitely belongs in a young adult graphic novel section and on "The List."  But before I delve into the series' plot, I need to rave about Miyazaki.  He's the writer/director/genius behind "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away," and "My Neighbor Tortoro."  Seriously, if you haven't seen these or any of his other movies, you need to check them out.  They're beautiful, completely different tones than the children movies from Disney, and make you think.  They also all tend to have strong female centric characters, which is something still lacking in American children's movies.  The movies aren't always, if ever, cute, and they offer more than just the classic good vs. evil.  They're like anime versions of Harry Potter.  Love.  I had a professor who only let her children watch his movies and not even the English dubbed versions.  She wanted them to see the images and make up their own stories.  Pretty cool.  

Nausicaa was originally serialized between 1982 and 1994 and was then combined to form longer graphic novels, which is what usually happens.  The novel I read contained Volumes I and II of the collection.  Apparently a movie came out in 1984 that included the first 16 chapters.  The English version has Shia LaBeouf voicing one of the characters, so maybe stick to the original.

Miyazaki's Nausicaa is a combination of the Nausicaa from The Odyssey and a Japanese heroine who was a "princess that loved insects."  Miyazaki combined the two characters to make a strong princess character dedicated to saving her people and nature.  The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world heavily poisoned and polluted and inhabited by survivors and lots of giant insects.  A war ensues in this story and the insects are manipulated into fighting.  This upsets nature lover Princess Nausicaa who is an awesome flier and swordsman (swordswoman?) so she sets out to make it right.

It's a good adventure sci-fi story.  I liked it, but you have to be super invested in reading this to be able to follow the story.  I'm not a hardcore sci-fi fan so I struggled a bit to understand everything, but sci-fans should have no problems.  It's definitely a more advanced graphic novel, and yes, graphic novels have different difficulty levels, so it's not something you can just hand to anyone.  

But it's good, so if it sounds like your cup of tea then read it.  And definitely, definitely, definitely check out Miyazaki's films because they are just wondrous. 

Day 25 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read / No. 729: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Now that this book has been made into a Martin Scorsese film ("Hugo"), I may get my wish.  If the movie flops, however, it might be difficult to convince people to read this AMAZING book because people's minds tend to be made up by box office success. Plus it's being released in 3D, and I think we're all sick of 3D by now, so it could be a disaster.  Sigh.

 

 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick is one part historical fiction, one part adventure, one part mystery, and three parts awesome sauce, all shaken together and served with incredibly detailed and expressive pencil drawings and a side of prose. As it's a little over 500 pages long, it can look pretty intimidating to a young child reader (and an adult reader, let's be honest), but the majority of the book is made up of full page illustrations.  I didn't know it was part graphic novel prior to reading, which caused me to almost burst into tears at the library when I saw it on the shelf waiting for me the day before I needed to have it read for a class.  Good times.

Selznick tells the story of George Melies, pioneer filmmaker, through a young boy's (Hugo) discovery of an automaton that draws images from Melies' old films.  The text and illustrations are interdependent, meaning you need to spend as much time looking at and dissecting the images as you do reading the text in order to comprehend the full story.  And really, the images are so beautiful it's hard to look away. 

This novel makes wonderful pleasure reading material, but with the plethora of historical movie references, it's easy to pair this novel with history, film and even art lessons.  With the unique format, it's also easy to sneak in a lesson on narrative techniques and symbolism which is my favorite thing about this book aside from the, and I can't stress this enough, wondrous illustrations (it won the Caldecott for a reason).  I once wrote an essay on how shoes frame the novel as a symbol for both moving forward.  I got an A.  Go me.  I'd explain more, but to do so would result in severe spoilers, so just go read the book.  Or see the movie and then read the book.  Either way, reading the book is a must, especially if you love films, graphic novels, magic tricks, and fun. 

 

 

Also, go here for the cutest review of a book I've ever encountered.

Day 06 – A book that makes you sad

Art Spiegelman's Maus was my first encounter with a graphic novel.  I had to read it for a Narrative Interpretation class and I remember thinking it would be a breeze to get through because c'mon, it was just a bunch of pictures.  It ended up taking me hours just to read the first half, and made me bawl like a baby.  I'm pretty sure Deathly Hallows is the only book I've read that made me cry more.  (That one was fun - my parents sent my brother and sister in to check on me to make sure I wasn't suicidal over the end of the Harry Potter books). 

Maus is Spiegelman's father's account of the Holocaust.  I probably don't need to go into detail as to why this book is so sad, unless you're one of those people who believe that the Holocaust never happened and if that's the case then please just go away.  You shouldn't be reading this anyway, my love for Harry Potter and banned books and gay rights could burn your eyes right out.  But anyway, there are instances where it really hits the reader how real and horrible these events were.  The characters in the novel are depicted as animals throughout, but there are two moments where Spiegelman inserts actual pictures of his father into the story.  The photos take you completely by surprise, jolting you out of the story and into the realization that this is the real person who experienced what you're reading.  It's crazy powerful.  I've read Maus twice so far for various classes and once on my own and each time I was shocked by these pictures, even when I knew they were coming. 

Read this book if you don't mind being sad, enjoy symbolism (graphic novels are a symbolism goldmine), love Yiddish phrases, liked The Book Thief, like graphic novels, want to get into graphic novels, have nothing to do on a rainy Saturday such as this one, want to be cultured, or because I say it's an amazing novel.