Ritualo's Reviews

Bibliography:  Hale, N. (2018). Lafayette!: A Revolutionary War Tale (Ser. Hazardous Tales). Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams. ISBN: 978-1-419-73148-8 Plot Summary: Hale gives the story of Lafayette, a French nobleman, who comes to America to aid the Revolutionaries against the British.  It follows Lafayette from his childhood in France, where he is orphaned at the age of 13. It details his rise through the French military and his controversial trip to America to support the revolutionary cause. It leaves the reader in suspense as it concludes with his return home...where the French Revolution is about to occur.  Critical Analysis: This book is one of a series of historical graphic novels written by Nathan Hale. Largely accurate, it follows the story of Lafayette, a French soldier who fought in the American Revolution.  It is evident that Hale did his research, as demonstrated by his bibliography which includes various resources.  Anything inaccurate is gener...

Bibliography:  Craft, J. (2019). New Kid . Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 978-7-544-43519-0 Plot Summary: Twelve-year-old Jordan is moved to a private school known for its rigorous academic program. He is initially unhappy with the move as he had wanted to go to art school.  As one of the few students of color at his new school, Jordan undergoes not only the trials and tribulations of most preteens, but also those of a minority student in a mostly white school.  Jordan has to find where he fits in in this new environment. Critical Analysis: Craft takes on not only the issues of being a preteen, but also that of black identity.  He illustrates Jordan's search for identity in a new school in an authentic way. When taking the bus to his new schools, we see how Jordan tries to fit in to his surroundings by wearing his hood, taking it off, sitting slumped, sitting straight, drawing in his sketchbook or sitting quietly. Jordan tries to find people li...

Bibliography:  Gao, L. (2022). Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American . Harper Alley, Balzer + Bray, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-306777-6 Plot Summary: This graphic novel is an autobiography of sorts, and tells the author's story of growing up as a Chinese American during Covid. The novel follows her as she tries to discover her own identity growing up in a traditional Chinese household, but born American. Critical Analysis: The book does a great job of showing the author’s struggle with finding her identity as an Asian-American and a lesbian. Though born in Wuhan, she did most of her growing up in the U.S. She depicts the strangeness an immigrant faces in an enlightening way. Her writing style and tone are clearly that of a frustrated teenager, a feeling many young adults from anywhere can relate to.  Gao uses a very simple color palette- black and white, shades of blue, yellow and red and the style is classic comic book. Most of the boo...

  Bibliography:  Jamieson, V., & Mohamed, O. (2020). When Stars are Scattered . Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-1-725-48313-2 Plot Summary: Omar and his brother are refugees. They fled Somalia during the civil war. In escaping they lost their mother, their father had been killed. The book follows the (mostly) true story of the two brothers who lived in a refugee camp in Kenya. Omar is given the chance to go to the camp school, but he is constantly conflicted about leaving his brother, who has a disability.  Throughout their time, Omar never gives up hope of finding his mother or of resettlement in a new country.  Critical Analysis: The story is mostly biographical, as Omar Mohamed, the main character, is one of the two writers of the book. The book is mostly accurate, but as Jamieson acknowledges in the author's note, when she took liberties with inventing characters, she still tried to remain true to Omar's experiences and memories.  The author uses ...

  Bibliography: Johnson, V. (2019). The Parker Inheritance . Scholastic Inc. ISBN 978-0-545-94617-9 Plot Summary: After her parents separate, Candice is forced to move to Lambert (South Carolina) for the summer. Living with her mother in her grandmother’s old house, Candice and her new friend  Brandon uncover a mystery that led to her grandmother’s downfall, and still needs to be solved. A wealthy philanthropist , James Parker has left a treasure hidden in the city, and whoever finds it will get a share. But the clues Parker left uncover the racial discrimination of the 1950’s, and require the two friends to bring to light the social injustices that occurred.  Critical Analysis:  This work of historical fiction is brilliantly written as a suspenseful mystery.  The reader is immediately drawn in by the puzzle that Abigail Caldwell, Candice’s grandmother, was desperate to solve.  Every new discovery leads to another clue to the puzzle, and makes the reader ...

Bibliography: Kelly, J. (2011). The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate . Square Fish. ISBN 978-0-8050-8841-0 Plot Summary: Calpurnia (or Callie as she prefers to be called) is an almost 12 year old girl in Texas, 1899.  Though her mother tries to encourage traditional education (cooking, cleaning and sewing), Callie’s interests are in the scientific world.  These interests are soon fostered by her grandfather, who gives her access to the science world through books and their various shared outings in nature.  Callie must reconcile this love of science with turn-of-the century expectations of what a woman should be with not only herself, but her family as well. Critical Analysis:  Kelly does a great job of depicting Texas in the late 19th century.  Historically, she is fairly accurate in her details.  Women were beginning to challenge traditional roles, Coca-Cola and automobiles had only been recently invented, and telephones were not yet available in every househo...

  Bibliography: Frost, H., & Thompson, M. (S. (2020). All He Knew . Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-31299-2 Plot Summary:  At age 4, Henry gets an illness that results in him becoming deaf. As the School for the Deaf has declared him “unteachable” his parents are forced to send him to the state “school”, where children with disabilities and the “unteachable” are sent. The children, neglected and abused, are neither educated nor genuinely cared for.  That is until Victor, a conscientious objector, begins work here. As a result of Victor’s compassion, Henry’s life is turned around as after five years he is able to return home, no longer deemed “unteachable”.  Critical Analysis: This historical fiction is told as a novel in verse and was inspired by a real person: the brother of her mother-in-law. The book includes background information about the real life people the characters were based on, as well as poems written by her mother-in-law about her brother. The...

  Bibliography:  Wiles, D. (2020). Kent State . Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-1-338-35628-1 Plot Summary: The book consists of fictionalized accounts of the real events of the four days leading up to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970. The shootings came as the result of a four day standoff between state guardsmen and (unarmed) student anti-war protestors and resulted in the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine bystanders. The narrative is told through various voices in a conversational format. Critical Analysis: The book begins with a prelude describing the actual events of the Kent State shootings. The author uses many voices and perspectives to give fictional accounts of the real events. It is written as a conversation between various nameless characters which include students, “townies”, parents, guardsmen, and a campus black student group member. The author uses different sizes and fonts to indicate when different people are speaking as there are no names. ...