Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

35963837. sy475 Genre: graphic novel


This graphic novel tells the story of Ebo, a young Ghanan boy whose brother has left him behind to try and get to Europe - but Ebo refuses to accept being left behind. On his own he begins a journey that he hopes, more than anything, will reunite him with his brother and result in a better life somewhere else. From the endless desert to the streets of Tripoli to a tiny life raft full of people dreaming of safe harbor, Ebo’s journey is a perilous one.

Although fictional, Ebo’s story is flush with the reality that so many refugees have faced as they’ve fled war, poverty and persecution. The illustrations are stark and go a long way helping us to envision what it might be like to take such a journey. The only thing I really didn’t love is that the chronology is always flipping back-and-forth in time which felt disjointed to me. I would’ve preferred a more natural flowing chronology but overall the book is a strong one, making clear the horror and tragedy without being so graphic that an older elementary school student or young teen couldn't appreciate it.

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