Illegal: A graphic novel telling one boy's epic journey to Europe

Una bella y triste historia retratada con una gran sensibilidad y cuidado. Altamente recomendada.

The story is very touching and the art style is beautiful

Several years ago, I read Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin and Giovanni Rigano's graphic novel Illegal as a Cybils Award judge, and wrote down some rough thoughts. Today, the day after an important US presidential election, I am finally publishing them. Since I’m writing this well in advance, I don’t yet know the results, but I do know that migration – whether it is deemed legal or illegal – is one of the most important moral, ethical, and political issues of our time. Books that tackle immigration and migration in nuanced, empathetic ways are godsend, and this particular volume is in heavy rotation during choice reading time in my classroom. Kids care, and adults should too! Prefacing the book is Elie Wiesel’s quote, “...No human being is illegal.” Twelve-year-old Ebo is following his brother Kwame from Ghana to Europe. They think their older sister Sisi is already there, but they haven’t heard from her, and their useless uncle drinks. As orphans, they have only each other to rely on. Ebo’s singing voice is his one talent, and both brothers work at each point in the journey to make money for their next crossing, whatever that might be. They face many dangers: the desert, unreliable smugglers, armed police, an unforgiving climate, lack of water, food, and shelter, and an ocean crossing when no one can swim. In the midst of these crises, they experience rare moments of human kindness that transcend language barriers, and help them survive. It is important to have stories like Ebo’s in the world: they humanize the immigration journeys from news reports and widen the circle of those who both know and pay attention to this struggle. That said, I wish that there had been some people of color, or those who had experienced migration involved in the making of the book. The term “illegals” has been thrown around countless times in America’s political sphere in the past decade to dehumanize and stoke hate. That hate has real consequences. Education and empathy are a huge step towards dispelling those negative forces, and this book will contribute to both. I also wish that there were more resources tied to it to encourage interested readers to continue their research. It would pair well with graphic novels based on true stories, such as Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees or When Stars Are Scattered. The art in Illegal is beautiful, particularly the landscapes. For a book about migration, there is not much movement in the illustrations – panels focus instead on conversations that take place in one location, and then the next panels are set in a new place. The story overall leans much more on text than art as a storytelling device, and this works, though the art is lovely enough to draw in readers. There are lots of blues and purples: for the ocean, during rainy scenes, or during nighttime (the most convenient time for smuggling). In all, this story will humanize migrants and build empathy, and though it has no direct call to action, it will make the empathetic want to help children like Ebo and Kwame. Recommended for: middle and high school libraries and classrooms, readers who loved Alan Gratz’s Refugee, and fans of well-made adventure graphic novels.

We’ve all seen the pictures. Those ships, rust-eaten death traps, that ferry a sea of endless faces, refugees willing to surrender the sum total of their worldly possessions. Each holding a desperate hope that if they actually make the journey across the Mediterranean, it will be to a new and better life. It’s those pictures that have inspired authors Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin and artist Giovanni Rigano to produce this beautiful and haunting piece of work that pushes the boundaries of storytelling in the comic book form. Occasionally you pick up a book, or in this case a graphic novel, and it surprises you. You know just looking at the cover and the epic artwork by Rigano that what lies within will be visually impressive. You turn the first page immediately with confidence on that, but the power of the story itself that sits within matches the elegant art to deliver a landmark in the graphic novel as a medium. In Post-Brexit Britain, we’re only just beginning to learn the dangers of our own prejudice and xenophobia. There’s a tendency for us to dismiss immigrants as either the enemy undermining our own privileged way of life or victims to be pitied. Colfer and Donkin set aside such judgements and have imagined two human beings at the centre of a human crisis. What they’ve delivered is a compelling story; one that is likely to catch fire in the publishing world and, one hopes, can influence our next generation to think beyond the dehumanising label that serves as the title of the book. In many ways, as is traditional for stories told in this way, it’s an “origin” story only this time the heroes at the centre of the story aren’t granted a great power - that already lies within them. Nor will they ever don capes. It’s the determination of two innocents, Ebo aged 12 and his older brother Kwame to pursue a better life than the one they’ve been given. If they survive the journey, and that remains the big “if”, then their inevitable reward will be only to face our own judgement of them as unwelcome outsiders. Colfer & Donkin’s success as writers comes from respect – not just for the world they write about but in crediting the readers with the smarts to engage and be inspired by the storytelling. The book is as worthy of the attention of adults as much as the younger audience it would traditionally be aimed at. It’s a bold choice of subject matter and there is no compromise as our heroes undertake an epic journey from Ghana across the Sahara to Tripoli, before throwing themselves at the mercy of the Mediterranean. This is a book that you know from a first read has a grand destiny ahead of it. It’s worthy of a place next to the established giants of the graphic novel and frankly it deserves every one of the many 5 star reviews and awards it will no doubt receive. I’d encourage you to buy it.

I've been a fan of Eoin Colfer since he wrote Artemis Fowl. Here's a book as unlike Artemis Fowl as possible but just as brilliant.