Book Drops: The Silence of Our Friends (GN) by Mark Long, et. al.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

 - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell

First Second. ISBN: 9781596436183. Jan 2012.

Last night, I finally had the chance to read Mark Long's The Silence of Our Friends. I ordered it for our collection because it received good reviews and I am a fan of Nate Powell. This graphic novel is engaging, intense and worth adding to your collection. Mark Long takes us through his recollections of growing up in a Texas town where the KKK put fliers for rallies on your door and down the street the civil rights movement was intensifying and his father befriends a black professor. Their families become friends even though it put them all in danger.

There is strong language in this graphic novel, that, if taken completely out of context, certain people would find questionable. However, I think, it is an important addition to any collection. There are lots of things to talk about if you are teaching this to a class. 

A story about "Swallow Me Whole"

Swallow Me Whole

by Nate Powell

Book Review: “Swallow Me Whole” by Nate Powell

This is the first Nate Powell graphic novel I have read. I am not an expert on graphic novels but I do know what I like and this one I liked. It is dark, confusing, and at times incomprehensible which reflects the reality that Ruth, her step-brother, Perry, and even her grandmother’s mental states. Ruth is obsessed with bugs and order, Perry sees and hears a talking wizard that compells him to draw and Memaw, the grandmother, hears and sees things. The dialogue moves from clear to confusing and you are never sure what is really “real.” My co-worker said that the story is hopeful in the end…my first impression was more sadness but the more I looked and thought about the last images, it is hopeful.

Definitely a good stand-alone graphic novel to add to your collection.

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