The NBM Graphic Novels publisher has another home run with the terse writing of Alex Nikolavitch combined with the creative reflectiveness of Feliz Ruiz’s art in The Disney Bros.: The Fabulous Story of Walt and Roy. Nikolavitch thrusts the reader into the tension of Roy and Walt’s working relationship. Both men are “ideas” men but Walt comes off as a little more savvy and a little more gruff. Success was not immediate once Mickey Mouse came to life, but with playing his cards right in the Hollywood market, Walt and Roy are able slowly become the dominant force in the cartoon industry. Walt has been coined a visionary before and Nikolavitch portrays this aspect of his story as the strongest characteristic of the man — always looking for the next opportunity to go bigger. From comics to talkies to full-length feature movies to the crazy idea of an amusement park, Walt may have vented his frustrations in boisterous ways but he did not let frustrations stop his creativity in how the business could grow. Readers will also see that the business life of all things Disney were not all happy endings, despite their overall success.

Ruiz’s graphics were spot on, from the “Hollywoodland” version of the Hollywood sign in the 1920’s to TV cameras on set in the 1950’s. The variety of sizes of panes and overlapping of backgrounds felt perfect for the tension that existed between the two brothers. While students might not see this during a 1st read, it wouldn’t surprise this reader if students checked it out again and again, slowly realizing how well the graphics support the “angle” Nikolavitch refers to in the introduction of the book.

Overall, this is a highly recommended graphic biography for school and public libraries.

Lynette Noni’s darker adventure fantasy, The Prison Healer, will bring vibes of other popular fantasy, from Incarceron to The Hunger Games. Kiva Meridian has been living inside the prison of Zalindov for the past 10 years, using the teachings of her father to guide her as the prison’s primary doctor or healer. Kiva’s past comes to the reader in waves, while the plot rolls along quite rapidly over the course of fall season. Kiva also has the job to give new inmates the mark of the prison, as she cuts a “Z” into the top of an inmate’s hand upon arrival. The physical scarring doubles as mental scarring for Kiva as she believes she is wrongfully imprisoned. Yet she does want to do her job, one of the best ones to have in the prison, to the best of her abilities, including protecting the most important patient, the Rebel Queen. Kiva will be tested in her abilities to navigate a budding romance, maneuver political turmoil, and survive deadly “ordeals”. Two of the three she passes with flying colors as a pro-fem protagonist. This reader wishes Kiva discovered her own superpowers to survive the “ordeals” rather than relying on those of others. Still, the quick pacing of the plot and dialogue, with many twists and turns, will keep any fantasy reader entertained, even if they skim a few pages here and there. Complete with a cliffhanger that came at the last minute, The Prison Healer is worth adding to school library shelves grades 7 and up.

As a sequel to Give the Dark my Love, Revis didn’t grasp this reader’s attention as much as with the first book. It focused on the politics of the story and less on character development. It was a slower read as the character’s ideas were repetitive. The romance of the entire story didn’t sit well because of what felt like a forced coupling. Characters who had different goals and beliefs were put together leaving this reader thinking it would never work out. Only the last part of the book was worth the time to read as there is an unexpected twist.

For the past 16 years, Hazel has been living with a small radius of her house that includes her school, a few stores, a mini-golf course, and one restaurant. Her town is not small, but if she goes outside of this radius, the universe literally begins to freak out. When she was born, a rift, or a tear into the universe, was formed. The rift acts up now and again spitting out things from other dimensions — trees, furniture, and not known to Hazel, other Hazels. The government had set up barns on their property to monitor the rift and government agents had become Hazel’s friends as they had to track her every move. But her 16th birthday is the flashpoint. The rift begins its meltdown on a whole new level. Hazel will meet her versions from other dimensions and will slowly learn her destiny in the process of saving her world from being entirely sucked into the rift. Corrine Duyvis’ incorporation of current coming of age issues into an out-of-this-world experience feels surprisingly authentic. Teens will appreciate Hazel’s struggle to be her true self, even if it is something she learns through the eyes of her other selves.

Four accomplices, like the four letters of the title Meme, each will question the motives of the others after a wickedly committed murder, a murder they believe has gone viral. It is the fall of their senior year. Cole and Meeka’s relationship has gone south, with Meeka feeling that Cole may cause her physical harm. Cole has had a very rough life and is smarter with computers than with people. Holly, Grayson, and Logan felt there was only one way to protect Meeka. A single picture is taken at the murder site that would connect all of them if one were to confess. It was taken as a sort of security blanket, then all phones were destroyed and left with the buried body. Except the picture began to circulate as a meme shortly after the killing. Who else has the picture? Does that person know what happened that night? Could Cole still be alive? All have a point of view to share as narrators of alternating chapters as the story unwinds. Yet Meeka’s is that last voice. While Aaron Starmer’s title is trite, the writing is pretty good and fans of Gretchen McNeil will enjoy this suspenseful tale.

Aaron and Tillie stand on the George Washington Bridge expecting to end their lives.  Aaron and Tillie don’t know each other but they’ve come to the same conclusion that suicide is the only viable option for each.  What happens in Aaron jumps and Tillie doesn’t.  Or vice versa?  Or if they both jump?  Or if neither do? Bill Konigsberg’s genius is in his character development, and the story-telling technique of four possible plotlines allows for finite details of Aaron and Tillie’s personalities to emerge. They are genuine, they are real, they have issues, they have choices. Readers are led to consider how “life” is impacted by the choices we make. Bill Konigsberg develops an authentic description of what depression might feel like and he doesn’t glamourize suicide. It is questionable whether or not readers will find the fourth story to be repetitive but overall this unique take on a serious topic will keep readers intrigued.

The Kingdom of Back is a historical retelling of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s real-life older sister, Nannerl Mozart, with heavy threads of fantasy. The story follows the young lives of the siblings growing up in a family whose future depends on the recognition of their family talent by the nobility.

Nannerl is at first the gem of the musical Mozart family until the genius other brother seeps out to steal the focus. It seems her talent cannot compete with his innate gift. As she feels more diminished, she turns to the fantasy world they had created. The prince of the Kingdom of Back becomes her focus as she drifts between the realness of the two worlds trying to find her place.

The story unveils itself easily as it follows Nannerl through to adulthood. The symbols and analogies presented in the Kingdom of Back creatively convey the emotion and thought processes of a young adult girl trying to find her way in a world with a domineering father and a child prodigy younger brother. A shift from her adventure-focused fantasy writing, Lu presents the story of a person coming to grips with her future by finding a way to deal with it.

Students see TEDTalks much like they view a teacher – sharing information to teach. But TEDTalks are the public speaking events of today that can reach massively more ears and eyes. Anderson and Oberweger smartly build this guide to public speaking by analyzing what goes into a great TEDTalk — starting with the premise that there is no one way to give a great talk. The best talks are “fresh” and innovative rather than stale. Instead one must “breathe, play, and practice, practice, practice”.

First there’s the foundation – what is the throughline, the connecting theme that ties the ideas together? This touchstone needs to be what holds the speech together, even if a diverse number of ideas are presented. One also needs to consider the audience – who is that one person that needs to acknowledged, accepted, invited via the speech — and consider the topic — is it a topic that you can handle well and your audience can digest.

Second there are tools – think of structures here – what is the journey, the story, or the truth to be told. Compare this to the foundation. More than likely they are naturally interconnected. If not, why not. And will that still work? It might.

Third, it’s time to prepare — whether scripted or unscripted, one needs to practice. Period. Lots of reasons why are discussed – from technology glitches to physical itches. Practice, practice, practice.

This is a nice, relevant addition to any school or public library.

From the Science Adventurers series comes Animal Conservationists, a look at six different facets in protecting different animal species of life. Chapter 1 begins with a hook — the work around saving something that creeps many people out– bats! After a end chapter covering the history of animal conservation, the author begins to drill down into the realities of the task. First, is the reclaiming/protection of habit, because if the habitat is not hospitable, the animals will die. Second is the issues around breeding and how humans help in this realm. A special chapter is reserved for breeding in water as well. Then time is given for the process of bringing a creature back to or introducing it to its native habitat, called “reintroduction”. The technology employed by conservationists as well as the human actions to help fight off predators help round out the text until a final chapter of “the future” is warranted. Abdo does such a nice job with its series topic choices, layout of text and sidebars, as well physical print/binding quality. The sidebars of this text in particular were very intriguing, leading this reader to wander there often before focusing on the main content as pages were turned. This will be a worthwhile addition to the 500’s in any school library.

This is a text that could easily be incorporated into middle school or high school classroom curriculum. This is a text that could be adapted for a school theater program. This is a text that will stick with you for awhile. Kent State, by Deborah Wiles, is the telling of the four days of protesting from May 1st – 4th on the campus of the university. Various voices share their chronological recollection building up to the deadly shootings by Ohio National Guard troops. But it is the positioning of the text on the page that makes this worthy of its multiple starred reviews. The voices come to the reader in snippets of text, much like a discussion, and are arranged based on likely political affiliation. Student protester voices more left justified, to National Guard troops right justified on the page. There are other voices of citizens caught in the middle that are situated on the page somewhere between the two based on their content. The anger, the frustration, the anxiety, the outrage, the disbelief –it can all be captured by the use of these various voices. The book jacket says, this text show the “human truth” in this tragedy. This text should be in every middle and high school library for its lessons in history, in the craft of writing, and in the depiction of humans reacting crisis.

Co-authors Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige alternate chapter by chapter the star roles of Scarlett and Vivi, a senior and freshman respectively at Westerly College. Scarlett is aiming to become her sorority’s president while Vivi doesn’t even think the sorority life is her thing. But Vivi is destined to become a Raven, the nickname for the Kappa Rho Nu sisters. The Ravens are witches, each specializing in one of four powers, but bound in sisterhood, they can also draw upon the other powers. And sisterhood is the most important part of being in this sorority — above all else. Vivi arrives on campus, against her mother’s pleas, and is drawn to attend a party at the Kappa house. Vivi and Scarlett clash immediately. The current president assigns Scarlett as Vivi’s magic mentor, setting up internal struggles for both girls. But a previous mistake by Scarlett will bring evil magic to Westerly and all Ravens will need to work together to fight it off. This is the beginning of a series, though it reads like a stand-alone. Those readers who like the motif of sisterhood above all else or who are fans of magical tales with spooky spells, ancient myths and tense scenes will probably enjoy this tale.

Cardi B has risen to the top of music world with her determination, her showmanship and her shock value — two positives, one negative, postive wins. This is the love/hate relationship that seems to surround her. Love her rhythm, hate her lyrics. Love her come up from dancing on tables for money, hate her overt sexual overtones. The same love/hate follows with this text. Love that there is something relatively easy for students to grab and be interested in, hate the overly simplistic tone. High school students will feel like the language is dumbed down. Abdo is a strong publisher and while there are interesting sidebars, references and bibliography at the back, most student probably won’t linger there. The colorful pictures will entertain but the drama that is Cardi, the voice that is Cardi, is not reflected in this chronology of her life. Therefore this is an additional purchase for libraries that can afford it.

What was it like to grow up in a strict German Catholic family in the early 1900s? This work chronicles the life of Wilhelm Hosenfeld – a teacher, husband, father, thinker, leader and always a man with a Christian conscious.

Wilm Hosenfeld embraced the Wandervogel message that, “German youth wanted to shape their own lives, through self-determination, self-responsibility, and inner truthfulness.” He embraces the youth hostiles, competitions and camaraderie with people his age. WWI erupts and he proudly volunteers to join the Prussian infantry and fights on Flanders Field for the fatherland. By 1918 he was tired and disillusioned with war and happy to return to his studies to become a teacher.

He meets his future wife at a Wandervogel meeting.  Their shared interests include art, literature, music and the outdoors though they came from very different backgrounds: Catholic versus Protestant, upper class vs villager.   

By 1923 Wilm establishes a night school in his village.  It offered course once a week in the evenings to persons ages 15 to 25 in economics, history, civics, German language and literature. He wanted to captivate the minds of those engaged “in work that requires brute force”, exposing them to an awareness of the outside world and not just their rural area. 

The change in German leadership in 1933 to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, led by Adolf Hitler, Wilm Hosenfeld believed would put an end to Germany’s problems. He joined the SA. However his beliefs are in conflict with Nazi’s cruelties. Who can he trust? Can he challenge those in charge? What will happen to his family? He helps those he can. But he cannot help every one. He is captured and tried as a war criminal by the Russians yet his moral and ethical compass always remained intact. Wilm “saw each person as a fellow equal human being”.  

Among many awards and recognitions postumusually given Wilm these two stand out: in 2007 he was awarded The Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restitula by then Polish President Lech Kaczynski and in 2009 Wilm Hosenfeld was recognized with the Jewish honor as a “Righteous Among the Nations”. This young readers edition will be picked up by students who enjoy the details of this time period in history.

It’s not very often that a young adult mystery keeps you guessing until the very end, but Kit Frick did it in I Killed Zoe Spanos. What a great ride! Mix podcast transcripts with flashback narrative structure. Chill over the course of 10 months. Then surprise readers with more than they ever thought was happening in the back story.

Anna Cicconi has not been the perfect teen, but the summer after graduating high school, she wants to make better choices and believes leaving NYC for a nanny job in the Hamptons will be a fresh start and a great way to make money for college. Escaping to a place her mother tells her she’s never been to because her father was too cheap, she commits to being a good nanny. Not long in her new dwelling, Anna learns of a missing girl from the area that looks surprisingly similar to her. People in town notice too. Jump ahead to the fall and Anna is in juvenile detention for the killing of Zoe Spanos — but she went missing on New Year’s Eve/Day the previous winter. Anna had never met Zoe, yet she confessed to the crime. Memories keep flooding into her head of her being with Zoe, but there’s no truth to them.

Local detective-like teen Martina begins a podcast about Zoe’s death because she too feels something is not right with how the police investigated and why Anna confessed. She’ll discover more clues, but not everything will add up. Kit Frick wove together a mystery that has just the right questions without over-the-top tension or gore. Most mystery fans should enjoy it and I can highly recommend this for high school and public libraries.

Dance is something that has been in Ada’s bones since her birth. She could saunter across the floor of her home much easier as a little girl than when she matures because Ada’s life becomes one of inner turmoil, which reaches a breaking point while in the fall of her freshman year at college. Flipping between a narrative of her college life and flashbacks of various influential times in her childhood, readers are introduced to different aspects of Ada. She has been obedient to her deeply religious father. She has tried vehemently to show her self-centered, unequipped mother that she will always love her. She has dealt with her own inner body image demons as well as teen awkwardness and school hazing. She has witnessed the love in her Nigerian culture and its clashes with contemporary America. When given the opportunity to attend a Historically Black College, Ada leaves her father behind, but she won’t be able to leave her past. And it’s her past that will shape her future — to choose to dance or not to dance. Candice Iloh writes with tension that matches Ada’s strife. Because the novel is in verse, the plotline clips along despite its jolts between settings. Some readers will devour this in one sitting while others will slowly enjoy its introspection. Highly recommended for high school and public libraries.

 Mike by Andrew Norriss is a fictional story about a tennis prodigy named Floyd going through a journey of self-discovery with a mysterious boy named Mike, someone that only Floyd seems to be able to see. It is a book that every reader can connect to in some way or another, and is a genuine and heartwarming story. The plot was compelling and introspective, allowing the reader to see deeply into Floyd’s consciousness and connect it to their own. While the development of Floyd’s character was above-average there could have been more in aspects of his character’s story, including but not limited to his time with his grandma, his relationship with his parents, and his time studying marine biology. The story leaves the reader wanting more, but also with a new sense of understanding of themselves despite the concise nature of the book. The sweet and honest character of Floyd and the ending of the book will leave readers with their hearts warm and content at seeing his internal conflict resolved, and readers will find themselves devoted to the outcome of Floyd’s story. Mike is a book that is great for all readers, but especially for readers in high school or later who find or have found themselves facing big life decisions and are looking for a quick and lighthearted read. — Reviewed by Sam, CHS Student and voracious reader.

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is a powerful, poetic historical fiction novel for young adult readers. This book goes through the perspectives of many Japanese-American teenagers starting in 1942, during World War II, as they are forced by the American government to leave their neighborhoods for camps, complete loyalty forms, and join the army. I really liked the variety of perspectives in this book, and through those different perspectives, you are able to see how different people deal with their situation. Some are consumed by anger, some try to look upon it as positively as possible, and many different reactions in between. If I had one criticism of this book, it would be that the characters can be a little hard to follow at times, since some characters have a real name and a nickname, and it switches to a completely new perspective every chapter. The way the book is laid out, and the perspectives of teenagers around our age, makes this book far more relatable and interesting than many others in the historical fiction genre. I think fans of historical fiction will definitely enjoy this book, and I encourage anyone who is not a fan to also try it, as it is non-traditional and refreshing. Fans of diverse novels and stories will love this book, as it provides many different perspectives from a group of people heavily discriminate against in America. This book is an intense look at what Japanese-American teens and their families had to go through during World War II and is sure to stir up many emotions for readers. I highly recommend this book. – Reviewed by Avian, CHS Student and voracious reader.

Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour is a mysterious young adult read, with ghost and magical realistic twists of grief and trauma, teaching how to love others and be loved back.   This novel was about Mila, an eighteen year old girl that has aged out of the foster care system. She is offered an internship teaching children on an isolated self-sustaining farm on the coast of Northern California. All the children and interns have experienced trauma in their life in some way. The farm that they all live at is haunted by ghosts that come out at night. Everyone seems to accept the ghosts presence and almost welcome them.  The significance of the ghosts is revealed at the end. This story goes through flashbacks of Mila’s past and deals with her wanting to overcome the grief of her past and the want to be loved.  Readers will enjoy the raw emotional side of the story and it will leave them wanting more at the last page.  Recommend for any avid reader that is looking for mysticism that could be read over the weekend.

Take the UFC to a whole new underground, illegal and nearly deadly, once-you-are-in-you-are-in-for-life level of mixed martial arts and you get Brawler by Neil Connelly. There are many brawlers in this low-brow community. Slated to win the state championship in his weight class for the 2nd year in a row, Eddie MacIntyre loses control during the district wrestling tournament, taking a swing at the referee and breaking his jaw. Assault charges on the way, Eddie is accosted by a gentleman who has been watching his aggressive wrestling style for quite some time. Eddie chooses to go down the road to big money in bad places. Eddie is given a personal trainer- a girl with Tae-Kwon-Do skills whose father was also wrapped up in the business, as was Eddie’s own father, unbeknownst to him. Once you’re in, you’re in until you are dead or near death from revenge. Eddie is truly a brawler, beating guys stronger than him because he could forecast their next moves. But there’s no good way out of this life which keeps readers going until the end just to see how Connelly resolves the story. While brutal and very detailed with wrestling jargon, fans of MMA will probably devour it.

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had 24 hrs left to live?  The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte is a suspenseful dystopian Sci-fi thriller. This book is a tale based on two orphaned sisters in a futuristic water-world, Equinox and Palindromena. The oldest sister,  Elysea, drowns during a dive and leaves the younger sister Tempest to survive on her own. For two years Tempest was diving and saving money to resurrect her sister, Elyea. At Palindromena her sister is brought back to life for only 24hrs. Tempest wants to find out from her sister what happened the night she died and what were the secrets she withheld about their parents’ death. This Sci-fi thriller is a real page-turner and kept me thinking about what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller with a little bit of romance.

Max is athletic, outgoing, and still closeted about his sexual preferences except with his closest friends. Jordan is exactly the opposite. Told in alternating chapters from each teen’s voice, Bill Konigsberg has once again authored a story of real, raw life for two boys who discover the other to be inherently attractive — a pull in their soul that seems surprising because of their differences. Jordan’s family is in crisis because of his father’s death. Max is the type of person who loves to help people — a perfect match. Max also seems like the person who has everything in control, but readers will ride along with Max on his physical and mental journey which is the more important focus of Konigsberg’s story. Max and Jordan’s love is so exciting as they enjoy those times where they invent new activities they can enjoy together. Their passion gets real and this is when Max’s struggle will no longer be able to stay hidden. The Music of What Happens is a wonderful addition to the growing LGBTQ+ literature available to young adults and should be in every school library.

“Is art worth a life?” This is a central premise not only of Robert Edsel’s The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History but the question for the existence of Monuments Men. The United States’ Monuments Men were a special group of eleven men and one woman whose mission was to hunt down the thousands of pieces of art being stolen during World War II across Europe, collecting them for restoration and redistribution after the war. These weren’t your average privates in the ranks, though one was a private. These were volunteer civilians with connections to the art world — art museum curators, art historians, architects, a sculptor, a dancer. In fact, 13 other nations lent their aid with their own monuments men and women groups creating a force of 350 trying to salvage culture in an expansive war zone.

In this beautiful book, Edsel weaves a story with photography to restore damage caused by the Nazis. The Nazis changed laws stripping citizens of owning private property, allowing for the “legal” taking of anything. In fact, “safeguarding” was nothing more than a Nazi synonym for “theft”. The readers see the protected art through the eyes of Deane Keller, who 20 years earlier had come to Italy as an art student, and Fred Hartt, and art historian. Taking clues from past bombings and the location of important works of art, these civilian soldiers tried to figure out locations of hidden art as well as if the art left was salvageable. They had very little help from the real U.S. Army — no transportation.

For war history enthusiasts and art buffs, descriptive writing will pique their interest throughout. Those not so into this might be overwhelmed by all of the names and little side stories around the saving of the art. Yet Edsel gives a glimpse into what it was really like for many during the war from an angle not many people would stop to consider.

So is art worth a life? One of the Monuments Men, and an artist himself, said it’s more than dying to save an object –it’s dying to defend a cause. To this end, learning about this aspect of war, these people who saved art, is worth one’s time reading.

The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz is a classic, cookie-cutter, young-adult novel that many teenagers will enjoy. Caledon Holt, the Queen’s Assassin, and Shadow, a prospective Guild member, are brought together and forced to team up as assassin and apprentice. Undercover, they make their way to an enemy kingdom in search of a conspirator, and in the process fall deeply in love. The fast-paced writing style along with the action-packed plot make it a fun and fast read. The conflict of the plot was also engaging and keeps readers on the edge of their seats throughout the entire story. Despite these positives, the book has several flaws. The character development was sub-par, especially with Caledon Holt, as there was little to no depth given about his life as an assassin. There was also a lot more focus on the romantics between the two main characters as opposed to the plot, which made the storyline a tad elementary. The common tropes found in the young-adult genre are prevalent in this book, for example, the “I’m not like other girls” trope that’s seen with Shadow. Younger teenage readers will absolutely adore the unequivocal romance between Shadow and Caledon, and older readers who like the young-adult genre will appreciate this book as a simple, quick, and entertaining read. The book may be a bit unoriginal but is enjoyable nonetheless. I would not recommend this book to readers who are looking for a complex and advanced novel, but rather to young readers who simply want to read a pleasant love story. 

With BIPOC authors hopefully getting their coming of age moment in publishing, teachers seem to want texts that are “not about the struggle”. But “the struggle” our life, and like all of life, there are so many experiences and layers to it. This is a theme of coming of age novels — realizing the complexity of one’s and others’ lives. This is the theme of Patron Saints of Nothing. Randy Ribay offers a look into a life in the Philippines from the perspective of an emigrant looking for an explanation. Jay is in the 2nd half of his senior year. He is struggling with his choice to go to the University of Michigan. He is struggling to regain friendships that were damaged, especially one that meant a lot to him — his similarly-aged cousin in the Philippines. But that one might be too late to fix, as Jay gets the news that his cousin has been killed. His father doesn’t want to talk about how his cousin died, which makes Jay’s suspicions even greater. When he receives a mysterious text, he knows he has to go to the Philippines to investigate under the guise of visiting relatives during his spring break.

Jay’s journey into the lives of his family in the Philippines helps him understand his family’s story, even amid his belief that his own uncle killed in son. Unraveling the mystery is tough on Jay. For this reader, the reminder is that there are many peoples of color, many stories, many struggles going on. Life is complex. Randy Ribay’s voice through Jay allows readers to follow him and see this complexity, see the struggle and appreciate that life’s choices are complicated, layered and sometimes not what we want, but we persevere. Ribay’s voice through Jay into President Duterte’s war on drugs is a bonus that one hopes readers will do a little wiki searching for their own greater knowledge of the world.

This text, this art, this combination is worthy of an award. Bob Marley in comics! is a biographical sketch of Marley’s life told by various graphic novelists as well as the text writers. Broken into time periods, each section is first represented graphically and then summarized textually. Some graphic novel fans might not appreciate the text equivalent, but the writing is concise, allowing readers to pick right back up where the art left off. And seeing the differences in the graphic novelist’s art is a lesson unto itself. Will students be drawn to it because it is Bob Marley –yes. Will they enjoy the graphic novel aspect–yes. Will they walk away with an even greater appreciation for the art as well as the life Marley had — a hundred times yes. And this teacher-librarians is now looking at other NBM graphic novels to purchase. Highly recommended for middle, high school, and public libraries.