My library

The Eternal Smile: three stories by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

These three slightly connected but very different stories are humorously entertaining. The first, Duncan's Kingdom, follows classic fairy tale/fantasy form but with a surprising bonus. The second, Gran'pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile, appeals as a mix between Scrooge McDuck and The Truman Show. The third, my favorite, titled Urgent Request, is a charming tale of a meek woman who finally, and surprisingly, grows a spine when the reader is all set to be disappointed in her. The three stories have very different voices and styles, and so are worthwhile reading in order to enjoy the differences.

Deogratias: a tale of Rwanda by Jean-Phillipe Stassen:

This graphic novel takes place during and after the Rwandan genocide and is told in alternating clips between the present and flashbacks by Deogratias, the title character.

I expected an overview of the war from a more historical perspective, but the book turned out to capture the experience of a single individual, Deogratias, who was affected very profoundly by his experiences. The extent to which he has become disturbed isn’t clear until the very end of the story.

This is a book that requires at least a second reading, once the reader has placed all the characters and the chronology. I felt like I was struggling with the plot for a good portion of the book, but once I had it figured out it made a lot more sense and I realized how sad the whole story really is.

Despite its status as fiction, Deogratias is an important historical work and should be part of any collection that caters especially to teens. With each rereading, I felt like I got deeper and deeper into the plot, deeper even than I was sure I wanted to be. I also came to a new understanding of some of the violence in Rwanda, a subject for which most of my knowledge comes from Don Cheadle.

Town Boy by Lat

This book, the sequel to Kampung Boy, was even funnier even though it lost the charm of the country setting. The main character Mat has begun attending school in town, Ipoh, and his daily adventures are related through words and pictures. It's the 1960s so all the boys walk around with a classic rock and roll swagger that Lat portrays perfectly through nothing more than a series of lines.

The boys all think they're so cool and original, and Lat draws them all standing in a line outside the cinema, each with the exact same rebellious pose which isn't quite so rebellious when it's ten boys lined up, with the only difference between them all their height.

The book spans Mat's teen years and many of the things that befall him during that time. He spends a lot of time in school learning many different subjects, and because he is now in town , there are people with very different backgrounds than himself, especially Frankie, his soon to be best friend who is Chinese. There is of course a beautiful girl that everyone in town likes, and who Mat actually gets the courage to invite to a movie one day. One of the funniest scenes is when the boys are doing this required run for school, which includes crossing the river, and Mat and his friend decide to use the forbidden bridge. Unfortunately, they are ambushed by the principal at the other end and punished. Anecdotes like this would be interesting even if only written on words, but Lat's drawings make the scenes so much richer and even more entertaining.The book spans Mat's teen years and many of the things that befall him during that time. He spends a lot of time in school learning many different subjects, and because he is now in town , there are people with very different backgrounds than himself, especially Frankie, his soon to be best friend who is Chinese. There is of course a beautiful girl that everyone in town likes, and who Mat actually gets the courage to invite to a movie one day. One of the funniest scenes is when the boys are doing this required run for school, which includes crossing the river, and Mat and his friend decide to use the forbidden bridge. Unfortunately, they are ambushed by the principal at the other end and punished. Anecdotes like this would be enjoyable even if only written in words, but Lat's drawings make the scenes so much richer and even more entertaining.