Illegal

Gr 6-8--Twelve-year-old Ebo's tale doesn't begin on the raft on his way to Europe. It doesn't begin as he works in the streets of Tripoli, Libya, to earn his fare. It doesn't begin with the journey across the Sahara or even in his home of Ghana. It starts when his brother, Kwame, leaves home to find their sister, Sisi, long departed for Europe. Not content with a life of poverty, Ebo, too, takes off, close on his brother's heels. Colfer and Donkin gloss over nothing in their portrayal of undocumented immigration, from illness and violence to poverty and corruption. Throughout the months of hard labor he must endure to pay for a ticket, sleeping outdoors and depending on the kindness of strangers, Ebo remains determined. Rigano's dynamic images keep readers on the edge of their seats, and the portrayal of tenacious Ebo is elegant but unromanticized. In a scene toward the end, in which rescue is uncertain, the authors firmly assert that no human is illegal; Ebo says, "They must help us, we are people." The novel concludes with a starkly illustrated true account of an immigrant who faced trauma in her quest for a better life. VERDICT A thrilling and moving addition to any collection, and ideal supplemental reading in classes where students are studying immigration.--Anna Murphy, Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

This achingly poignant graphic novel by Colfer and Donkin, collaborators on the Artemis Fowl graphic novels, imagines how one Ghanaian orphan ends up adrift in the Mediterranean. Ebo's older sister Sisi is already in Europe, and he knows his brother Kwame is headed there, too, so Ebo sets out to find him. It's clear that he succeeds, because the story opens on a scene of the two brothers drifting without food or water on the ocean. But in flashbacks, they see Ebo searching for Kwame in a teeming refugee hub in Niger. Punchy dialogue and wistful narration note both Ebo's poverty and his gifts: optimism ("I'm stronger than I look," he tells a boss), a talent for singing, and initiative (he parlays a box of wet wipes into cash by selling them one by one). Water is precious, and Ebo and Kwame endure periods of intense thirst. Rigano brings the brothers' struggle close, but his magnificent panels include moments of beauty, too. Clouds tower above the ocean, and starry skies light the desert. Refugees, readers will understand, are not statistics; everyone is an individual. Ages 10-up. Agent: Susannah Palfrey, Hachette Children's Group. (Aug.)■

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"ILLEGAL doesn't...try to get across a strong political point of view. The authors instead take a closer view at one...experience. The result is a powerful story that will stay in minds long after it is finished... ILLEGAL is not an easy book to read. The experiences Ebo has are horrifying. The graphic novel begins with an epigraph by a Holocaust survivor that concludes "How can a human being be illegal?" The answer is on every page: They cannot." - KidsReads