Description: Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world. Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill—so when Jessie can’t stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization, right before a huge mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade. Jessie needs to right her wrong and prove herself, so she starts her own investigation into the trafficking. But going rogue means she has no one to watch her back as she delves into the horrors she uncovers. Meanwhile, her former teammates have been ordered to bring her down. Jessie must face danger from all sides if she’s to complete her mission—and survive. Review: I have always been frustrated with the James Bond and Mission Impossible movie franchises especially with their reductive treatment of women who are either the femme fatale caricuture or an "agent" who is suppose to be capable an...
Review: Horror stories of immigrants trying to escape in order for a chance at a better life have graced several pages in the newspaper and online. Recent policy changes regarding immigration have reignited the hot topic of immigration in the United States and Europe. While some have welcomed immigrants, others have not.
Illegal is a resonating and timely graphic novel that humanizes an immigrant's plight. The graphic novel is told in two different timelines. In the present Ebo and his brother Kwame along with 12 other people are aboard a leaking dinghy made for six, are desperately trying to reach Italian shores. In the past timeline we are given a road map to all the steps Ebo and Kwame have taken to get to the dinghy: their parents have died, their sole caretaker Uncle Patrick is always drunk and unable to care for them, and their older sister Sisi has made her way to Italy in search of a better life. Both brothers want to reunite with her and get a fresh start. The transition between the two timelines are jarring. There were multiple of times where it took me out of the story. A linear narrative approach would have worked better.
The brothers have endured a harrowing journey through the Sahara Desert to Tripoli, Libya, hoping to cross the Mediterranean and land as refugees. The horrors Ebo witnesses especially with the cruelties of human smugglers who value money more than human life, dehydration and hunger, as well as the impossibilities he survives constitute a haunting testimony to the human spirit. Though the graphic novel is not based on one particular person, but a composite of people who have endured this journey, it is eye opening, engaging, and will hopefully educate people that refugees are not statistics and no human is illegal.
Curriculum Connection: Social Studies (Current Events/Debate/Government), English, and Art
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is some depiction of strong violence and disturbing images. Recommended for Grades 6 and up.
If you like this book try: Escape from Syria by Samya Kullab
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