Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka has forever changed my thinking about graphic novels. It is a dark and heavy true story about his life. The book is about how Jarrett was born and his relationship with his addict mother, absent father and the rest of his family. I am only to the part where his mother is in rehab and he moves in with his grandparents. He is still a young boy at this part and doesn't understand why his mother is gone.
Not just the words in the story are heavy but also the pictures. The drawings are a powerful part of the story and as readers it makes us feel more. When the pages go black we can tell this is a difficult time for Jarrett and an important part of the story. One quote within those black pages made me set the book down because there was so much power in the words. Jarrett says, " So I'd spin around and stare that one down. The monsters would inevitably creep closer and closer. I would spin around faster and faster, trying to stop them all, but eventually, they'd loom over me" (Jarrett 49). This is just a little piece of what is happening to this boy. This quote is only when he was in preschool!
This book is pulling me into the pages and into Jarrett's life that I struggled to write this post because I didn't want to put the book down. How does his father come into play in his life? How do his grandparents influence the way he lives? I just have to know what is next in store for Jarrett and his family. If you are like me and are unsure about graphic novels this memoir will definitely change your mind!
This book sounds really interesting. I've also never read a graphic novel, so I'd like to see what it's like. The characters sound interesting along with the pictures. The fact that they turn the page black when the character changes is something you don't see very often. I can't wait to read it this book to see how well I like graphic novels.
ReplyDeleteWow! This book sounds very unique! I have also never read a graphic novel before, but this book definitely sounds interesting. I love that it is a true story about the author's life. The fact that he was able to tell his story through an emotional graphic novel is amazing. Everyone has their own ways of expressing themselves and telling their life story and his is obviously through his writing. This book sounds like an emotional roller coaster, but I definitely want to read it. I am so glad you decided to read and post about it.
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