Scan barcode
anacereading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
Succinct and heart wrenching
charliereadsalot's review against another edition
4.5
4.5 STARS
CW: racism, segregation, trauma, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), rape, torture, mention of suicide, substance abuse
This is a hard-hitting graphic novel and I think it should be a compulsory read for everyone. We mentioned in class that knowledge about residential schools is a little more widespread nowadays because there has been some media attention etc but usually you just hear about it on the news and it's very far away.
While reading this book, the events could not stay far away, you are confronted with so many recounts of unspeakably horrible things people went through in residential schools and, at least to me personally, the final section of comics definitely made me tear up and I thought it was most effective.
I liked the concept and intermediality of this graphic novel although the beginning with all the newspaper clippings was a little hard to read. (This is also the reason I took off half a star.) Quotes by official sources and even maybe things readers might think (along the lines of "it's been a long time since things like this happened") and then the contents of that are simply proven wrong and criticized. This work also explicitly mentioned every single person's responsibility to educate themselves about events, the importance of recognizing repercussions in the present that are due to what happened in the past.
I also loved that in the comic section Blackfoot (as far as I deduced) was used and sometimes the English translations were really hard to see within the pictures which I was unbothered by.
After reading this I'm also committing myself to finding more Indigenous authors to read and resources to educate myself because I must admit my knowledge about Indigenous people and the different First Nation tribes is very limited and still majorly informed by all the stereotypes that prevail.
CW: racism, segregation, trauma, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), rape, torture, mention of suicide, substance abuse
This is a hard-hitting graphic novel and I think it should be a compulsory read for everyone. We mentioned in class that knowledge about residential schools is a little more widespread nowadays because there has been some media attention etc but usually you just hear about it on the news and it's very far away.
While reading this book, the events could not stay far away, you are confronted with so many recounts of unspeakably horrible things people went through in residential schools and, at least to me personally, the final section of comics definitely made me tear up and I thought it was most effective.
I liked the concept and intermediality of this graphic novel although the beginning with all the newspaper clippings was a little hard to read. (This is also the reason I took off half a star.) Quotes by official sources and even maybe things readers might think (along the lines of "it's been a long time since things like this happened") and then the contents of that are simply proven wrong and criticized. This work also explicitly mentioned every single person's responsibility to educate themselves about events, the importance of recognizing repercussions in the present that are due to what happened in the past.
I also loved that in the comic section Blackfoot (as far as I deduced) was used and sometimes the English translations were really hard to see within the pictures which I was unbothered by.
After reading this I'm also committing myself to finding more Indigenous authors to read and resources to educate myself because I must admit my knowledge about Indigenous people and the different First Nation tribes is very limited and still majorly informed by all the stereotypes that prevail.
ladykatka's review against another edition
5.0
There are few books that can express the horror of residential schools in a way that can be easily understood by young and old, native and non-native alike. This is able to capture past and present through brilliant use of colour and black and white panels. it conveys tragic emotion as well as a feeling of helplessness. I want to have my students study this book as I believe everyone should read it.
usernameinvalid's review
5.0
This book is an important part of our history told in unique and vulnerable way.
lilcoppertop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
rachelmansmckenny's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. A mixture of interview, hypothetical question, and cartoon exploring Canada's residential school era and the horrible, long lasting side effects. Worth checking out, and worth considering if looking for a way to bring that history to the high school classroom.