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teresaalice's review
5.0
What a lovely little book. The little details, the picture, the writing. The story. Eliot Dionisi has been sent to Point Aconi on the east coast of Nova Scotia for the summer when he's 12 years old. At first, he thinks it's a punishment, but as the summer carries on, and he becomes used to and even love the slow way of life there, his whole attitude to the place, and the world, changes.
bratatouille's review
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
This middle-grade book uses illustrations and text formatting to create a truly impactful ergodic novel. Almost-thirteen-year-old Elliot embodied the curious insecurity of that time period. The imagery is mildly unsettling in a way that adds to the rundown, small town, unknown atmosphere of the foreign Point Aconti. The story touches on large themes for a middle-grade story and manages to handle them with a touch of bough gruffness and grace. Viva is a wonderful voice to have in children’s literature for both kids and adults. As a sidenote, I adore books where the children who like to read aren’t shoehorned into a mousey and bookish demeanor!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse
wandering_turtle's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sopranie_19's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
lauren_endnotes's review
5.0
A touching and timeless coming-of-age story, with an Eastern Canada [lobster?] flavor!
I loved this story of Eliot, who reluctantly spends his summer break with his great uncle on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Eliot's has an authentic voice throughout the novel; Viva captured that awkward 12/13-year-old age span with all its sensitivity, awkwardness, and growing self-awareness. I appreciated that Viva brought in larger themes of social justice and awareness too - not only is Eliot learning more about himself, but he learns about family secrets and histories, exploitation and degradation of land, and relationships of trust. It's a social awakening for him.
AND THE ART!
This book is hard to categorize as a graphic novel or comic. It has more text, with several beautiful drawings in muted colors tones (pink, dark green, and the yellow as you see on the cover) in the margins, or set inside of the text. The text is designed and configured in many different patterns, including swirls, staircases, circles, and diagonally down the page. Viva artistically renders the words as beautifully as he sketches a visual scene.
I loved this story of Eliot, who reluctantly spends his summer break with his great uncle on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Eliot's has an authentic voice throughout the novel; Viva captured that awkward 12/13-year-old age span with all its sensitivity, awkwardness, and growing self-awareness. I appreciated that Viva brought in larger themes of social justice and awareness too - not only is Eliot learning more about himself, but he learns about family secrets and histories, exploitation and degradation of land, and relationships of trust. It's a social awakening for him.
AND THE ART!
This book is hard to categorize as a graphic novel or comic. It has more text, with several beautiful drawings in muted colors tones (pink, dark green, and the yellow as you see on the cover) in the margins, or set inside of the text. The text is designed and configured in many different patterns, including swirls, staircases, circles, and diagonally down the page. Viva artistically renders the words as beautifully as he sketches a visual scene.
becsstrom's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mom2qam's review
4.0
Unique illustrations to go along with a coming of age story line. I enjoyed this book and appreciated the author's ability to paint a picture for me as I read.
showthisbooksomelove's review
4.0
This book really evoked mirror feelings as those it was trying to explain. I didn’t enjoy the beginning and found the pictures and word art annoying and confusing, but by the end my opinion on the book had entirely flipped around. I no longer found the images distracting and enjoyed the plot full-heartedly.
Eliot heads to Point Aconi for the summer to spend time on a fishing boat with his Uncle Earl and get out of the city. Once there, he meets a bunch of kids and hears folk legends about all the older adults, learns to like lobster and fish like a pro. He also learns things about the people he’s around that he would’ve never expected, and what he chooses to do with that knowledge shows a lot about his personal growth. A charming coming of age story with some real depth, this book was a beautiful read about the struggles of summer and the heartbreak that can come from each new adventure.
Eliot heads to Point Aconi for the summer to spend time on a fishing boat with his Uncle Earl and get out of the city. Once there, he meets a bunch of kids and hears folk legends about all the older adults, learns to like lobster and fish like a pro. He also learns things about the people he’s around that he would’ve never expected, and what he chooses to do with that knowledge shows a lot about his personal growth. A charming coming of age story with some real depth, this book was a beautiful read about the struggles of summer and the heartbreak that can come from each new adventure.
moggmogg's review
4.0
Eliot is sent to spend the summer with his great uncle in no-whereville (Point Aconi), Nova Scotia. He is not excited at all to be living with a grumpy old man and getting up at the break of dawn to work on the fishing boat during his vacation. Over the course of the summer, Eliot discovers that Point Aconi is not so bad even with the bullies and maggots; when he makes some friends and has some great adventures. But when he learns a secret about a friend he must decide what to do about it and has some painful growing up to do. ES/MS summer, relationships, family, Canada, abuse