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A review by lauren_endnotes
Sea Change: A Toon Graphic by Frank Viva
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.