Today's title is the second of the Lou! graphic novels, and I found it to be both entertaining and thoughtful.
Julien
Neel
Graphic
Novel
For
ages 9 to 12
Lerner
Publishing, 2012, 978-0-7613-8869-2
For
most people, the summer vacation is a time for fun. For Lou and her mother
Emma, anticipating the summer vacation has them singing their version of the blues.
Lou is upset because her best friend Mina is not going to be around, and
because the boy Lou likes (Tristan) has moved away without even saying goodbye.
Emma is unhappy because Richard, her cute neighbor, is going to be gone for the
summer and she misses him. Both Lou and Emma are “bummed” because they have to
spend a month with Memaw, Emma’s mother, and Memaw is not a warm and cuddly
person. In fact, she is often unkind and mean. And she cooks Brussels sprouts
every day.
Reluctantly, Emma and Lou get onto a train,
and all too soon they arrive at Mortsville, the village where Emma grew up and
where Memaw still lives. In no time at all, Emma and Memaw are screaming at
each other, and Lou is wishing that she could go home. In Lou’s opinion, Emma’s
situation is not that dire because Richard is writing to her. Lou doesn’t have
someone writing to her, telling her how much she is missed. In fact she feels
very lonely indeed; until she meets a very strange boy called Paul.
Almost thirteen-year-old Lou is the kind of
person that most tweens and teens can identify with. Combining humor and
poignancy, the author perfectly captures the joys and woes of growing up.
No comments:
Post a Comment