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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier


Ever since I read Raina Telgemeier's Drama, I was enamored by her illustrations. I loved Drama. I read Smile next and loved that too. Then I read her Baby Sitter's Club graphic novels (even though I hadn't read the original books nor wanted to) and I loved those too. Then I sat waiting for her Sisters to come. I had the book penciled in my calendar against its release date and I just had to wait patiently, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the book to to get released. But when I saw it listed on NetGalley, I had to request it right away.


Sisters


Sisters is being advertised as a sequel to Smile, but you don't have to read Smile to be able to follow Sisters. Since I had already read SmileSisters was like a return to a family I enjoyed reading about so much. When Raina was fourteen and her sister, Amara, nine, they go on a road trip along with their six year old brother, Will, and their mother, from California to Colorado. Their road trip turns out to be as eventful as you would expect it to be with three restless kids in the car, two of whom, Raina and Amara, have something to fight about every five minutes. But when they arrive at Colorado, after about a week, their cousins aren't exactly the playmates they hoped to meet.




There is a lot to love in Sisters. For one, the sibling rivalry is something almost anyone will relate to. All that meaningless bickering, the apparent disregard for one another's feelings, the desire to win any argument, and the secret wish to feel accepted by the other is both humorous and endearing to read about. Raina is at an age where makeup and looks are a big deal. Amara is at an age where all that pretty business is a bucket load of crap. They obviously don't see eye to eye.

The narration of the road trip is interspersed with a lot of flashback, starting with toddler Raina's deepest wish to have a baby sister only to be very disappointed by how long it would take the baby Amara to be old enough to play with her and how often the baby bawled. Anti-climax. These flashbacks were quite adorable to read - they did get along a lot better when they were very little, only to have sporadic fights now and then, and later full-blown arguments over everything.

If you haven't read any of Telgemeier's books, you are missing a whole lot. Even newbie comic book readers will enjoy the clear beautiful art, the humor lacing the book, and the sibling wars. Sisters releases on August 26th in the US, but if you don't have your hands on this book yet, there's Smile and Drama to fall in love with.

I received this book for free for review from the publisher, Scholastic Graphix, via NetGalleySisters by Raina Telgemeier releases in the US on August 26th.

Comments

bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
I just read this last night and thought it was terrific!
JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing said…
It's been too long since my last graphic novel. You've convinced me to try this author!
Ti Reed said…
My daughter found one of her books at the library and has since read two of them. I asked for a review copy of this one but haven't received it. I am not doing well in the ARC department these days.


Back to the book though. This author got my kid to read. I thank her for that.
Athira / Aths said…
So glad that you liked this too!
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you like this when you do get to read it. It is a really fun and awesome read.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to read it too. I'm glad that your daughter loves her
books too. The comics are really refreshing and cute, and something even adults can read and relate to, easily.
Sheila DeChantal said…
I enjoy this author but have not read this one yet!
Somehow still haven't read anything by Raina Telgemeier! I love reading about sisters, and I'm looking forward to giving one of her books a try.
literaryfeline said…
This sounds like a great book. I haven't read anything by Telgemeier before. It's been ages since I last read a graphic novel at all.
Athira / Aths said…
Doesn't this author write the most awesome graphic books?
Athira / Aths said…
If you like graphic novels, then this one is hard not to enjoy. It's also very relatable and fun.
Athira / Aths said…
Oh you should try this then! It's so much fun and laugh-out-loud funny!