The Tale of One Bad Rat / Bryan Talbot

The Tale of One Bad Rat is a graphic novel by Bryan Talbot about a runaway teen girl who is trying to survive on the streets of London and as she travels in the English countryside. Helen carries a pet rat on some of her journey and she is apparently tracing a path followed by Beatrix Potter at one point in her life. Helen tries to avoid religious zealots, groping-drunk politicians and prostitutes. Helen also has hallucinations about dying or being in dangerous situations. Helen is fleeing an abusive father and harassing mother and she meets plenty of kind people in her travels, but she has a hard time trusting some of her new friends.

The Tale of One Bad Rat is an emotional and thought provoking story. It doesn’t tread lightly on the nature of sexual abuse or living on the street. Helen faces many dangers and has a huge mental obstacle to navigate in overcoming the guilty she feels from being abused. The illustrations in the story support the text, by showing the girls physical circumstances, her hallucinations, and instilling a mood over each scene in the story. Bryan Talbot has written and important story for anyone who needs to know about child abuse!

Talbot, B. (1995). Tales of one bad rat. Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a charming movie based on the book of the same title by Ann Brashares. The story is about four teenage girls who have been friends all of their lives. One day all four girls go shopping and they find a pair of jeans that fit all of them perfectly. This is a surprise, because not all four girls wear the same sized clothing. The girls take this find as a mystical sign and choose to share the pants for one week at a time over a summer when they will spend most of the time apart. The girls all have eventful summers and some think the pants bring good luck, while some think the pants bring bad luck.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants deals with issues that typical western teen girls have like, boyfriends, sex, family problems, and friendships. The story is not a hard edged one even though it deals with some potentially thorny issues. The girls lead fairly comfortable lives and in the end they all deal with their issues in a mostly positive manner. This is a feel good story for girls, which allows them to believe in the magic of friendship and in real magic… if they want too.

Chase, D. M. (Producer), & Kwapis, K.(Director). (2005). Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants [Motion
picture]. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, Incorporated.

American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese is a very interesting graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. The book works as three separate stories told alternately throughout the novel. All three stories come together in the last chapter when we find the characters are actually integrated with each other story. One story appears to be a Chinese legend of a monkey king who wanted to become a god, while the other two stories appear to be of a typical American teenager stories. The young adult stories are with male main characters and they include themes of racism among Asian children living in mainly white communities.

American Born Chinese is an intriguing book, because it weaves three stories that show parallels between Chinese legends and teenagers of today. All characters have a mix of desires, strengths, weaknesses and frailties which are shown in their relationships with friends, schoolmates, and the gods. American Born Chinese is interesting, because it seems to be directed toward male teens and it deals with some of their issues like dating, being bullied, anger, frustration and embarrassment. The illustrations are well done and paint extra food for young and old minds to digest while reading this excellent story.

Yang, G. L. (2006). American born Chinese. New York : First Second.

Ghost World / Daniel Clowes

Ghost World is a graphic novel by Daniel Clowes about the relationship between a couple of teenage girls. The two girls spend time at home and in their communities talking about their friends and their own lives. Enid and Rebecca spend time together complaining about their lives and the oddities of the friends and strangers who pass their paths. The girls create stories for people they see in restaurants and on the street and occasionally make prank calls. Much of their discussions are about their love lives or the lack of their conquests.


Ghost World is explicit about masturbation and sex and the girls find themselves wondering if the are lesbians or not. The language is graphic and the girls are cruel in their criticisms of friends and strangers alike. This book is probably a close parallel to the lives of some girls, but I find it very dark and depressing. This book has a place in a library if not to show that other girls have the same thoughts and concerns as the two characters in this book, but it also allows teens to look at themselves from the outside to lay a critical eye on their own thoughts and behaviours.


Glowes, D. (1997). Ghost World. Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books.

Zel / Donna Jo Napoli

Zel is a new version of the old fairy tale Rapunzel as it is imagined by Donna Jo Napoli. The tale is expanded and given more symbolic detail than the original tale. The story of Rapunzel is often modified to be more suitable for younger children, but Zel has more mature content and is suited to a young adult or adult audience.

It is not clear that Zel is the story of Rapunzel until one gets well into the book and the story gives life and imagination to the thoughts and desires of the three main characters. The themes in Zel include jealousy, deception, love, lust and desperation. The themes of this story I feel combine to produce a powerfully emotional and compelling story that I thing would be very meaningful to young adults of today.

Napoli, D. J. (1998). Zel. Toronto: Penguin Group

Hit Squad / James Heneghan

Hit Squad is another high /low book I?ve read about Mickey a tough teen who is having a tough time in his new school. Bullies have been running the roost at this school and Mickey is not the only target. Mickey gets involved with a vigilante group at school who decide to take the bullying issue into their own hands with tragic results.

Hit Squad certainly has a high level of interest and drama which would no doubt hold the attention of most teens. Bullying is a common issue for school children and if someone has been bullied then they have no doubt harbored thoughts of retribution. This story speaks to the issues of bullying and vengeance without trying to soften the issues. The story presents the main character with moral issues to deal with at every turn, which is something that teens will no doubt be able to relate.

Heneghan, J. (2003). Hit Squad. Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers

Refuge Cove / Lesley Choyce

Refuge Cove is the story of Greg a teenage boy who has just moved with his mother from Toronto to the small Newfoundland community of Deep Cove. Greg discovers some refugees one day while out sailing and he is drawn into the
drama of protecting them from what they believe are authorities that will send
them back to a dangerous homeland.

Refuge Cove is a short easy read that moves along quickly and has a high interest factor. The drama of the story keeps the interest level high while Greg's main role as a teenager makes this story appropriate and appealing for teens. The story also presents some ethical issues like; should one turn in refugees to the authorities, and how communities can pull together to help strangers. Even though this story was short and had a simple plot, it was not a simplistic book that speaks down to the reader.

Choyce, L. (2002). Refuge Cove. Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers