Reviews

Borders by Thomas King

lachelle45's review against another edition

hopeful informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ginameix's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book offers a good snippet into a larger conversation about borders, citizenship, and native nations. Good for middle grade readers, this book offers a bite size story that will be comprehensible to middle grade readers without much outside context. It would be a good choice for a book club as there are many topics that can be expanded upon with other sources and conversations. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Colonisation

24marsha's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent! This will be a great classroom resource that I can’t wait to use because the setting is right where I live, the topic is so interesting and important to discuss, and the format makes it very accessible to all my students. Amazing illustrations that make ‘reading the pictures’ a real joy!!

jwinchell's review against another edition

3.0

This is the story of a Blackfoot boy and his mother who try to cross the border from Canada to the US to visit his sister who moved to Salt Lake City. The story of the crossing is a bit tedious, just because the mom had to be so persistent, so it’s interspersed with flashbacks to when his sister was home and wanted to move away. I wish there was an author’s note about indigenous people who don’t claim a nationality and the issue of border crossing.

meaganmart's review against another edition

3.0

As an adult, I enjoyed Borders. I thought it told a wonderful and necessary story about how Indigenous Americans and Canadians often have to forgo their relationship to their Indigenous culture and history to "fit in" to the boxes forced on them by majority power groups. My students, however, might need a little more historical and cultural context to feel the full impact of this graphic novel. We live in the Southern United States, but almost none of my children are familiar with border crossings or with the historical context of how tribes were divided across country lines or how the citizenship of Indigenous communities is awarded. This is the context that I can help provide as their librarian, but it would be nice for a little of this information to be included as they were reading!

tatireading's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

daniellemohlman's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

burnourhistory's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

melinda1962's review

3.0

3.5 I’m not going to pretend I understand why the MC was so stubborn at both the Canadian and American borders. But I do understand why this book has such an important topic concerning Indigenous peoples. I enjoyed the story and art work. The mother frustrated me though.

rpultorak's review

challenging funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0