Reviews with content warning for Racism - This Place: 150 Years Retold

Really, just an amazing anthology, especially for someone who doesn't know much about Canadian history or the First Nations peoples. Each story brought to life the spirit and struggle of people who've been fighting for the right to exist. I really enjoyed the different art styles across the novel, and the brief window into different cultures each story provided. The myriad of authors and artists for this project - as well as a detailed bibliography in the back - makes a perfect jumping-off point for discovering more indigenous stories and history. I borrowed this from the library, but I'm definitely going to get my hands on a physical copy.

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spinesinaline's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

This was a beautiful collection and I think the first collaborative graphic novel collection I’ve ever read. It was so cool to see all the different styles of art and colours, even from the same artist in different stories.

I also loved that it was so personal, with each author sharing what inspired them to write the story before we got into it. It provides context and a connection between the author and their characters as well as with the reader as it instills more importance in why this story is important to tell.

While I was familiar with some events like the potlatch ban, Sixties Scoop, protests over the pipelines, and identification tags for Inuit, there were many names I was unfamiliar with so I’m grateful for this introduction and inspired to learn more about each of these stories!

Also glad that I’ve now got many more authors and illustrators on my list to check out their other works! I’ve previously read Katherena Vermette and David A. Robertson, and have several others already on my TBR, so always happy to see their names come up.

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shieldbearer's review

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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sidbookreviews's review

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challenging informative fast-paced

5.0

Wow, this book is so good. This Place: 150 Years Retold is a gorgeous, informative and powerful graphic novel anthology that showcases lush illustrations, storytelling and Indigenous resistance throughout history. This is exactly the type of book I wish I had in my classrooms growing up. I think a lot of times we learn about history in Canadian classrooms not only through a lens that doesn’t centre Indigenous voices the way it should, but that also doesn’t teach about the individual stories of marginalized people, the things they accomplished, and their communities. I could probably count on only one hand the number of times I have learned, in-depth, about the story, impact and life of someone who is not a white man in school. I think This Place does exactly the opposite in that it showcases Indigenous creators and tells the stories of real people, their lives, activism and accomplishments in an immersive way. The graphic novel style is super accessible and engaging for audiences of all ages, and I think there is really something for everyone in this book, as there are so many diverse genres, illustration styles and stories represented. Some of my favourite stories from this anthology are Tilted Ground, Peggy, Nimkii and Like a Razor Slash, but all of them are fantastic. This Place takes the reader on a journey through history, telling the story of 150+ years of genocide, colonialism and Indigenous resistance in what is now Canada. It brings life to Indigenous stories, history and historical figures in an extremely powerful and impactful way, and I can’t recommend it enough.

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betweentheshelves's review

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emotional informative fast-paced

4.0

Each of the stories in this book includes a timeline highlighting important events for the Native Canadian population, which means I learned a lot! This is a nonfiction graphic novel, so it reads different than fiction, which isn't a bad thing. For me, it just means slowing down to ensure that I really get everything that the book is offering.

For the most part, I enjoyed the art styles in this book and the writing helped in bringing these events to life. If you want to incorporate more Native history into a classroom, I think this book would work really well!

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