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mattyb's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia
ctsquirrel's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Xenophobia
Minor: War and Violence
emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is one of the best books I have ever read, probably my favourite graphic novel of all time, and my second favourite book of 2022 so far. The use of parallelism to convey the story’s message is simply stunning. We begin in Havana where a rich, vibrant colour palette is used, where any signage or music is in Spanish. The weather is warm, the plant life thriving, and Marisol is surrounded by her books and culture. As Marisol travels by plane to NYC, the colour literally leeches out of the page. Suddenly, we are in a world of black and white. Everything is in English; it is cold and so the plants have all died; there are no books in Marisol’s foster home and no connection to her culture remains. Castellanos masterfully heightened the contrast between Marisol’s “before” and “after” which magnifies the sense of loss (of herself, of her family, of her culture) that the narrative conveys. (Even the TITLE embodies this; “Isla to Island” showing the loss of Spanish.)
Colour continues to be used in a beautiful way as Marisol begins finding bits of joy in her new life (through the rediscovery of plants, books, and her culture) and so corresponding bits of colour is added back into the illustrations.
The wordlessness of the graphic novel is done really well. I could understand everything perfectly. But also, this was a genius choice. It showed how art goes beyond language barriers in telling stories. It also proved the point that a graphic novel does not (and should not) need to be wordy in order to be effective. But most significantly, it meant that the only two lines of dialogue were given so much importance. When saying goodbye in Cuba, Marisol’s mother says “Tú eres Marisol.” In New York, Marisol loses all sense of herself. At the point where she has rediscovered herself, and all colour has been added back into the illustrations, Marisol says “I’m Marisol.” It’s the best parallel of all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Colonisation, Deportation, Racism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia
Major: forced separation from family Moderate: explosions, menstruationtahsintries's review against another edition
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Xenophobia
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