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A review by saidtheraina
Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis
4.0
I was a little nervous when I saw how thick this was.
I'm not inherently afraid of long books (librarian, obv), much less long graphic novels, but I still have this thing in my head that says that I'm not super into historical fiction. Which this definitely is.
I mean, it's fictionalized, sure, but is also heavily inspired by "the early years of Queen Elizabeth the First." I'm not an anglo-fanatic, and honestly, I try to avoid reading books by and about white people these days.
But I found this intensely readable.
We meet this kid who grows up in a very isolated convent on an island. I loved reading about the nitty-gritty details of being relatively self-sufficient in such an extreme environment (tropical island paradise, this is not). I loved reading about the dynamics of a community run by and for women. The intrigue of why Margaret is on the island in the first place added a nice layer of suspense.
Honestly, pair this with a viewing of "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" - I keep conflating them in my head. And maybe "Mary Queen of Scots" too.
Meconis' illustrations are expressive, muted, dreamy, soft, and cartoonish, all at once.
I enjoyed getting to know all the nuns (::cough cough Sister Act II fan here cough cough::).
Not every teen/person will be into this, but Meconis is solid.
I'm not inherently afraid of long books (librarian, obv), much less long graphic novels, but I still have this thing in my head that says that I'm not super into historical fiction. Which this definitely is.
I mean, it's fictionalized, sure, but is also heavily inspired by "the early years of Queen Elizabeth the First." I'm not an anglo-fanatic, and honestly, I try to avoid reading books by and about white people these days.
But I found this intensely readable.
We meet this kid who grows up in a very isolated convent on an island. I loved reading about the nitty-gritty details of being relatively self-sufficient in such an extreme environment (tropical island paradise, this is not). I loved reading about the dynamics of a community run by and for women. The intrigue of why Margaret is on the island in the first place added a nice layer of suspense.
Honestly, pair this with a viewing of "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" - I keep conflating them in my head. And maybe "Mary Queen of Scots" too.
Meconis' illustrations are expressive, muted, dreamy, soft, and cartoonish, all at once.
I enjoyed getting to know all the nuns (::cough cough Sister Act II fan here cough cough::).
Not every teen/person will be into this, but Meconis is solid.