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oliviatate 's review for:
The Outside Circle
by Patti Laboucane-Benson
“Let me tell you a story”
If any of you follow Ashley from “saidthestory” you might know that she, along with the help of a few other booktubers, started the “Read-eh-thon” for Canada day. There were challenges, prizes and suggestions all related to Canadian literature.
One of those challenges happened to be “read a book by an indigenous author”, which made me realize – ever since high school any books I’ve read by indigenous authors were completely accidental.
One of the books she suggested to complete the challenge was The Outside Circle and since I’m always look to read more diversely I figured I’d give it a shot and I ended up being one of the best books I’ve read this year.
This graphic novel follows two Aboriginal brothers and how they survive surrounded by poverty, drug abuse and gang violence while trying to overcome centuries of historic trauma in order to turn their lives around.
I think what really made me enjoy this movie was the use of graphics. For example, when the mother is forced to sign her children into foster care (due to her drug use) the contract describes the centuries of abuse Natives have suffered and how it has led them into lives of poverty and drug use.
When Pete is involved in a fight, there is an image of his blood dripping down his arm, but it spells out facts of about aboriginal youths and their involvement in gangs.
When Joey is separated from his mother the page is shattered into a bunch of small images surrounded by facts and figures about poverty in the Native community.
And I loved that because it wasn’t just facts being thrown at you. They were separate from the main story but still present enough to make an impact.
And the illustrator also uses the smoke from “smudging” and traditional masks to show how certain events impact Pete and lead to either positive or negative changes.
So if you, like me, are interested in adding some diversity to your reading list, or are just looking for a really well-done comic book I would highly recommend picking this up.
If any of you follow Ashley from “saidthestory” you might know that she, along with the help of a few other booktubers, started the “Read-eh-thon” for Canada day. There were challenges, prizes and suggestions all related to Canadian literature.
One of those challenges happened to be “read a book by an indigenous author”, which made me realize – ever since high school any books I’ve read by indigenous authors were completely accidental.
One of the books she suggested to complete the challenge was The Outside Circle and since I’m always look to read more diversely I figured I’d give it a shot and I ended up being one of the best books I’ve read this year.
This graphic novel follows two Aboriginal brothers and how they survive surrounded by poverty, drug abuse and gang violence while trying to overcome centuries of historic trauma in order to turn their lives around.
I think what really made me enjoy this movie was the use of graphics. For example, when the mother is forced to sign her children into foster care (due to her drug use) the contract describes the centuries of abuse Natives have suffered and how it has led them into lives of poverty and drug use.
When Pete is involved in a fight, there is an image of his blood dripping down his arm, but it spells out facts of about aboriginal youths and their involvement in gangs.
When Joey is separated from his mother the page is shattered into a bunch of small images surrounded by facts and figures about poverty in the Native community.
And I loved that because it wasn’t just facts being thrown at you. They were separate from the main story but still present enough to make an impact.
And the illustrator also uses the smoke from “smudging” and traditional masks to show how certain events impact Pete and lead to either positive or negative changes.
So if you, like me, are interested in adding some diversity to your reading list, or are just looking for a really well-done comic book I would highly recommend picking this up.