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Title details for The Blue Road by Wayde Compton - Available

The Blue Road

A Fable of Migration

by Wayde Compton
April dela Noche Milne
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
In this stunning graphic novel, Lacuna is a girl without a family, a past, or a proper home. She lives alone in a swamp made of ink, but with the help of Polaris, a will-o'-the-wisp, she embarks for the fabled Northern Kingdom, where she might find people like her. The only way to get there, though, is to travel the strange and dangerous Blue Road that stretches to the horizon like a mark upon a page. Along the way, Lacuna must overcome trials such as the twisted briars of the Thicket of Tickets and the intractable guard at the Rainbow Border. At the end of her treacherous journey, she reaches a city where memory and vision can be turned against you, in a world of dazzling beauty, divisive magic, and unlikely deliverance. Finally, Lacuna learns that leaving, arriving, returning — they're all just different words for the same thing: starting all over again.
The Blue Road — the first graphic novel by acclaimed poet and prose writer Wayde Compton and illustrator April dela Noche Milne — explores the world from a migrant's perspective with dreamlike wonder.
Ages 14 and up.


This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 22, 2019

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781551527789
    Kindle restrictions

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      December 13, 2019

      Gr 7 Up-In this rich allegory about migration, a young woman named Lacuna has grown up alone in the Great Swamp of Ink. One day, a will-o-wisp appears and tells her that she was never allowed to live there. But by cleverly outsmarting the creature, Lacuna convinces it to spare her life. The will-o-wisp takes Lacuna to the edge of the forest, and she sets off north, to a kingdom where she hopes to make a life for herself. Along the way, she learns about the concept of borders and about the violent laws used to enforce them. She soon comes to understand the ways people in the kingdom separate from one another, as well. Lacuna's journey is rife with symbolism, as is the history of the kingdom and its treatment of its people. Featuring sumptuous colors and fluid line work, the blue-tinged artwork is breathtaking in detail, each panel a gorgeous portrait in its own right. Lyrical, at-times mystical writing lends a dreamy tone. The story is light on characterization, like a mixture of a graphic novel and a picture book. The multitude of metaphors might fly over the heads of younger readers, however-though they will be engaged if guided along by an older comics fan. VERDICT A sumptuous tale that will have thoughtful readers seriously grappling with issues such as migration and borders.-Matisse Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

      Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from November 1, 2019
      A journey from swampy nothingness to fulfillment. Lacuna knows her own name and little else. She cannot remember living anywhere other than the Great Swamp of Ink, where she senses that she is being watched. Polaris, a will-o'-the-wisp and magical guardian of the swamp, gives her a choice: Leave or die. Before heading north, Lacuna fills two gourds with swamp ink and soon encounters the Thicket of Tickets, where a forest of "admit one" tickets stands between her and the blue road leading to the Northern Kingdom. Once she emerges from the thicket and embarks upon the blue road, Lacuna realizes her trials are only beginning. Taking cues from The Wizard of Oz, Compton (The Outer Harbour, 2015, etc.) draws parallels between the confusing journey migrants face and Lacuna's journey. Compton's characters are intriguing; brown-skinned, curly-black-haired Lacuna is wily, smart, inventive, and empathetic, and her internal battles are thought-provoking. Her own resourcefulness and the different objects she gathers allow her to persevere in her perilous pilgrimage. Milne's (The Imperfect Garden, 2019, etc.) loose illustrations are colorful, featuring many gradations of blues, greens, and browns, and effectively convey the intensity of the journey. As the story leaves unanswered questions, it begs for a sequel. Characters are diverse, ranging in skin tone from beige to dark brown. A touching allegory of the unexpected and burdensome trials of migration. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
Kindle restrictions

subjects

Languages

  • English

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