Dong Hwa Kim (1) (1950–)

While the notes at the end of the book laud this as a feminist work, I can't totally agree. Ehwa and her mother live on their own and are totally self-sufficient, but other than talking about puberty, they spend most of their time discussing boys and men. (This is a shout-out to my YAAers who introduced me to the Bechdel test!) Regardless, the graphics were so expressive that even though they were in black and white, I saw each frame in color. So much emotion was over the top, but it totally sucked me in. I have already requested the next book in the series.… (meer)

First in a trilogy, this is very much a coming-of-age novel about Ehwa, who ages from about age 5 to 13 in this installment. She lives with her widowed mother, who runs a tavern. Ehwa's mother has a boyfriend-of sorts, a traveling artist who stops buy irregularly. Ehwa is a bit younger/more naive than her friend Bongsoon. Ehwa likes both a young monk-in-training and the local landowner's son (who Bongsoon has her eyes on). This is a sweet story, but I was surprised the author is male.

The drawings in this are amazing. They are single-color, small and large panels. The flora drawings are both important to the story and so amazing. Kim's facial expressions are also very well done.

I will be reading #2 of 3 in the near future!… (meer)