Loved looking at the pictures. Still not sure how much I go for graphic novels but liked this the best so far. ( )

Loved looking at the pictures. Still not sure how much I go for graphic novels but liked this the best so far. ( )

Moody piece about a Kentucky firefighter who rescues a Mexican illegal immigrant during a particularly powerful storm. They share a love of country and a moment of peace. Nice watercolor illustrations of the storm and the rural landscape. ( )

This graphic novel probably would have been two stars except for the fact that it takes place in Oldham County, Kentucky, my hometown. So it was nice to see the town of Crestwood and the North Oldham Fire Department featured. The plot seemed very simple and if you read the description of the book, you get the entire story. Rafi, one of the main characters, is an undocumented worker from Mexico, His journey across the border is guided by "coyotes," whom the author depicts as men with coyote heads. The American border guards ride pigs and accept bribes to allow their passage into the US. The other main character is Ursa, a female firefighter who is sexually harassed on the job by her brother and other co-workers, and protects Rafi. Even though it was a tragic story, I felt little connection with the characters. I always felt that a graphic novel should be able to tell the story with the illustrations and evoke emotions with the same. I did not think that these illustrations did that. Even though it was a tragic story, I felt little connection or empathy with the characters. ( )

The Basics

Ursa is a female firefighter who doesn’t have the respect of her fellow firefighters, including her brother. Rafi is an illegal immigrant who gets blamed for a crime Ursa committed in a fit of rage. With their paths crossing, their lives will be forever changed.

My Thoughts

Even my summary up there sounded gooey and pretentious, which just couldn’t be helped, because this book bleeds pretension. It wants to say something important. It wants to resonate so badly. A book should never feel as if it’s screaming for you to care, because it’s such a repulsive feeling, I fight it with every step. It’s like watching a movie that is clearly gunning for an Oscar, and it makes you cringe with the intentional weight of it.

I didn’t even care for the art style like I’d hoped. It was all very gestural, which is fine, but not to my tastes. There were moments when it was hard for me to tell what was happening, because the drawings weren’t clear. If you’re going to tell a visual story, it’s paramount you get your point across in your drawings, so I have to say that it failed on that level.

The story wasn’t bad, but it definitely didn’t go in the direction I would’ve wanted it to. It sets itself up for intrigue, and there is none. There could’ve been some very explosive drama, and there wasn’t. It just quietly petered out, and I felt robbed. There was a powerful story here, and a much weaker one was the story that got told.

If anything, I think my rating is for the setup. Otherwise, it should be skipped.

Final Rating

2/5 ( )