Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano
Sourcebooks / Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: August 7, 2018
ISBN: 9781492665823
Ebo and his older brother, Kwame, leave Northern Africa, seeking refuge and their sister in Europe. Crossing the blazing desert by foot and rough Mediterranean seas on an inflatable boat, there is no guarantee of their survival.
The gloomy cover image of a boat crossing a choppy sea by only the light of the moon sets the tone for this graphic novel, with the title grabbing attention in bright yellow. The ripped from the headlines topic of immigrants and refugees prevails daily on televised and internet news. Ebo and Kwame are a relatable character duo and readers will empathize with their plight. Told in alternating “then” and “now” chapters, the challenges of both the desert and the sea are depicted candidly, with devastating authenticity. The illustrator uses light, setting, and facial expressions often to reinforce the atmosphere the boys are experiencing. Readers will no doubt keep turning pages quickly to find out what happens to these courageous brothers.
Continue reading #QP2019 Nominees Round Up, August 14 Edition
Last weekend the Avengers returned to save the world and entertain us with their witty banter. We last saw them battle against Loki and the Chitauri he brought to Earth via a wormhole in New York City. Now they are facing Ultron, an artificial intelligence bent on ridding Earth of humanity. It’s been three years since the Avengers had to assemble to fight another big bad. Obviously they must have had some serious down time to focus on their reading. Last time the Avengers fought evil, The Hub provided a 
aptain America first started fighting evil back in the time of World War II. Since then he has tried to acquaint himself with the events that have occurred, particularly in pop culture as Tony Stark is quick to fire off a reference or two. In order for Cap to find some kind of camaraderie in his predicament, I would recommend Eoin Colfer’s W.A.R.P. series, starting with book one, The Reluctant Assassin. In this book, Riley is pulled from his home in Victorian London along with his mentor Garrick, a dangerous assassin, to help the modern-day FBI capture Garrick before he finds his way back to his own time. While Cap and Riley come from different time periods, Cap can definitely relate to the out of place feeling.
being the best, he loves the ladies, and he loves his ability to buy everything. As we know from the first Ironman movie, his interests expanded when he was captured in Afghanistan. This is why I decided to give Stark The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith. This is a fairly new book which tells three different stories. The first story belongs to Ariel, a Middle Eastern teenage boy who is adopted by an American scientist and his wife. The second story is Ariel and his adopted brother Max at summer camp. The third story tells of the ill-fated crew of a ship called The Alex Crow which was sailing in the Arctic Ocean. The three stories eventually intertwine in a way that Stark would find quite intriguing. I’ll leave the discovery of the connection to you..no spoilers! 
