Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Ichiro by Ryan Inzana –NO

Inzana, Rayn Ichiro 288 pgs. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2014. $12.99 GRAPHIC NOVEL
Ichiro is a New York city kid who has war on his mind, his dad having died in Iraq and having been in the city during the September 11 attacks. Now he and his mother are moving to her native Japan to live with their grandfather. When he mistakes a god for a raccoon, Ichiro is caught up in the world of the gods and their battles. Ichiro starts to learn more about the nature of war and mankind.
I can see the ultimate point of this book, the exploration of human nature, but it felt like that had to be pulled from a whirlwind of confusing plots. I was ok for the first few chapter but it rapidly becomes quite convoluted, even with my familiarity with the Japanese gods, I found myself quickly confused. When Ichiro enters the world of the gods, I finally lost all grip on what was going on in the story. The artwork wasn’t my favorite and I found it just added to the confusion of the story, especially in the world of the gods, as one side was impossible to tell from the other, maybe that was the point though right? 
HS  –NO Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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