Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - ESSENTIAL

Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day by Dan Nott, 272 pages. NON FICTION, GRAPHIC NOVEL Random House Graphic. 2023. $14 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

This graphic novel takes a look at the "hidden systems" that run our world: electricity, the internet, and water cycles. Describing and learning about abstract things like this should be boring, but Dan Nott uses his art to help explain how things *really* work in a way that is easy to understand and also fascinating. 

Readers will learn how the internet physically connects our world, how electricity powers everything we do, and how the water cycles of the Earth demonstrate privilege, and much much more. It addresses political and environmental debates with an open mind and factual information. This is an excellent novel if you want to understand and feel smart about the things you've never understood before. I loved this book. This is a perfect example of how drawings and art can pair perfectly with words to create something that wouldn't be as good without the other. I read it quickly and ate up the explanations of things that normally seem too abstract to fully understand. This is an excellent novel for readers who don't like fiction and want to learn about real things. It's easy to read and understand so reluctant readers can feel powerful and intelligent. One of my new favorite graphic novels.  

Lisa J HS ELA Teacher