This particularly smart delineation of Pelé has it all: his career, his blunders, decency, and goodness. And his gift.
Soccer great Pelé’s story has been told far, wide, and well, but Simon and Brascaglia provide the full context—its cultural, economic, political, and physical geography—it deserves.
Pelé—there simply isn’t a more recognizable word in the world of soccer. His numbers alone are absurd, and his ball handling appeared to be controlled by some anti-gravitational device. Then there’s his attitude, his radiant smile—in a key early moment, the book shows how his father, an ex-pro, was a major influence on nurturing his natural gifts and teaching him how to find gratitude in his talent. The graphic panels have a range of moods and energy, the gloaming of the barrio of Três Corações, Brazil, with its plum reds and burnt browns, contrasting with the great, glittering stadiums. But in these panels, too, will be found the class differences that sunder Brazil, the political chicanery, corruption, and anti-democratic violence, along with the CIA’s cooperation therein. Pelé, to his abiding credit, disassociated himself from the Brazilian national team as a gesture against the violent junta ruling the country. The book doesn’t shy from his few rather unfortunate missteps of his own—personal ones as well as distasteful comments about soccer’s governing body and the building of the stadium in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
This particularly smart delineation of Pelé has it all: his career, his blunders, decency, and goodness. And his gift. (Graphic biography. 8-16)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-755-7
Page Count: 146
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.
Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.
Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself.
Middle school drama hits hard in this coming-of-age graphic memoir.
Natural competitor Misty has faced off against the boys for years, always coming out on top, but now they’re moving on without her into the land of full-contact football. Never one to back away from a challenge, Misty resolves to join the team and convinces her best friend, Bree, to join her. While Misty pours herself into practicing, obviously uninterested Bree—who was motivated more by getting to be around boys than doing sports—drifts toward popular queen bee Ava, creating an uneasy dynamic. Feeling estranged from Bree, Misty, who typically doesn’t think much about her appearance, tries to navigate seventh grade—even experimenting with a more traditionally feminine gender expression—while also mastering her newfound talent for tackling and facing hostility from some boys on the team. Readers with uncommon interests will relate to the theme of being the odd one out. Social exclusion and cutting remarks can be traumatic, so it’s therapeutic to see Misty begin to embrace her differences instead of trying to fit in with frenemies who don’t value her. The illustrations are alive with color and rich emotional details, pairing perfectly with the heartfelt storytelling. The husband-and-wife duo’s combined efforts will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale. Main characters present as White; some background characters read as Black.
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself. (Graphic memoir. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-306469-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
