Rex Ogle

Aplayful, queer graphic novel reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery’s classic coming-of-age novel.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel Stewart-Álvarez is accustomed to a wandering life with his free-spirited, brown-skinned mother. Arriving in rural Tennessee in the spring of 1995, Dan is eager to meet his deceased father’s parents, who present white. But when he wakes up to a goodbye note from his mom, he’s devastated to have been abandoned. Kind, patient Mawmaw comforts him, sparks show more his interest in the farm, and shares his love for Dolly Parton. Rough, conservative Pawpaw is a harder nut to crack, bristling at Dan’s unusual clothing and gregarious personality. Despite facing homophobic comments at his new school and getting into a fight, Dan makes some fast friends, including Rudy, a Black girl whose liberal church community welcomes him. Dan also develops an unexpected crush on a boy who might just like him back. The dreamy, whimsical illustrations are steeped in the sweet, slow feeling of a humid East Tennessee afternoon. Pops of saturated color flood the background of some panels, highlighting emotional moments and mirroring Dan’s vibrant personality. Satisfying thematic parallels and a spirited, vulnerable carrot-topped protagonist will satisfy fans of the original, which is refreshingly remixed by Terciero’s joyfully queer spin.

An effervescent search for belonging and a heartfelt ode to a beloved classic. (content note, recipe, note about Lucy Maud Montgomery, author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 12-16)

-Kirkus Review show less

Little Women, fixed! So much better than the original novel!

Rey Terciero pulls the cast into the modern day, adds diversity, and jettisons all the awful, sexist social morals of the 19th century. And good riddance to them.

Other stuff had to go too, for space. I missed the focus on Jo's writing and the sister's plays. I was happy to see that Laurie, the little punk, was mostly sidelined.

Wisely, this graphic novel adapts only the first part of the novel, meaning the new story doesn't have to show more rush too much as it just covers a year in the life of the Marches. (Even so, some scenes are a little abrupt and awkward.) Most importantly, there is the potential for a sequel. Yes, please!

(p.s., I also recommend the new movie by Greta Gerwig. It managed to fix the flow and the ending of the novel.) show less

Anne Shirley works so well as an upbeat but temperamental gay teenaged boy with a fantastic fashion sense!

Rex Ogle (writing as Rey Terciero) mashes up elements and themes from his own hard life (definitely check out his series of memoirs about his childhood, BTW) with Canada's favorite orphan. He drops the result in the middle of Tennessee, but, shhh, don't tell Canada, because I hear they're still fuming over everything else that Trump wants to take away from them.

Dan Stewart-Alvarez gets show more dumped by his unstable and chaotic widowed mother on the grandparents he's never met at their farm on Green Gables Road. Like Anne before him, Dan overflows with imagination, stands up for himself, and slowly wins over people who initially balk at his looks and personality.

Ogle doesn't strictly adhere to L. M. Montgomery's characters and plot points, but he perfectly captures the spirit of the work while making it relevant and relatable for today's teens.

I'm impressed. show less

A brutal read as a bitter and angry woman buckles under the weight of adulthood and punches down at her son, author Rex Ogle, to feel less powerless. Ogle has his own burdens to bear as a middle schooler, but he at least tries not to repeat the cycle as he comes to terms with his own anger.

This book retroactively makes his graphic novel, Four Eyes feel weird, since this aspect of his mother is not present there, and I actually found her likable and even protective.

I plan to read the rest of show more the books in Ogle's series of memoirs. show less