Mariko Tamaki

This is a messy tale and I intend that as a compliment. It's so in that it has elements and characters that twist and swirl, much like real life does when things go badly awry. All Todd wanted was to survive and maybe make a friend. Instead, he froze to death in a ravine at the end of a park. Once you know this, you're grabbed by the collar and hauled along in alternating viewpoints, Todd's as a ghost and Georgia's as a girl also trying to get by and maybe have a true friend. The deeper you show more read into their views of events, the more you can't help but have empathy for both. as well as for the teacher who did his best to help Todd, but ended up getting kicked in the teeth for his efforts. The ending isn't surprising, but is one that makes sense. LBGTQ teens will find plenty in this book, and it's one that most libraries should own. show less

Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki’s Roaming tells the story of Zoe and Dani, Canadian first-year college students who were friends in high school and arrange to meet up in New York City to fulfil a childhood dream of visiting the city. Joining them is Dani’s classmate Fiona, an art student who affects a too-cool-for-you attitude and seems more confident than them both. Zoe, recently discovering more about her identity, begins to crush on Fiona, who enjoys the attention and begins show more monopolizing Zoe’s time to the point that Dani often finds herself on her own. Their trip reveals how Zoe and Dani have begun to grow apart, though they work to maintain their friendship.

Set in 2009, the story also represents a time capsule of being a tourist at that time including printed-out MapQuest directions, limited Wi-Fi connections, concerns about roaming charges and cell phone use, as well as the need to make detailing rendezvous plans as one cannot necessarily text to find their companion’s location. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki perfectly capture the uncertainties and insecurities of being 19. In addition to the narrative strengths, the art is gorgeous, using expressionist styles to evoke the montages of a road trip film. show less

The graphic novel This One Summer is like a visually fleshed out novella, featuring contrasting themes of unwanted teen pregnancy and a mother's unfulfilled desire to have another child. We watch it unfold through the eyes of two pre-teen friends on their annual summer vacation in cottages near Awago Beach. Rose is on the cusp of teenage-ness, and both she and Windy are wondering about things like sex, boobs, pregnancy and so on. At the same time, they still like to play at the beach and show more while away the summer hours. The local video rental is staffed by two teen boys willing to rent them "R" horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, which become their shared secret night-time entertainment.

They are fascinated by the local teens and study them, including an apparently pregnant and angry young girl and her skeptical, responsibility-dodging boyfriend. At the same time, Rose's mother is mourning the miscarriage loss of a desired second child, as her marriage to Rose's father frays.

An unusual story for graphic treatment, beautifully carried out by the Tamaki cousins. They manage to convey that long lazy feeling of summer along with these potentially explosive personal dilemmas, all viewed through the eyes of two young friends edging toward adulthood. The graphic treatment allows entry into the girls' world in a mesmerizing and convincing way. show less

Harleen Quinzel is the brash, unlikely heroine of her own folk tale. Shades of Batman (The Joker appears) and set in mythical Gotham, Harleen lands in Gotham only to find her grandmother dead and gone and her apartment inhabited by a motley crew of gays / transients / homeless. Harleen finds herself fighting for her friends (hilariously earnest Ivy) and surrogate family (incl. grand 'queen' Mama... an aging transsexaul.) They face eviction by Kane, Inc. in a sweeping neighborhood renewal / show more gentrification movement. Harleen (harlequin, get it?) is not a deep thinker (the world, to her consists of "angels" and "demons" and the worst thing is to be a "booger." What she lacks in articulation, she makes up for with energy and determination. the book ends on a cliff-hanger as Harleen prepares to face off with The Joker. Terrific art, engrossing; plot, healthy dose of politics and social consciousness = a great graphic novel. show less