Home (Home, 1)

In Home Vol. 1 writer Julio Anta, artist Anna Wieszczyk, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou tell the story of Juan Gomez and his mother Mercedes, who flee Guatemala due to gang violence and seek asylum in the United States. Mercedes’ sister has a place for them and a job lined up for Mercedes. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to them until they arrive, the political situation has changed and the Trump administration is now detaining families in cages, separating children from their parents, and inflicting all nature of cruelty in the name of white supremacy and their police state. Juan begins to demonstrate superpower abilities, leading to a revelation about his family and why he and his mother fled Guatemala in show more the first place. Anta, Wieszczyk, Valenza, and Otsmane-Elhaou use superpowers as a metaphor for the types of differences that government officials focus on in order to perpetuate white supremacist policies. Their book goes beyond simply focusing on faceless agents to include all those invested in white supremacy, including the bureaucrats, the media, and even Karens who call the authority whenever they see people of color. A great comic that uses the medium as allegory, Home Vol. 1 concludes with a reading guide, teachers’ suggestions, and reflection questions. The book would work well as a text in a political science or literature course in addition to helping more casual readers understand a serious issue. show less

I have just read Home #1 through #5 and it is fantastic. It is the story of a mother and son who leave Guatemala on foot and enter the U. S. illegally. Mercedes Gomez and eight year old Juan do not speak English and are surprised to find out the there is a new American president who has closed the border. When they left Guatemala two weeks prior, Obama was still the president. President Trump immediately changed the rules concerning immigration when he took office but Mercedes did not know about the rule changes. Throughout their first 2 weeks in America they were held in "the cage" as it was called. Later Juan was taken away and held with other kids. Shortly thereafter he was bussed to another location. Mercedes did not know where her show more son was taken and offered to return to Guatemala if she could get Juan back. However, she was told that it was too late.

While this story was sad, it has its positive moments. Soon after arriving in the US, Juan discovers that he has supernatural powers. While living with an aunt he begins to learn how to control his power. When Juan finds out that his mother will be deported, his powers get out of control again and bring devastation to . . . I'm not going to tell you. If you haven't read this comic series yet, you need to get it ASAP. It is a great story. show less

This graphic novel follows the life of a young boy from Guatemala after he has been separated from his mother at the US-Mexico border. He learns that he has super powers and is being chased down by border security, who want him gone. This story is better for older students because of the intense nature of the content, but it does a beautiful job of discussing the topic of immigration and the complex perspectives and ideas involved in it. I would use this book in my book club and as a discussion book if I were teaching middle school or high school.