Americus

Jan 06, 2013 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is, without exaggeration, high among the best graphic novels I’ve ever read, and I’ve been reading them for decades.

For starters, Hill’s art is remarkably expressive and evocative, with loads of telling detail packed into each panel. He uses a crisp, clear style that keeps our eyes on the page and ensures that the story moves at an appropriately swift clip.

And what a brilliant, openhearted, beautiful story Reed tells us. It ostensibly details the battle that ensues in a small, largely con...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Stephen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Trust me, just skip it. You know how you occassionally take a chance on a book that has a bouncy description in your monthly Previews comic book shop order without any knowledge of the artist or the writer? Well, I took a chance on this one and I regret it.

Artwise, everything is serviceable. Storywise, this thing blows.

The protagonist has nothing to do in his small town except read a female-centric fantasy series. I look at this character and wonder if it is the town that is boring and lifel...more Trust me, just skip it. You know how you occassionally take a chance on a book that has a bouncy description in your monthly Previews comic book shop order without any knowledge of the artist or the writer? Well, I took a chance on this one and I regret it.

Artwise, everything is serviceable. Storywise, this thing blows.

The protagonist has nothing to do in his small town except read a female-centric fantasy series. I look at this character and wonder if it is the town that is boring and lifeless or if the character lacks the imagination to enjoy himself anywhere. The protagonist's best friend announces he is gay and his conservative family promptly ships him off to military school...and he hates it. Really? Cuz military school is one of the few places where they let tweens blow shit up, which should be sorta cool for a character coming from a boring small town. Plus, he's surrounded 24/7 by males who are fit and ripped -- sounds like gayboy Shangri-la to me.

The main conflict comes from the conservative parent who seeks to get the aforementioned fantasy series banned from the local library. The parent is physically shown to be a fat slob who is practically foaming at the mouth as she proclaims to be personally speaking for God at a public meeting.

M.K. Reed must have been raised on Harry Potter because the author never learned that you don't have to demonize your antagonist in every concievable way. Make them real, give them legitimate concerns and believable motivations, and your story will be much improved. There are legitimate concerns regarding the influences that children are exposed to. As a parent, I want to have a great deal of insight into what my child is reading and watching, because there are people out there who will peddle everything from smut to carcinogens to my kid without a moment's hesitation.

Annnnnnd that was about it for the book.

No interesting characters, predictable/simplistic story that never pursued the premise beyond the starting gate, and the art was nothing to write home about. Just skip it. (less)

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Apr 09, 2012 Emilia P rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

This book, clearly, had a checklist of things going for it. It was about libraries! It was about teens! It was decently drawn! (Ok just decently. I thought it was pretty derivative of Scott Pilgrim-type but slightly less manga-infused stuff. Kinda sharp and pointy but repetitive/not-challenging).

BUT GOOD LORD. When the closest thing you do to character development is make all the blonde fat people bad (and also Christian *boo hiss* .. and oh wait also homophobic!) and all the skinny black haired...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

I really enjoyed this. Yes, it's a drastically oversimplified version of the library reconsideration of materials process, and yes, the angry religious parents trying to ban a fantasy series from the town library are entirely one-dimensional. I also take issue with the librarian who claims to have personally read every book in her library (I am a librarian, and I doubt I'm in a double-digits percent on that one). However, I do not take issue with how awesome the librarian character is, or the ge...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Christine Edison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Americus is the name of the town in Oklahoma where Neil and Danny live. The two have been eagerly awaiting the release of the latest book in the Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde series. Danny gets the book out first, but when his religious mom catches him reading a book about witches, she insists that the book be withdrawn from the public library. When Danny sticks up for the book and then announces he’s gay, his mom sends him to military school.

Neil then has to enter high school alone, but he...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, 2011-reads, youngadult

When Neal’s best friend, Danny, is caught reading the latest release in The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde series he is sent to military school (the announcement at dinner that he is gay probably adds to that decision, too). His mother doesn’t think that is enough though and decides to try and save all the people in Americus, Oklahoma from the “smut” being housed in the public library.

Neal gets a good look at both sides of the censorship issue when he becomes a page at the local library. Ther...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Banned Books Week

Recommended to Maria by: Goodreads Giveaway

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, graphic-novels

In the interest of open disclosure: I received my copy of this graphic novel as a Goodreads giveaway.

The premise of Americus is a good one: A popular book series polarizes a small town in Oklahoma, with forces aligned on opposite sides of the question of whether the book should be banned. At the heart of this struggle are main characters Neil Barton and his best friend, Danny Burns, soon to be high school freshmen and avid readers who are fans of the book series. In terms of age and subject matt...more In the interest of open disclosure: I received my copy of this graphic novel as a Goodreads giveaway.

The premise of Americus is a good one: A popular book series polarizes a small town in Oklahoma, with forces aligned on opposite sides of the question of whether the book should be banned. At the heart of this struggle are main characters Neil Barton and his best friend, Danny Burns, soon to be high school freshmen and avid readers who are fans of the book series. In terms of age and subject matter, this is the perfect time to discuss this kind of censorship and the limits of social control over free speech with teenagers, but Neil and Danny’s story suffers somewhat from stereotypical depictions of characters and an insufficient exploration of the question book banning, which limits the book’s usefulness as an argument and instructional tool in support of free speech.

As the story begins Neil and Danny are headed to pick up a book from the public library. Neil is jealous because Danny gets to check it out first, but the boys head for home amicably. An excited Danny heads to his room to read book 8 of the “Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, The Huntress Witch,” where he is found by his mother, Nancy. Nancy Burns is a devout (evangelical?) Christian, and she is deeply horrified to see what Danny is reading, upon which the pair get into an argument during which Danny declares that he is gay. This argument upsets the entire family, with Nancy striking Danny, Danny’s siblings retreating to their rooms, and Danny’s father hiding in the garage with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Shortly thereafter, Nancy storms the library, and verbally attacks the librarian over the content of the book before shredding the text and creating a huge scene. Shortly thereafter, Danny is sent away to a Christian summer camp before starting his freshman year of high school at an all-boys military academy.

Neil, on the other hand, is an only child being raised by his single mother, Carol. Neil is allowed to read whatever he wants, and to explore various ideas as he learns about them. He is devastated by the loss of his best friend, and heads to high school alone, where he is teased mercilessly over his love of reading. This small town is a hostile and alien environment, made worse by a looming book banning campaign spearheaded by Nancy. Through it all, Carol is as supportive, if a bit awkward, as she can be. With support from his mother, Neil decides he needs to speak up and be an active part of fighting for what he believes is right.

What follows is a story that reduces arguments for removing books from library to a simple binary: There are the “good” townspeople who believe the book needs to stay in the library, and “bad,” ignorant bible thumpers who want the book removed without even knowing what the series is about. While I admit this is sometimes the case in real life, book banning/removal often also has to do with parent’s rights, community standards, and other issues that make this a complex and layered issue. I realize that these concerns may have been simplified within the story specifically for the benefit of YA readers, but the stereotypes within the text reduce the book banning to a battle of good versus evil, and the issues within the argument are never presented, which is a great disservice to the intelligence of the intended audience.

I also think that the narrative suffers for a lack of focus. Danny is gay, but this is barely mentioned in the story, and it seems like an unnecessary plot element. The story is about book banning, not about homosexuality in teenagers, and this element seems to exist only to vilify Nancy a little more and show how destructive her behavior is to herself and her community. Neil is having trouble adjusting to high school, but this doesn’t serve the question of book banning, and seems to be another bit of narrative to show how ignorant these small town teens are. The story does illustrate how the community comes together to discuss and solve the problem of the book series, but it comes late in the text, and I didn’t get the impression that the community arrived at a consensus. There isn’t a sense that Nancy has learned anything either, or that she won’t mount another book banning campaign in the future if it occurs to her. Many storylines are left unresolved, which made me wonder even more at the effort spent on creating plot elements that didn't further the story.

Although the story itself is fun to read, and has entertaining dialogue, the strident tone Nancy and her followers use to further their cause sets up a clear “right” and “wrong” answer to the problem in the text that suggests that if the reader isn’t aligned with the Neil and the pro-book group that they are part of the hate and ignorance that Nancy represents. Life is rarely this dichotomous, and the views presented in the text could be misleading to a young person who hasn’t already spent some time exploring these questions.
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Oct 06, 2011 Wandering Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, family, fiction, friendship, graphic-novel, realistic-fiction, ya, serious-issues

Neil and Danny are growing up in a small American town. Their favorite books are a fantasy series called The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde. Unfortunately, Danny's mother hates the series, and forbids Danny to read it, saying that reading about witches is blasphemous. When he's caught reading the newest book, Danny gets set off to military school, and now Danny's mother is trying to get the town library to ban the whole series.

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued but cautious....more

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Oct 04, 2011 Hollowspine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, ya

A thoroughly enjoyable story, told from the perspective of a young person stuck in a small, religious town in Oklahoma. An often told story in some aspects, a kid who likes to read persecuted by his fellows for this simple act. But then even that simple joy of escaping the prison of small town life is threatened, a beloved friend may be banned from the public library. What will Neil, a kid with an unpleasant prediction for any occasion, do to save Apathea from exile?

A great book to read during B...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Andrew Shuping rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

Neil Barton is your typical average teenager about to start high school...in other words he's a bit awkward, not really sure how to interact with girls, and still trying to find out who he is. But he is sure of one thing, "The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde," is his favorite book series and he can't wait to read the latest volume. There's just one problem...his best friend's mom thinks that it's promoting witchcraft and wants it banned from the library! So in addition to trying to make new fr...more Neil Barton is your typical average teenager about to start high school...in other words he's a bit awkward, not really sure how to interact with girls, and still trying to find out who he is. But he is sure of one thing, "The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde," is his favorite book series and he can't wait to read the latest volume. There's just one problem...his best friend's mom thinks that it's promoting witchcraft and wants it banned from the library! So in addition to trying to make new friends, navigate high school, he now has to step up and help make sure that Apathea is saved for all to read.

Taken at face value this may seem like a simple tale, but in reality it's quite complex. On one hand you have Neil, a teenage boy about to start high school and attempting to figure out who he is. In this book he not only sees his best friend, Danny, sent to Military School, but he starts learning about how to interact with girls, how to stand up for himself, and what type of music is out in the world that defines and echos within his soul. And then on the other hand you have the battle to save the Apathea series from being banned by Christian activists in the town, and seeing the library and the community working together to prevent this. And one of the best aspects of the battle, for me, is that they depicted members of the community--young and old--discussing what the series had come to mean for them. And the author blends these two tales together to make a solid story.

The author does a fantastic job of making Neil and most of the characters real people, someone that you could recognize off the street or someone that you might know...perhaps yourself. Where they falter a bit is the seemingly one dimensional side of Danny's mom and her friends. They mostly come across as stereotypical examples of Christian activists, without a lot of depth to them...although at times we do see flashes that there is more to Danny's mom than we think. We see that she really does care about her children, especially when she looks at pictures of them or the things that she says to her husband, and really does think she's doing what's right. And while it is a fault in the story that these characters don't have the depth of Neil or even Danny, the overall story is well told.

I do want to point out that the author does an excellent job of depicting some of the battles that real libraries go through with "controversial" books. They have to band together and work with the community to explain the value of the book. And many times they do come up against people that haven't read the book, but want to ban it just because of their own assumptions upon the work--just like in the battle for Apathea. In many ways the battle for Apathea reminds me of what went on when Harry Potter first started hitting the big time in the states, and I wonder if the author and artist have based this book on personal experience.

The artwork works well with the storyline and reminds me a lot of Bryan Lee O'Malley's work with Scott Pilgrim or the artworkof James Rugg in "The Plain Janes." The artwork has a seemingly simple style, but puts a lot of the focus into creating recognizable (and unique) characters that easily show emotion. It also makes it easier to place yourself in the story, because you can recognize something of yourself in the characters--the elation at starting a new school, fear, trepidation, or even being the obnoxious brat on campus.

Even though the main character is a young teenage boy there's something for everyone in this story. It's a solid coming of age tale as well as chance to see just how important a book and the library can be to the overall community.
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May 12, 2012 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Americus is graphic novel about a teenager making his way through a world of competing moralities, but without much ambiguity about which side might be right. The way the characters are drawn tells half the story and either (1) reveals the authors/artists' own prejudices or (2) tells you how our hero is experiencing them. I prefer to think of it as the latter, because the former just makes me feel too manipulated, like the pro-Christian comics I used to read as a kid, except with an opposite bia...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Caris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, graphic-novels, young-adult

First Second Books is, by far, my favorite graphic novel publisher. They put out highly-accessible literary fiction. I appreciate that, as I’m not really into superheroes or ninjas or whatever. There have been a couple of their books (such as this one and the superb Feynman) that make me wonder why they were rendered in a graphic format at all. But that’s only as I’m reading them. My brain, foolishly, associates the artwork with action, and there’s very little action in these titles. By the end,...more First Second Books is, by far, my favorite graphic novel publisher. They put out highly-accessible literary fiction. I appreciate that, as I’m not really into superheroes or ninjas or whatever. There have been a couple of their books (such as this one and the superb Feynman) that make me wonder why they were rendered in a graphic format at all. But that’s only as I’m reading them. My brain, foolishly, associates the artwork with action, and there’s very little action in these titles. By the end, though, I realize that anything else would be horrifically boring.

This story is a thinly-veiled commentary on the opposition to the Harry Potter phenomenon. It introduces a small town kid who doesn’t have many friends and finds solace in reading. The YA fantasy book he finds change his outlook and give him some connection with other people. He is very surprised when a local group of conservative Christian activists fight to get the book pulled from the shelves of the local library.

I think everyone’s aware this happens. We know books get banned. But do we really know what that means? What the process looks like? This story accurately portrays the kind of madness that can overtake otherwise normal people and turn the simple availability of a book in a library into a polarizing issue. The dynamic is so goddamned interesting. The driving force behind the censorship of this particular book is the questioning of its immorality from a Christian perspective. But the movement finds supporters in people who simply didn’t like the book.

When the Harry Potter controversy was actually happening, I didn’t notice the ironic parallels between the books and real life. Harry is facing down Voldemort, a wizard with nearly limitless power and an abundance of followers; the librarian is taking on a religious nut with immovable convictions and a crowd of concerned parents. In making the impending battle public, Harry is suddenly at odds with the wizarding community at large, not because they support Voldemort, but because they see Harry as a problem; community members agree that the book should be banned because it’s frivolous and poorly-written. How could I not have seen that before? We could have been calling them Death Eaters the whole time!

Anyway, this was a very unique kind of story for a graphic novel. I recommend it if you’ve been burned by the format before. That said, the story was a little boring (even if it was so pro-librarian).(less)

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Dec 05, 2011 Tasha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Neal, a high school freshman, who finds himself in the middle of a fight to keep a popular series in the public library. Danny, Neal’s best friend, gets into trouble with his mother when she discovers he is reading The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde. His mother believes that books with witches corrupt young minds and she goes on a crusade to not just have her children not read them, but remove them from the library as well. Danny is sent to military school, leaving Neal behind. But Neal slowl...more Neal, a high school freshman, who finds himself in the middle of a fight to keep a popular series in the public library. Danny, Neal’s best friend, gets into trouble with his mother when she discovers he is reading The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde. His mother believes that books with witches corrupt young minds and she goes on a crusade to not just have her children not read them, but remove them from the library as well. Danny is sent to military school, leaving Neal behind. But Neal slowly comes out of his quiet shell in high school, finding new friends and discovering new interests like punk rock. The book challenge plays itself out in front of the library board and inside families in town. Neal starts working at the library and is asked to speak for the teens who love the series and how important it is to him. This look at censorship and small town politics rings true, especially for those of us who live near West Bend, Wisconsin.

Reed’s text is a refreshing mix of teen angst and lightness. There is plenty of humor to move the story along, though this is more of a dramatic graphic novel than a funny one. Neal is a character who shows real growth through the book, just slow and steady enough to read as real. He is not a hero, but a young man who breaks through his shyness to speak out for something that is important for him.

Reed also has other characters who are complexly drawn. The two girls in shop class alone break stereotypes. The kindness of the rock and roll boyfriend, who is also desperate to escape a table full of girls and their gossip, is a moment that is just lovely. Neal is exposed to new music in that scene in a way that is engagingly written.

Hill’s art is done entirely in black and white. The scenes from The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde are done in a different style with more shadows and a darker palette of gray. The contrast is striking and well done. I appreciated the fact that the books are more realistic than the real world of the graphic novel. As a reader, that really speaks to how vivid books can be.

A great pick for high school graphic novel fans, this book belongs in all public library collections. It is engaging as well as empowering. Appropriate for ages 13-15.
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Sep 05, 2011 Minli rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, middle-grade

Neal is your typical fourteen-year-old fantasy-reader in rural Oklahoma--quiet, self-effaced, nose always in a book. He reads fantasy because it allows him to experience justice in ways real life doesn't, especially as his best friend Danny is being shipped off to military school just before the start of ninth grade.

Danny's extremely vocal and conservative mother leads a contingent to ban the most popular fantasy series at the library on the grounds that it has corrupted her son. Pertinent to cu...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Christiane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, teens, summer-reading

Great story about a boy, Neil, growing up in small town middle America. His best friend has been sent away to military school (for disobeying his ultra-conservative Christian mom, and for being gay, though the mom pretends that isn't true) and Neil is small, nerdy, and really into reading, so you already know his first year of high school is going to be disastrous. Then, the best friend’s mom gets the town folks all up in arms about a fantasy series that is corrupting kids by turning them on to...more

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Oct 31, 2012 A.C.E. Bauer added it

A compelling read, though I was bothered by how very white this town was--not a single person of another color or ethnicity, not even in crowd scenes. There were a great many things the book got right, though: the complex relationship between the main character and his mother; a lot of the high school relationships; the perennial disconnect between generations; the tension surrounding the book challenge. It made the over-the-top stereotyping of the leader of the book banning, a Christian zealot,...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Eleanor rated it 4 of 5 stars

I honestly don't often review books, but in this case I'll make an exception. I won't bore you with a summary so many others have done an awesome job at that so I'll just set up the good points of the story.

The depiction of the group that wants to Ban the "Apathea Ravenchilde" series in the story is a bit over the top. It does happen though and a certain scene in the story when Danny is having dinner with his family really resonates with the behaviors of some people who take Christianity to fri...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-literature, graphic-novels, censorship

"It breaks my heart that this is happening in another town. The Ravenchilde books are the best thing to happen to literacy practically since the alphabet was invented. I've seen kids completely transformed once they start reading Apathea. Overnight, they're avid readers. They dramatically improve in school, and become more intellectually curious. These books keep their imaginations alive. That's priceless."

Neil Barton feels like an outcast in his small town of Americus, Oklahoma. His best friend...more "It breaks my heart that this is happening in another town. The Ravenchilde books are the best thing to happen to literacy practically since the alphabet was invented. I've seen kids completely transformed once they start reading Apathea. Overnight, they're avid readers. They dramatically improve in school, and become more intellectually curious. These books keep their imaginations alive. That's priceless."

Neil Barton feels like an outcast in his small town of Americus, Oklahoma. His best friend has just been sent off to military school by his ultra-religious mother, and he's faced with starting his freshman year on his own. To make matters worse, his favorite book series is being challenged by that same mother, leading to a bitter fight over intellectual freedom, and the place of books and imagination in children's lives.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but it just didn't work for me. Censorship is a valuable topic for YA and GNs, and this book will be released to coincide with Banned Book Week in September. But the treatment of the censorship case just seemed too heavy-handed to me; the mother who brings the challenge to the book series (which seems loosely based on the Harry Potter series) is painted as a grotesque monster, with no redeeming qualities. While there are strident voices in favor of banning/removing books, the situations are often more complex than what is presented here. I understand that the point of the book is to bring the debate over censorship to a younger reading audience, many of whom are affected by these types of debates, but it just seemed to simplistic to me. I also was offended, as a former resident of the state, by the depiction of Oklahoma as nothing more than a bunch of small-town, small-minded conservative zealots (except for Neil, his mother, and the local librarians). People like that exist everywhere. Censorship can touch any community, anywhere - the Bible Belt may be an easy target, but again, the picture of censorship is much more complicated than that. I do appreciate the fine artwork in this book, but if I'm going to try to introduce a student to censorship, I'll probably hand her Crutcher's The Sledding Hill before this one. (less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Rochelle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: graphic-novels, ya-fiction

Great quick story, perfect to use for/around banned books week, as it deals with a book challenge in a public library in the town of Americus. Perfectly reproduced arguments by the religious fanatic parents of a son who was sent to "juvie" because he came out as gay in an argument with his mom. The argument was about a fantasy series he obtained from the cool librarian in town and his mother, of course, considered it blasphemy among other things, and she subsequently destroyed the book in the pr...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Jasmine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american

So I was suppose to go to philly for my birthday, but instead my best friend got malaria and canceled and I went to forbidden planet and bought this.

I liked it, it reminded me of growing up. I had a friend in junior high whose mom/grandmother would read every book that we were going to be assigned in school before she did and would tell the teacher whether she was allowed to read it and what pages she had to skip (I remember she wasn't allowed to read like 50 pages in the middle of julie of the...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Dolores rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, there's a fantasy series that's so engrossing, readers are vying to be the first to read the next volume when it comes out. Librarians get to experience the transformational joy putting a book into a patron's hands and turning that person into a "reader." Trust me, there's no greater experience. BUT...the series is about witches, and "Thou shalt not..." so a Christian kid who is caught reading the book is shipped off to a Christian boot camp, and a campaign is started to ban the books--stop...more

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May 21, 2013 Sesana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, contemporary, young-adult

Neil Barton hates his small town, Americus. He uses his love of books as a shield to keep the rest of the world at bay. And then his best friend's mother starts a campaign to get the Apathea Ravenchilde books, Neil's favorite series, pulled from the local library.

I'm of two minds about this book. On one hand, Reed went for the most over-the-top possible book banning scenario. And yet, that doesn't make it any less realistic of a scenario. Sure, most censorship attempts are far calmer, but if yo...more Neil Barton hates his small town, Americus. He uses his love of books as a shield to keep the rest of the world at bay. And then his best friend's mother starts a campaign to get the Apathea Ravenchilde books, Neil's favorite series, pulled from the local library.

I'm of two minds about this book. On one hand, Reed went for the most over-the-top possible book banning scenario. And yet, that doesn't make it any less realistic of a scenario. Sure, most censorship attempts are far calmer, but if you don't think that there are people who could work themselves into an identical frenzy in real life over a middle grade fantasy series, you haven't paid attention to the extremes of the debate over Harry Potter. The censorship side of the debate in Americus could be made up entirely of direct quotes from people opposed to Harry Potter in real life. So yes, it is a realistic look at an extreme attempt at book banning that could really happen (and has happened!) in modern America. But that is really at the far, extreme edges of the issues surrounding censorship, and it lets the author present the issue as good vs. evil, when it's seldom that simple.

I was also disconcerted with how Neil's friend, Danny, was handled. Early in the book, he comes out to his parents, and is immediately shipped off. That wasn't what worried me. It's a valid plot development, if handled well. The problem is that Danny is just bundled off and largely forgotten about. When he does come up in conversation, it's usually handled fairly well. The scenes with his younger sister trying to deal with his absence are heartbreaking, and the family not dealing with the issue is probably realistic. I just wish that Danny had been given more time. As it is, he's just a pointless subplot, and I think he, and the issue, deserve more than that.

So yes, mixed feelings. I admire what the author was trying to do, but a less extreme banning attempt would have been more realistic, and let the book become more than just a lecture. I also felt like Danny's subplot wasn't given the space it deserved, which is a shame. I think Reed could have done a great job with it, if she'd actually given his story more attention. On the other hand, Apathea Ravenchilde is a great name for an epic fantasy heroine.(less)

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Jun 15, 2012 Kellee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, about-books-or-reading, music, ya-teen, teach-mentor-texts

Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but I ultimately picked 4 because the topics and theme of the book resonated with me. First, why I finally picked a 4- A BOOK ABOUT BOOK CENSORSHIP!!!! (And it is on our side, not the other.) How awesome is that?!?! This book is a love letter to books. It shows how important books (and book choice) are to teens and all readers. Now, the reason why I almost gave a 3 is I do agree with a couple statem...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Chrissy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

I'm torn. I loved this story. The main character, an unpopular boy just entering high school is entirely believable, along with his mother, who is also rather unsure of herself, but comes through for him in the end. However, the villain in this story, a self-righteous mother who leads a crusade to remove a fantasy novel from the local library because she believes she is speaking for god-himself...is a little overdone. Not that I'm on her side in any way, but making the antagonist so completely i...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, graphic, ya

I haven't been this angry reading a book since Dave Eggers' Zeitoun. And I mean that as a compliment. The picture Reed paints of the self-righteous book burning/banning mob (ESPECIALLY the insane mother) and the attempt to get a Harry-Potteresque fantasy series removed from the shelves of a local public library pushed a LOT of my buttons.
Reed and Hill do a magnificent job of both telling the story of Neal and painting a picture of small-mindedness and intolerance.
This book speaks to the sometime...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Stefanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

This one's a tough one to review. While I loved the victorious tale of a fight against book-banning, I almost felt offended at times at some of the jokes made at Christians' expense that really did nothing to further the story but rather just made all Christians look like angry raving lunatics with no regard for literature at all. I love the main character, and I love the librarian, but all the Christians in this book are horrible people, and that's not realistic at all. There are many Christian...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Lisa (libraryink) rated it 4 of 5 stars

As Raina's review mentioned, I would have liked to see a little more character development in the right-leaning characters, simply for the fact that I've never understood people who want to force their own morality onto every other person in the library/city/state/country/world without considering that many other people are living with their own set of well-defined, yet different, set of morals.

But I love the story itself. I felt for the librarian who has to deal with closed minded people right...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Barbara Ell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, young-adult, written-reviews, graphic-novel

I received this as a Good Reads First Read.

This is an interesting topic, someone feels that the premise behind a book/series of books (i.e. witchcraft) should be banned from the library. I have dealt with similar situations and it is true that some people believe that their way is the only way. I liked it as a graphic novel, because you can see the silent majority's facial expressions, and understand more about what is going on.

I did have a problem with Neil's friend Danny. I understand his purp...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Michael Coats rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Michael by: J. Coats

Americus was a good middle grade approach to the ever-topical issue of banned books. Our protagonist is Neil, a teen about to enter high school who is undergoing several life changes. He has found solace in a wildly popular fantasy book series about Apathea Ravenchilde (think Harry Potter), and shares his enthusiasm with his local public librarian and his best friend. His best friend's mother, however, is outaged by the book series, and begins a campaign to save her son and the community from it...more Americus was a good middle grade approach to the ever-topical issue of banned books. Our protagonist is Neil, a teen about to enter high school who is undergoing several life changes. He has found solace in a wildly popular fantasy book series about Apathea Ravenchilde (think Harry Potter), and shares his enthusiasm with his local public librarian and his best friend. His best friend's mother, however, is outaged by the book series, and begins a campaign to save her son and the community from its perceived anti-Christian agenda.

The central character is very well drawn, and must face several challenges as he enters high school. His conflicts are mirrored in his books; the authors of Americus do a good job of alernating between Neil's story and Apathea's, a technique which gives the reader an insight into how Neil views his personal struggles. The art is well done, and the story never bogs down.

The best friend's mother, however, was a problem. She is rather one-dimensional, serving only to express loud outrage and encourage the many small-minded citizens of Americus to join her in demanding the book series be removed from the shelves of the local public library. A strawman argument is used to attack the Apathea books, one which is easily deflected by the good citizens who come to the defense of the library and the books. The vote by the board of trustees for the library is presented as a final decision, settling the issue for all citizens. I found all this to be difficult to believe; such an important character as the best friend's mother deserves to be fleshed out, the arguments against the book should be made more persuasive to the reader, and the final vote should not result in peace and harmony.

The biggest complaint I have, though, is with the arguments for the book. The Apathea series is presented as worth saving because it contains nothing truly objectionable, and is, in fact, a great series of books, stimulating imaginations and teaching valuable life lessons. If the argument against banning books hinges on this principle, we are in trouble. It's not OK to ban books if they're of lower quality; the only factors that should matter when deciding whether to purchase a book for a library are the cost of the book, and whether enough patrons will want to read it to justify that cost.

That said, this was still a good read. Neil's growth over the summer and into the fall should be familiar to 14 year olds across America, and I hope many of those teens will find this story, enjoy it, and learn from it.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Peebee rated it 3 of 5 stars

My first foray into both graphic novels and books meant for middle grades (apparently there's some controversy over those books in my reading challenge group, which meant that we had to have a task devoted to them to make up for their banning elsewhere.) I wouldn't have read it otherwise, and still wouldn't have. It's a topic with a lot of potential, but the story was a little one-dimensional and predictable. And short...did I say short? I breezed through this in about 40 minutes, which is much...more

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title link	preview: Americus
avg rating	preview: Americus Goodreads rating: 3.70 (575 ratings)
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