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I, Witness
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In a dark back alley, Boone and Andre witness a violent murder, and agree not to mention it. But the killers have different ideas and come after Boone and his friends, killing two of them. Boone is desperate to save himself but realizes to do so he will need to face the violent act in his past that continues to haunt him.
Told in Norah McClintock's trademark suspenseful ...more
Told in Norah McClintock's trademark suspenseful ...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
October 1st 2012
by Orca Book Publishers
(first published January 1st 2012)
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2.5 Stars
Excellent idea - haphazard execution. A YA book themed around witnessing a shooting, as well as a character being a victim of gun violence is a very important, relevant and promising idea. It's just... not conveyed too well. It suffers from a lot of general murkiness or lack of clarity, in both story and design.
Is the purpose of it that one should tell authorities if you see gun violence? Or is the purpose that you shouldn't? It seems to send both messages, uncertainly meandering ...more
Excellent idea - haphazard execution. A YA book themed around witnessing a shooting, as well as a character being a victim of gun violence is a very important, relevant and promising idea. It's just... not conveyed too well. It suffers from a lot of general murkiness or lack of clarity, in both story and design.
Is the purpose of it that one should tell authorities if you see gun violence? Or is the purpose that you shouldn't? It seems to send both messages, uncertainly meandering ...more

An interesting premise poorly executed. Mike Deas's black and white illustrations recall those of Frank Smith's "Sin City" books. The story follows Boone, who's friends Robbie and Andre are voiolently killed in a succession of shootings, one of which also hospitalizes Boone. As he numbly recovers, Boone thinks back on his friendship with Machal, which formed at summer camp after another death and in the wake of Boone's mother dying under suspicious circumstances. Boone may - or may not - know
...more

This was a GREAT graphic novel. It's not necessarily for the faint-hearted - there's definitely a fair amount of violence. This one also definitely makes you think - the idea of someone being the tattletale is an interesting one. You don't want to be "the rat", but think about all of the injustice that continues just because someone doesn't have the courage to speak up! The main artistic thing about this book that I loved was the darkness of it - having it on fully black pages really affected
...more

Oct 12, 2016
Oscar Aguilar
added it
I liked this book because it talks about real life, talks about gangs and that kind of things, I recommend this books because is amazing

Nov 02, 2018
Zoey
added it
In my book “I, Witness” the main character Boone was facing many challenges in high school. Boone and his two best friends adre and robbie got into a little trouble. In the book my favorite character was Boone. Boone was my favorite character because everyone blamed him of the killing of everyone who died, he proved them wrong. Boone never let the people get to him and never switched his story. Boone felt real to me because many people can be in a situation and have to do many things Boone had
...more

The main character of this book is Boone. A secondary character is robbie and he ends up getting shot in the beginning of the book. The setting is in a dark town that is very dangerous and scary for people to go through. Him and his friend Robbie went down a dark alley to get home from this event that was going on and they heard someone talking from across the other side of a wooden wall. Boone and Robbie saw someone slit someone's throat and then the person looked up to see Boone and Robbie and
...more

Graphic novel, “I, witness“ by Noran McClintock and Mike Deas. This is a novel, it is about a boy named Boone. He had two close friends, Robbie and Andre. They all get mixed up with the wrong people and things do not go well from there, for his friends nor him. Boone ends up finding someone dead in the school hallway and he can not help but find out what happened to that kid.
I like this because of how it was a mystery and they setup the storyline pretty good. I would say Boone is my favorite ...more
I like this because of how it was a mystery and they setup the storyline pretty good. I would say Boone is my favorite ...more

A murder mystery that just piles on the dead bodies and yet doesn't flesh out the characters enough to make you care. The illustrations are almost like initial sketches and don't provide enough differences between the characters to make it clear just who is doing what. There were a few times when I had no idea who was doing what because they all look the same. Black and white illustrations (with splashes of blood red) is an interesting artistic idea but the details are all the more important
...more

Black and white illustrations, somewhat hard to tell the difference among some of the male characters; shots of red, for blood, give the book a very graphic feel. It's about a teenager who witnesses a shooting and his choice to keep what he saw a secret causes events to escalate for those around him.

Rendered in black and white with the only color being the occasional splash of red, this story begs the reader to decide which is the right choice, to tell what you saw or to keep your mouth shut. Both answers have deadly consequences and the main character has to decide on which choice he will ultimately make.

One the one hand, there need to be more stories like this. There aren't enough graphic novels featuring realistic stories in urban settings. I do like the way that Deas uses black and white except for the scenes of violence, where the blood is red red red.
On the other hand, this isn't really my style of illustration. I feel like I'm looking at the scenes through a foggy glass - none of the characters are drawn with much specificity - we rely on markers such as neck tattoos and setting to figure ...more
On the other hand, this isn't really my style of illustration. I feel like I'm looking at the scenes through a foggy glass - none of the characters are drawn with much specificity - we rely on markers such as neck tattoos and setting to figure ...more

"I, Witness" is a graphic novel and a little more swearing and violence occurred in the book then I thought would. "I, Witness" starts off with three high school boys seeing a guy murder a different guy. One of the boys who saw the seen, Robbie, was shot by the murderer a few weeks later. Then another one of the three boys, Andre, was shot because he was going to tell the police what was going on, and the murderer knew that Andre was going to do this. So he shot Andre. The only boy left was
...more

May 15, 2016
Sally Kruger
added it
Thanks to Nevercountedout.com I was able to read I, WITNESS and share it with my students.
Blood splashes across stark black & white images in this graphic novel by Norah McClintock and Mike Deas.
Boone seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he and a friend witness the death of another teen, Boone is questioned by the police as well as his friends and the family of the victim. Swearing he didn't see a thing doesn't answer their questions and now he is facing threats of ...more
Blood splashes across stark black & white images in this graphic novel by Norah McClintock and Mike Deas.
Boone seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he and a friend witness the death of another teen, Boone is questioned by the police as well as his friends and the family of the victim. Swearing he didn't see a thing doesn't answer their questions and now he is facing threats of ...more

Graphic novel told in black and white with the only color being blood. A pretty intense book about living in a neighborhood with a lot of violence and retaliation. The pictures are sketchy which made it hard for me to tell who was who and sometimes what was going on but it has high teen appeal.
David is 17 and lives his life with the fear he will be killed soon. He has witnessed too many things. While he and his friend Robbie where dumpster diving for treasure, Robbie witnesses a murder. Soon ...more
David is 17 and lives his life with the fear he will be killed soon. He has witnessed too many things. While he and his friend Robbie where dumpster diving for treasure, Robbie witnesses a murder. Soon ...more

Robbie witnesses a violent murder while dumpster diving with his friend Boone. He is murder outside of a convenient store. Andre is murdered at Robbies funeral because he saw the killers that shot Robbie. Boone survives both attacks but won't give a testimony out of fear. Then, Peter, the piano player at school is shot and killed in the hallway. What proceeds is Boone's search for the truth about what happened to Peter.
This graphic novel is rendered in black and white with the occasional red ...more
This graphic novel is rendered in black and white with the occasional red ...more

Well written and illustrated mystery, graphic novel.
Boone is a teenager, living in urban America, getting in trouble on the streets. Over the course of a year, he witnesses multiple friends die to gun violence. He too, is shot at while standing outside of a church right after attending a friend's funeral. He decides not to cooperate with the police for fear of retribution. When he sees one of the teacher's die he starts to investigate who is killing everyone and decides maybe it is worth telling ...more
Boone is a teenager, living in urban America, getting in trouble on the streets. Over the course of a year, he witnesses multiple friends die to gun violence. He too, is shot at while standing outside of a church right after attending a friend's funeral. He decides not to cooperate with the police for fear of retribution. When he sees one of the teacher's die he starts to investigate who is killing everyone and decides maybe it is worth telling ...more

At first I was a little confused and wary of it. It's written in a somewhat strange manner and jumps around a lot. I honestly have no idea how much time the story covers.
But after the first ten pages or so, I got more into it. The art style really grew on me, as did the story. It's oddly profound in a way I wasn't expecting. I'm not totally satisfied with the ending... actually I'm not satisfied at all. I wish it had been a little more open-ended. But still, I liked it overall.
But after the first ten pages or so, I got more into it. The art style really grew on me, as did the story. It's oddly profound in a way I wasn't expecting. I'm not totally satisfied with the ending... actually I'm not satisfied at all. I wish it had been a little more open-ended. But still, I liked it overall.

I really liked this book. Yes, it was a graphic novel, but it was like you were living within the story itself. Throughout the whole book you were kept on the edge of your seat thinking about what is going to happen next. This book definitely did a good job of keeping the reader from getting bored. I would recommend this book to any reader who likes a lot of action and kind of a forensic type of person.

Nov 16, 2016
Jacari
added it
I think this is a very good book ,it teaches you life lessons like watch who you hang out with and dont be afraid to tell someone. if you live in fear your life will be just like his horrible and there is no other way to escape that horrible like because you to stuck up to tell someone what is bothering you.Im happy i read this book because it really opens me up to be careful everywhere i go.

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It is a compelling situation that will capture some readers and spark discussion if talked about carefully. truth telling , the level of being witness, bystander and activist all worth talking about. Also the role of art in story telling.
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Norah McClintock’s fascinating mysteries are hard to put down. Her Chloe & Levesque series, Mike & Riel series, and Robyn Hunter series, all published by Scholastic Canada, have been popular with readers in many countries. Norah has also written several crime novels for reluctant readers in the Orca Soundings series from Orca Book Publishers,
Norah is a five-time winner of the Crime ...more
Norah is a five-time winner of the Crime ...more
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