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Stories Like Me

Tall Water : A Graphic Novel

Tall Water : A Graphic Novel

$18.99
$18.99
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paperback/graphic novel

Synopsis

A powerful coming-of-age teen graphic novel by SJ Sindu and Dion MBD that follows one girl’s journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating tsunami of 2004. 

Ever since she turned sixteen, Nimmi has wanted to see her mother. Though she has a loving but overprotective father and a budding relationship, she yearns to travel to Sri Lanka to confront the mother who refused to leave the island during a war, not even for Nimmi’s sake. Her father is going back for the first time as a reporter on assignment, but he refuses to take her, deeming Sri Lanka too dangerous.

But then Nimmi's mother appears to her in a dream, asking her to come find her, and Nimmi knows she must go. Her father is livid when he sees her at baggage claim, but by then it’s too late, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nimmi make contact with her mother. In Sri Lanka, Nimmi tags along with her father and his guide, past checkpoints and armed soldiers and increasing hints of the war that rages there.

However, the day after Christmas, disaster strikes and a tsunami ravages the island. Stranded amid the devastation and destruction, can Nimmi reunite with her mother? Through her journey, Nimmi might just learn that the person she most needed to find was herself.


Author

SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora writer whose works include the novels Marriage of a Thousand Lies (winner of the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction and an ALA Stonewall Honor Book) and Blue-Skinned Gods (finalist for a Lambda Literary Award) as well as the graphic novel Shakti, the short story collection The Goth House Experiment, and the chapbooks I Once Met You But You Were Dead and Dominant Genes. Sindu holds a PhD in English and creative writing from Florida State University and is an assistant professor of creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University

Illustrator

Dion MBD is an Indonesian illustrator whose works are inspired by the interaction between the natural and human-made world. When not creating images, Dion is building a community and education platform called Ilustrasee for aspiring illustrators in Indonesia. If you can't find him in his studio in Bandung, he is most likely traveling to learn more from those living all across the globe

Praise
"Sindu’s profound, crisp, and well-organized story beautifully weaves together the haunting yet splendid nature of Sri Lanka during a period of civil war that lasted generations, as well as the tsunami that changed the lives of millions both within and beyond the island. Throughout, she raises poignant questions about what makes people choose to stay or go in times of war. Dion MBD transports readers to the colorful island with his renderings of tea-laden hills painted bright green and debris-laden beaches in downcast gray... Nimmi's coming-of-age journey and a search for identity and queer joy during times of strife is powerful example of comic storytelling as resilience and resistance." -Booklist (starred review)

"This graphic novel’s most powerful pages are the wordless ones showing the tsunami and the wreckage and ruin it leaves behind. The characters’ human resilience and grit shine through beautifully in the straightforward text and fluid artwork executed in a muted palette. The book offers glimpses of the long-running conflict in Sri Lanka, its political and social history, the presence of international media, and the complexities of migration. Parenthood, found family, migration, and war are some of the themes that run through this poignant narrative. A strikingly illustrated story of love and war." ?
-Kirkus Reviews

"Sindu’s narrative follows Nimmi as she is confronted with extraordinary challenges, including surviving a tsunami (based on the real 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami), that far exceed the ¬experiences of most American teens. Expressive illustrations vividly portray both the chaos of military rule and the -emotional complexity of Nimmi’s journey. Dream sequence panels further enhance the story, blurring the line between hope and reality, and deepening readers' empathy. The novel ends on a realistic yet hopeful note for Nimmi’s future. A compelling, heartfelt story, and an excellent addition to most YA graphic novel collections." -School Library Journal
Product Details

ISBN: 9780063090156

256 pages
9 in H | 6 in W | 1.3 lb Wt
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