First day of public school jitters,
a ghost overstaying her welcome,
Mom gone away suddenly,
everything was so much easier in homeschool!
Canadian artist Faith Erin Hicks melded Nova Scotia’s long seagoing history and her personal experience of being homeschooled with 3 brothers to create this coming-of-age story with a ghostly twist.
Alas, she never saw a ghost in her house like Maggie does…
**kmm
Book info: Friends With Boys / Faith Erin Hicks. First Second Books, 2012. [author site] [publisher site] [fan-created book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.
My book talk: The ghost lady may be Maggie’s smallest worry now, as being homeschooled with her three big brothers hasn’t prepared her for the people-part of attending high school.
Mags liked Mom as her teacher, but wanted to play with her brothers instead of do girly stuff with her – maybe that’s why Mom left their small coastal town in the Maritimes.
Her twin brothers fight constantly (as usual), but don’t hang out together (not usual), her oldest brother likes theater, but distrusts Maggie’s new friend Alistair, mohawked senior Alistair decided that not being a jerk to his sister Lucy was more important than being a volleyball jock, so now the team hates him, and Lucy is fascinated by ghosts and their town’s history, which all leads to a teeny-little museum caper… by the way, Dad is the police chief now.
This graphic novel follows Maggie as she tries to find her place in the high school hierarchy and make the ghost go back to the cemetery – is that really so much to ask? (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)