Among the 25 books reviewed this week: Solito, Javier Zamora's "heart-pounding, vivid recollection" of his 3,000-mile trek from El Salvador to "La USA"; Two Nurses, Smoking by David Means, 10 "exceptional" stories that cover death, romance and the ravages of mental illness; the "heartfelt and hilarious graphic memoir" The Tryout, in which two-time Newbery Honoree Christina Soontornvat describes her experience auditioning with her best friend for the cheerleading squad, illustrated by Joanna Cacao; plus so many more!
Kate Beaton talks in The Writer's Life about shifting from her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant to her graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, why she stopped drawing and how some comics creators online brought her back to her passion.