This book was fantastic and amazingly well executed! It tells the story of two brothers, Ebo and Kwame, as they attempt the perilous journey from Ghana to Europe where they hope to reunite with their sister. At the mercy of others and traveling over the desert and ocean, they face many dangers. The artwork does an amazing job of showing the fear and desperation this refugees experience. This is a title I will definitely be purchasing for my school library.

Images are beautifully created time draw the reader into the story. You feel what Ebo feels and you want to help him.

I wasn’t sure what I was jumping into when I opened Illegal on my computer, but I feel like it is a book everyone should read. The main subject of this book is immigration, as you can probably guess by the title, but it doesn’t focus on the issue faced by the receiving countries. The story focuses on Ebo, a young African boy (most likely from Ghana based on locations and vocabulary in the book) who travels across the continent to find his brother and sister in Europe. While he does catch up with his brother, Kwame, the journey is not easy. The ending was rather bittersweet, but I would recommend this to anyone interested in the story of immigrants. The journey for many immigrants is about life and death, and this is depicted in the brief interview with an Eritrean woman at the end of the book. Overall, this book is put together very well and it focuses on bringing a voice to these individuals who end up in the western world after surviving the journey when thousands of others die before they reach their destination.

This graphic novel is a poignant account of a young boy’s journey from Ghana, across the Sahara, to Tripoli, then across the sea with his brother. Their hope is to find their sister who has already emigrated to Europe, but their journey will be fraught with hardships. Ebo tells his story with two timelines—then and now. Colfer and Duncan will introduce young readers to some of the challenges facing illegal immigrants in this empathetic and timely narrative.

Truly a wonderful if harrowing story, and perfect for children in elementary/ middle grades (even high school). I don't know if this book is tied to any refugee crisis and relief organizations but I wish it would be. For all the good it can do, I hope it lands in the hands of a child who either realizes they are not alone as a child of crisis or a child who realizes that there is so much opportunity for helping those who are trying so desperately to help themselves.

Writers Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin and illustrator Giovanni Rigano created the graphic novel adaptations of Colfer’s classic fantasy action series, Artemis Fowl. With Illegal, they turn to the here and now and have created a deeply affecting and thought=provoking account of the 21st-century refugee experience.


Graphic novels can be sparse on words, but they can still tell an eloquent story as is the case with the graphic novel, Illegal, written by Eoin Coulfer (of Artemis Fowl fame) and Andrew Donkin and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. Due to be released in August 2018, the novel is geared toward grades 3-7 and ages 10-14. As a school librarian of 34 years, I would place it on the shelf for middle school and high school due to the graphic nature of part of the story. I would recommend it to adult readers as well —It is extremely well done and moving.
The book weaves real stories of migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe to find a better life with a fictional twelve-year-old protagonist named Ebo from Niger. Ebo is parentless, and he and his older brother set out to find their older sister who has already made the desperate journey to Europe before them in search of a better life. Ebo and his brother must survive a journey across the Sahara Desert to Tripoli before ever braving the Mediterranean. They are many times in the hands of nefarious human traffickers and barely survive many times. This well done graphic novel tells an important story. Thank you Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of this novel and for allowing me to review it.

This is a heartwrenching and beautiful graphic novel about a boy, Ebo, searching for a better life and experiencing a harrowing journey with his brother to get there. The illustrations enhanced the text of the story which was so informative and emotionally impactful. Though this is a fictional text, elements of the story were taken from actual experiences and there is an additional graphically rendered true story to add more depth. Ebo's story is hopeful, heartbreaking, and so essential in our current time. As stated in the book, this a story that reminds us that we are all human.

With gorgeous illustrations and spare text, the authors and artists describe the desperation and fear of migrants as they make their way from Libya to Europe. Ebo and Kwame are well-drawn and developed; readers can see the fear on their faces and read it clearly in their words. What a perfect book for our time! Makes clear the truth that no one would ever make this journey unless they felt they absolutely had to. Highly recommended. I will purchase it for my middle school library.

This is a brilliant, wrenching graphic novel about two refugee brothers escaping their tumultuous lives in Ghana. Their goal is to cross the Mediterranean to Italy where they hope to find a better life. The story and illustrations show the treacherous journey so many refugees take to cross dangerous waters in the face of constant uncertainty in desperate hopes for something better than what they are trying to escape. It is a quick read, but powerful, almost like watching a movie.

*advance reading copy courtesy of NetGalley*
A powerful story of Ebo. His sister left several months ago and now his brother has left. Ebo sets off on a hazardous and frightening journey across Africa to find his brother and ultimately get to Europe. This is a story of many immigrants fleeing war and horrific violence in their countries.

Illegal follows the journey of twelve year old Ebo as he follows his brother from their home in Africa to Europe in search of their sister. Though a work of fiction, Illegal is based on the experience of countless refugees who have faced similarly difficult journeys. Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin have done a superb job in showing the harsh yet hopeful reality that so many hundreds of people face everyday.

<i>Illegal</i> is a great graphic novel with a timely and necessary topic. The novel follows the story of Ebo, a 12 year old boy who tries to leave his homeland in Africa in hopes of finding his sister and a better life in Europe. The story is slowly devastating, and the art captures that so well. It humanizes the people we see on the news who make the choice to leave everything they know for the chance a better life. I think this book would be a great addition to a classroom or for kids who have questions about immigration. I would definitely add that it should be talked about--the ending is a bit devastating and is something that younger kids should be guided through.

By telling the story of a young boy making the hazardous journey from his native Ghana to first find his brother, then make the perilous trip to Europe, Donkin, Colfer and Rigano also tell the story of the thousands upon thousands who doggedly brave numerous hurdles and chance everything every day across harsh deserts, treacherous seas, and more, every single day and every single hour . "Illegal" does a fantastic job of vividly bringing the tribulations of many into the hands (not to mention hearts) and mind into those of us who are all-too-disconnected the ordeals of the men, women and children who continue to risk it all for a shot at a better life.

This is an engaging and important story. I would have preferred it told from an #ownvoices perspective, but it is still a story that needs to be told.

Such an important topic, and a very fine book about it. The world needs more books like this!

This was a force to reckon with. My heart was completely lost in the story--the harsh reality that felt as though it would never soften-- and though it is mixed with the gorgeous hope of young Ebo--this is a soul crushingly realistic portrayal of the hardships of immigration.

Ebo and his older brother Kwame just want to get to Europe so they can reunite with their sister. But getting to Europe is easier said than done - they must deal with ruthless human traffickers, the brutal Sahara desert, and the bitterly cold and dangerous Mediterranean crossing....in a leaking balloon boat. Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking- while Ebo and Kwame's story might be fiction, their story is the same as many hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, desperate to find a better life in Europe.

Yeah, I cried. Bring tissues.

A powerful, timely, important, and skillfully told tale depicting the trials, strength, and humanity of modern refugees. Young orphan Ebo refuses to wait for his older siblings to return, when they leave his village in Ghana search of a better life. Risking everything to cross both land and sea, he discovers the best and worst in those around him, and finds the courage to battle back from tragedy and chart a course for a new life. Colfer and Donkin's' pitch-perfect storytelling is impactful and coupled by the muted tones and precise lines of Rigano's art. A must-have for all library collections.

Illegal is a children's graphic novel depicting the desperate journey of Edo as he leaves his home in Ghana to find his brother and sister. The journey is perilous, long, terrifying, and tragic. Illegal is a fantastic way for parents to introduce, and begin a dialogue with, their children about the the struggle other children might be going through. It portrays the great effort people make to find a better life for themselves. The story was touching and heart-wrenching, and the art only made it more so. Neither the author, nor the illustrator shied away from the seriousness of the material.

This gorgeous graphic novel is about about a boy who is escaping poverty and a miserable existence in Ghana. He is hoping to follow his sister and brother migrating to Europe. It shows how incredibly perilous this journey is for many people. This would be a terrific book to help kids understand the whole concept of why people are willing to get into overloaded boats and sail out into the ocean.