Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a review. Opinions are my own. This middle grade graphic novel tells the biographies of 8 African American historical figures. I especially liked that a few disabled and neurodivergent people were included because their historical contributions are often downplayed or ignored. When white characters used racist slurs, the word in the speech bubbles were replaced with a caricature that looked like a gollywog. I don't know if that was necessary or even an improvement, but I found it to be thought-provoking and an innovate use of the medium. I generally thought the historical analysis was nuanced, but when it came to Tom Wiggins and Cathay Williams, it seemed like their experiences were flattened in order to offer an uplifting story. The biography talked of Tom Wiggins' skill and renown but didn't explicitly call out the ableism and dehumanization that undergirded the praise he received, which I think leaves out a big part of his story. I think it's important to explicitly name because it may not be taught in school and young readers may not recognize it for themselves. Cathay Williams' legacy as a Buffalo soldier is of mixed merit given their role in dispossessing Native Americans of their land, and the author didn't provide details of what exactly she did during her enlistment. I thought that the author generally did a good job of balancing the difficulties and complexities of the lives of those included, but I felt it fell flat in some cases. A good, memorable start for learning some more obscure African American history.

This graphic novel tells incredible stories of unsung African-American heroes. The text is readable and perfect for middle school students, and the illustrations provide students with context for the stories. After reading this graphic novel, I wanted to know more about the people mentioned and dive deeper into their stories. This book will definitely be included in my classroom library.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book!

This graphic novel highlights people who have lead influential and impressive lives. These people went against unbelievable odds to do the amazing tasks and accomplishments they set out to do.
This book is inspiring and engaging to readers of all ages.

I never thought that a graphic novel can have this type of excessive (in a good way) action and adventure at the same time and compiled in just a few pages with dialogue! AMAZING!

" Mary was a gun-toting, cigar-smoking, saloon-dwelling mountain of a woman with larger-than-average hands"

Strange Fruit volume two is an excellent documentation of history that we just aren't taught in schools. Strange fruit focuses on the early African American's experience being slaves and being free after being slaves. It covers a lot of remarkable people who escaped into freedom and challenges commonly held concepts that former slaves were less educated and that there were no successful black people during this time. I think that Strange Fruit is a very important book because it does not hold back. It does not try to wash over slave ownership and makes the focus on these previously neglected African American people. I think that this is an important read and should be a staple in every school library.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'm very glad to have read the stories in this book. I'm always eager to learn about the erased of history.
I also loooved the coloring on those illustration !

I read this book because of its cover. Yes, I said it, I judged this book by its beautiful cover! I was NOT disappointed.

The song of the same name by Billie Holiday paints dark images of a terrible time in United States History, but I trusted that Joel Christian Gill would not give us darkness is this second volume of Strange Fruit. I was right. There is light, inspiration, and laughter throughout this beautifully illustrated and concisely written book. Gill tells the stories of 8 different people from history. He gives us beautiful illustrations and the perfect amount of text to make each story compelling and informative. Children and adults will be entertained by these stories and gain knowledge from them as they read.

Gill does touch on the darkness that flows through the history of the USA, but more than that, he shows the strength, happiness, determination, and beauty of people who make up the history of this country. The reader is introduced to many historical figures generally unknown.

These short illustrated stories are easy to read for the young and old and will inspire many to dig deeper into the lives of the people so beautifully showcased in the book.

This book should be a part of every library. Everyone needs to know about these amazing people.

I am embarrassed to admit that of the figures presented in this in book I was only familiar with Victor Green. I found the book very informative for such a slim tome and I particularly enjoyed the accompanying illustrations.

I liked the stories that Joel Gill chose for this book.. The characters were not all world changers and not all had been the first to accomplish some great feat. The people in these stories shined through adversity with memorable character traits, like persistence or a great sense of humor that shined even while they struggled.

An amazing collection of real stories, opening our mind and history for this black heroes. I was touched by each tale, who was delicate, sensible but also sharp, telling the truth about the cruelty of discrimination and the still open wound of racism.

Even the stories we are familiar with, like Victor Green and Blind Tom Wiggins, are presented in a refreshing and original way, keeping apart and rewriting whitewashed versions of these facts.

The art and illustrations are beautiful, simple but attractive.

A pleasant and educational reading, for all ages.

"Strange Fruit Volume II" is a surprisingly well done and well illustrated graphic novel with a focus on black history. As a bit of a history buff, I definitely enjoy learning more about interesting figures from the past in all time periods but reading more about black history definitely appeals to me as a black woman. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one as it was so informative. I'll definitely pick up the first and any future installments. This is definitely something I'd recommend to people in the future.

A book to celebrate black history every day, with lesser-known African American stories, that deserve to be told.
This graphic novel emphasizes the victories of 8 people, informing the reader of their situation and how they overcame it.
The author also found a nice way of portraying the bad words they were called, making this an uplifting book that anyone can enjoy.
This book was provided by NetGalley.

Good source of information on Black History. Very well presented and informative. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

The author/illustrator created these books with the hope that we could stop having a "white history" and a "black history," and work toward having one united American history.

I don't normally read graphic novels, but this was a fun way to learn about a variety of black Americans I'd never heard of before. They weren't the kind of people who would make a big historic difference like Dr. King, but they were all extraordinary in some way.

I think my favorite person in the book was Tom Wiggins. He was a blind autistic boy who wasn't even expected to live when he was an infant. He turned out to be like the Stevie Wonder of the slave era. He could learn to play any musical instrument almost instantly, and he could mimic any vocal sounds he heard, including foreign languages he had never learned. Of course, his master and manager exploited him for money and for the Confederate cause. But Tom didn't really notice or care much. He just wanted to make music, all day every day.

Gill's illustrations are very appealing. I'm looking forward to reading Volume I.

Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History is a graphic novel collection of 8 biographies from black history. Released 1st Feb 2018 by Fulcrum Press, it's 112 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

None of the 8 subjects were previously known to me and all of the stories of their lives including slavery, physical assault and abuse, danger, casual institutionalized racism and sexism left me saddened. These are stories of children, men, and women who succeeded -despite- the most daunting odds imaginable. Their lives were varied as were their talents: music, patriotism, bravery, aptitude, gender role defying, and surviving merciless exploitation.

The art, by Joel Christian Gill is clean and crisp, appealing, but unapologetic in its representation of the blatant racism and exploitation of the time (19th-20th century USA - with some of the subjects also spending time in Europe). There is no direct depiction of graphic violence in the book and it would be appropriate (perhaps contextualized by an adult/teacher) for younger readers. There were several scenes in the books which gave me chills and most of it was difficult to read emotionally. I appreciated the author's substitution of a graphic stylized "golliwog" in place of a written hurtful racial slur in the dialogue. The semiotic symbolism was just as effective (maybe more so) than writing the 'n-word' would have been. There's also an included bibliography and resource list at the end of the book for further reading.

Especially now, when the dialogue is fraught in the USA and we're being faced with deeper and more painful divisiveness in our political, social, and racial discourse, I think this is an -important- book and deserves a wider audience. This would make a superlative classroom, school, or public library book, as well as a good selection for a group read. The art alone would make it a good choice for the home library for fans of graphic novels, social/racial history, or biography.

Four and a half stars. Well worth a read.

This is a fantastic resource for highlighting the unsung heroes of African American history and brings their stories to life in an informative and engaging manner, illuminating the richness of the African-American contribution to American society.

Perhaps the title should say “African American” instead of simply “black”; as a teacher in the U.K. I wouldn’t incorporate this into my teaching but this is definitely a book I’ll be recommending to my students to explore by reading for pleasure. I hope there are many more titles in this series.

This book is an amazing read for both young and old. It provides brief stories about some well known historical figures and some who are little known. The art work was fantastic and as I read the stories I kept thinking, wow, kids can really get into these stories. Bravo to the author. I will locate volume I and add it to my collection and look forward to future volumes.

Strange Fruit, Volume II from Joel Christian Gill builds on the foundation of the first volume to become even better and more inclusive.

There are so many lesser known people of color who are regularly overlooked in history, especially US history. Even after quite some time of rediscovering these people it can be a task to find information about them. This book, and the one before it, helps to both fill that need and make the information more accessible to younger readers. And it is with them that the success or failure of society rests.

As with volume I, the artwork is very good and the way each person's story is told is a treat. It is not simply a brief recounting of birth date, an accomplishment or two, and their death. It is a scene from their life, or a series of small vignettes from their life to illustrate the arc, and ongoing obstacles, of their life's work and success. And equally important, the message all of their lives have for us today.

Highly recommended for any reader who wants to learn more history and especially those with children. Teaching our young about the contributions and struggles of everyone are lessons that will pay huge dividends down the road.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the perfect book for the classroom. The graphic nonfiction covers little-known African Americans who should be in the history books. When read individually, the pieces give enough information to intrigue the reader but also allows space for the reader (my students) to research the people on their own. When read together as a collection of vignettes, the piece covers various people that gives the book a holistic feel. Overall, this is a need in every classroom.

I very much enjoyed this comic. I knew the letter of Jourdon Anderson and about Victor Green, but the rest of the people showcased were new to me. I appreciated the artwork and the straightforward storytelling - not skipping the negative truths in history but focusing on uplifting parts of the stories as much as the upsetting. I think this will be a good book to share with my daughter someday.