Manuelito's story is a timely one - especially for raising empathetic awareness for students who have not gone through the experience of living in a dangerous place, leaving their families, and making the terrifying journey to the United States. The book ends abruptly after Manuelito is deported by ICE back to Guatemala - his future is unknown, but his family is devastated. I think the graphic novel format really lends itself well to this kind of biographical story; the text is not overwhelming, the pictures expressive, and overall the book is far from daunting reader-wise. I'm really looking forward to hearing from some of the teens I serve about Manuelito - I'm sure there are more kids than I could imagine who will see their own stories mirrored in this book.

Manuelito tells the story of a Mayan boy making his way to the U.S. from Guatemala. He is fleeing gang violence.

The illustrating is lovely - all grayscale, with the look of charcoal or other fairly soft medium. The illustrations take center stage, as there is a very limited amount of text. Unfortunately, the font, while easy to read (far from a guarantee for graphic novels!), doesn't work well with the illustrations, perhaps partially due to the convention chosen of narration in all caps.

A couple of other comments:
-A) It is unclear what age group Manuelito is intended for. The language and base story are pretty simple - on a level that I would say middle elementary school could handle - but the concepts are ones I would hesitate to introduce to that age group (rape, murder, drugs, etc). Thus, I would say middle school and above...with the caveat that the simplistic storytelling might lose the interest of those groups. Manuelito could work for people who are not native English speakers, or who are otherwise not yet reading at a very advanced level.
B) A fair amount of existing knowledge is necessary to get the most out of this story. Because of the space constraints and the choice to go with minimal text, background/explanation is somewhat lacking. There is enough to make the story understandable, but it works best if you know more about the Guatemala civil war, current immigration climate, ICE, etc. Of course, if you were to use this in an educational setting, you could turn the minimalism to your advantage by having students research different aspects of the story...

Overall, I will probably pick this up for my library's graphic novels collection because of our current collecting foci. However, if you have a slender budget, I would skip this title.

The story of a young Guatemalan boy whose family forces him to go with a coyote to America. It was no longer safe in his village due to gangs and even the military kidnapping young boys and forcing them into service. It's interesting to see this side of the immigration debate that we don't often see in the U.S. He's only making the dangerous trip to America because his family doesn't know any other way to keep him safe. He even does the right thing by claiming asylum as soon as he enters the country. It just goes to show things are not so black and while as politicians would like you to believe.

Although I could see the potential in this text, I was not able to sustain my attention and finish the narrative.

A timely graphic novel about a boy from Guatemala who makes the dangerous trek to America to seek asylum.

Manuelito is a powerful and heartbreaking story that provides readers an important perspective and historical background on the Northern Triangle refugee crisis. I loved the graphite illustrations too.

The foreword regarding our worldwide refugee crisis, and <I>United Nation's Conventions and Protocols Relating to the Status of Refugees</I> at the end of the book solidifies what I love most about each Annick Press book I have read: they publish stories that shine light on the varied experiences of young people from around the globe!


I received this egalley from the publisher via netgalley.

This book told a very important story. It was engaging and well-written but I thought it ended too abruptly. It is a story that is definitely needed, particularly given our current political situation, I just wanted to read more of Manuelito’s story.

This depressing story is ripped from today's headlines, as the saying goes.

Manuelito is trying to escape his home in Guatemala, as the local gangs are killing people, and the army is snatching people, and it is not safe to be there. He thinks that going to the US is the only way, and his father pays a coyote to take him there. This is the story of his trip.

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-4773" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-27-at-12.41.14-PM-778x1024.png" alt="Manuelito" />

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-4772" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-27-at-12.42.12-PM-787x1024.png" alt="Manuelito" />

The art looks awkward, as though drawn from photographs. The text looks slapped on, but that might be just the review gallery version. The book is depressing, but based on real life events that are happening even now.

I found the art a little to much on the crude side, but the story was intense, and very realistic. It is a story that needs to be told, because of all the horrors that are happening south of the American border.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The story here is representative of the plight of thousands driven or sent from Central America due to a horrible array of forces that can make living in their homes not merely untenable, but seriously life-threatening. "Manuelito" only has fairly simple black and white illustrations and the simple, plain perspective of its main character, and honestly that's all that is needed to create a shockingly powerful and necessary wallop to the heart of any reader as they experience a long journey from Guatemala with the title character in hope of a better life. The shared tale here in this work is something that deserves to be widely and readily available in as many libraries' and bookstores' graphic novel collections as possible, and as soon as possible.

A very sad & terrifying story about a 13 year old's life in Guatemala...leading to his parents decision to try to engineer their son's dangerous & risky escape to America. This timely story is accompanied by very expressive 2 tone chalk like drawings/illustrations......very well done, & story very well told. It sort of describes the scary urgency & violence......without blatant graphic horror.....that is/must be a part of this awful drama...... It is terrible what is going on in that Northern Triangle of Central America due to drugs & gangs.... This book is really good.....very expressive, with it's dialogue & illustrations.
I received this e-ARC from the publisher Annick Press Ltd. & NetGalley, in return for my own fair & honest review.