Illegal

This is a wonderful powerful graphic novel, the story it relavent with the struggles of refugees today.

This book was so good and very realistic. It really allows for an understanding of what "illegal" migrants go through in order to have a safe life and stay with their family. It really shows that all people deserve a safe life, but unfortunately it does not happen for some people. In our current political climate and environment, this book really struck close to home. It highlights very realistically the struggles some people go through, and they seem insurmountable and imaginable. Everyone should read this book, and I think it would help people be less judgemental and more understanding, i hope.

Illegal is an amazing, harrowing story of Ebo and his brother as they try to leave Africa in hopes of finding their sister and a better life in Europe. The illustrations made me feel like I was there with them as they crossed the desert, eked out a living while saving to continue the journey, and went to sea in an overloaded raft. I was brought to tears by the end of the story.

While this book is fiction, the trials Ebo goes through are based on real immigrants' stories. There is an afterword that is the true story of a teen girl who made the journey, and it will make readers think long and hard about immigration policies and the incredible difficulties people have to overcome to attempt a life in a new country.

My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. And my thanks, especially, to the author and illustrators of this powerful book.

A swiftly moving engrossing story told through dynamic artwork.

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.

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.

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.

Truly exceptional artwork. Marvelous and important story really, really well told. Such a fantastic way to show the difficult journey refugees make to get from Africa to Europe. Perfect for middle schoolers!

It is fiction but all the separate elements are true and the reader will learn all about the multitude of many thousands of innocent men, women and children and what they encountered in order to make the 300 mile sea crossing between Norther Africa and Italy.
Very well written and illustrated graphic novel.

This middle grade/young adult graphic novel is an essential purchase for any library investing in graphic novels for youth. The artwork is absolutely stunning; it's engaging and top-notch. The writing is clear and concise, with helpful narration from the 12-year-old Ghanaian protagonist Ebo. A "Then" and "Now" timeline keeps the plot moving while providing readers with frequent cliffhangers and breaks. But the real marvel is this harrowing story of illegal immigration and the empathy it creates in the reader who witnesses Ebo's stuggles to survive. Some may argue that the story and characters are too simplistic, but I would argue that this graphic novel avoids some complex political issues in favor of telling an important human story. In that sense, the book does not hit a single false emotional note. Colfer, Donkin, and Rigano manage to tell a humongous tale in 122 pages, and it could not have been done any better.

Recommend to: all readers between the ages of 11-15

This graphic novel tells a story of pain, suffering, perseverance, and overcoming many obstacles to have a chance at a better life. The tale of the two brothers trying to make the dangerous journey to Europe to become reunited with their sister shows the reader all the ordeals that an immigrant might face. This novel is a great educational tool that I hope many will utilize!

I received an electronic ARC from Sourcebooks. This YA graphic novel from author Eoin Colfer takes us on a powerful and emotional journey. Young Ebo’s older brother Kwame has set off from Africa for Europe to find their oldest sister who has already made the trip. Ebo leaves his home (leaving only an alcoholic uncle behind) to find his brother, so they can travel to Europe together. What follows is a perilous journey told between the present and flashbacks of Ebo leaving his home and working to get enough money to embark on each leg of his trip. The art is raw, the text easy to follow, and the story while a work of fiction is based on realistic situations. Colfer clearly depicts the risks migrants make for a better life, for any life. Highly recommended for middle grade, teen, and adult readers alike.

Illegal is a riveting graphic novel depicting the the quest of Ebo, an orphaned boy armed with only a gift for singing and an ironclad determination to follow his older siblings to Europe. Older brother Kwame has left him a note promising that he will send a helicopter to reunite them. The plot and the graphics complement each other perfectly to create a realistic, dramatic, and essential look at the plight of refugees today.

What a gem of a book! The tone is exactly right, we come to feel the fears, hopes, exhilaration and live through the trauma of Ebo, as he searches for his brother who has headed off to try and get to Europe as a refugee. This is only the beginning though, after rejoicing at finding Kwame, he is then trying to earn enough money to gain passage on a boat for them to go together to Europe, where they hope to find their sister. It is hard to read, and it is quite an emotional experience for the reader to see their struggle in the pages of this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel. Hard, because for every good thing that happens to them, several terrible experiences occur to them. I felt a bit like I needed to take a break from the suffering at times. This was especially the case when they were sleeping in a water pipe which at any time might gush huge tons of water and drown them in their sleep. Gahhhh that was horrible.

This book is a must have addition to a secondary school library, you’ll probably need several copies, Social Studies teachers will use it with their classes studying refugees, art students will be drawn to the gorgeously drawn comics. Readers will enjoy, yet be horrified by, the experiences of the brothers. I liked so much about it. I liked the way that the authors didn’t shy away from the horror of the experiences of these people, I loved the change in tone in the colouring, which indicated the timelines and which made the then and now seperate, and yet relevant to the ongoing action in both storylines. This is clever but not too clever for it’s own good. I love that this graphic novel isn’t trying too hard, it just gets on with the stark story and draws you in. The fames are so well placed and the story is clear.

I’d love to see another story from this team on a social issue. Take a look at the clip below to see the beauty and sadness. Turn the sound up!

This middle-grade graphic novel about refugee brothers crossing the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Europe in search of a better life was absolutely beautiful, absolutely tragic, and, ultimately, absolutely important.

This is one of those books that leaves you absolutely speechless. The heartbreaking journey that Ebo (the main character in the work) and so many countless others take in order to make a better life for themselves is extremely sobering. Taking the reader carefully through the trials and tribulations of a Ghanaian immigrant trying to get to Europe not only allows the reader to deeply emphasize with the character, but to also realize what a crisis the world has on its hands! And one that could be getting even worse if things continue the way the are with a particular man in office.

Illegal is the novel that the world needs right now. It is a work that every person, and even more importantly, every politician should be reading.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is one of the most compelling graphic novels for MG/YA that I've ever read. Ebo is a young boy from Ghana who must make his way across the Sahara Desert in order to find his brother Kwame. They both have one goal: find a way to Europe and reunite with their sister who has already escaped. I found myself on the edge of hope with every page. I was so drawn in to the story that I stayed up to read it all in one night. I would put this in the hands of every 5th grader I know. It is so timely and so needed in our current climate.

The Review:
Illegal is a graphic novel by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, with a primary audience of children (probably ages ten and up), and this is the kind of book that every child should have access to. 

Colfer and Donkin trace the fictional path of Ebo, a young Ghanian boy, as he makes his way to Europe in search of his siblings Kwame and Sisi. Ebo encounters sickness and peril on his journey, all written by Colfer (of Artemis Fowl fame) and Donkin (DC comics work) and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. The illustrations are beautifully colored, with lots of wide shots to give readers an idea of what kinds of places Ebo travels through. 

Colfer starts the book with an epigraph from Elie Wiesel's "no human being is illegal" quote. What this graphic novel does, even more than a traditional novel would, is let a young (or not-so-young) reader place themselves in the shoes of an immigrant attempting to find refuge. In this particular story, the person is a young Ghanain boy seeking Italy's shores, but the wider message is applicable to all people searching for safety. 

In short, beautiful illustrations of a fictional, but realistic, story. Highly recommended.