Illegal

Illegal
Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Giovanni Rigano, Illustrator
Sourcebooks, 2018 122 pages
Grades 6-Up
Graphic Novel

Ebo's brother has disappeared from their small, poor village in Ghana to seek out their sister who left a few months before. With both of his parent's dead, Ebo finds it easy to walk away from the alcoholic uncle who is raising him and search for his brother, stowing away on the roof of a crowded bus, which takes him to a big city at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Finally, after many weeks of searching, Ebo tracks down his brother and the two find jobs in order to earn the money to cross the desert. Finally, the day arrives and the boys embark on a journey riddled with thirst, starvation, double-crossing, and death. Miraculously, they make it across, only to reach another city with nowhere to live, no food, and no more money to arrange further transportation. A make-shift home is arranged and the brothers go back to working in order to secure the boat fare to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Finally, passage on a boat is secured, only to face more peril as the non-sea-worthy rubber raft is overcrowded, out of fuel and supplies, and all hope seems lost. Will Ebo and his brother survive the precarious journey? And what will become of them if they do?

Artemis Fowl author teams up with collaborators for the graphic series, turning from fantasy to a story that's all too realistic and reflects the current news headlines. Refugees are sweeping the world and the answer to the situation is the topic for many current debates. The book creators offer no easy answers to this world problem, but do serve to educate the public about some of the motivations and struggles facing a group of African refugees today. At the core, the team succeeds in presenting the characters as real people, who were born in horrible circumstances that they attempt to overcome despite overwhelming obstacles in order to find safety and security. Ebo's character will allow young readers to identify with his situation and sympathize with a situation far from their reality. The story is told in full color with minimal text, often letting the illustrations tell the tale. The writers do not shy away from gruesome realities and cruelties and there are deaths of key characters. The story ends happy-ish, but not without serious loss. A bonus chapter at the end tell a woman's story in black-and-white interview-style for balance. A serious and timely topic realistically and sensitively presented to a young audience.