August 1, 2021
Gr 9 Up-In this graphic memoir, Glock looks back on her teenage years. Fifteen-year-old Sophia is used to starting over: She's lived in nine apartments and attended eight schools in six countries. Now a high school junior in Central America, Sophia reads a letter from her older sister Julia to their parents, and the puzzle pieces click into place as she realizes that their parents are spies. She continues to keep their secrets, even as she copes with adolescent growing pains: navigating friendship, wanting independence from her parents, failing to hide a crush. She also confronts bigger challenges, such as the death of a classmate and effects of Hurricane Mitch (which remind her of living through a coup d'�tat in another country). Yet as an American, Sophia is sheltered from the tragedies she sees and is somewhat troubled by her privilege ("It was like being there...but not really there at all"). The palette-largely pale, orange-tinted pink and lavender-gray with occasional splashes of red or deep shadow-subtly reminds readers that this story is being told in retrospect. Fittingly, Sophia ends her story by "starting over. Again," this time with her arrival at college. Sophia and her family are white. VERDICT A rare peek behind the curtain into life as the daughter of U.S. intelligence officers, this is a story full of secrets that expertly unfold one by one. Highly recommended for teen graphic novel collections.-Jenny Arch, Lilly Lib., Florence, MA
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 1, 2021
Navigating high school is hard enough, let alone when your parents are CIA spies. In this graphic memoir, U.S. citizen Glock shares the remarkable story of a childhood spent moving from country to country; abiding by strange, secretive rules; and the mystery of her parents' occupations. By the time she reaches high school in an unspecified Central American nation--the sixth country she's lived in--she's begun to feel the weight of isolation and secrecy. After stealing a peek at a letter home to her parents from her older sister, who is attending college in the States, the pieces begin to fall into place. Normal teenage exploration and risk-taking, such as sneaking out to parties and flirtations with boys, feel different when you live and go to school behind locked gates and kidnapping is a real risk. This story, which was vetted by the CIA, follows the author from childhood to her eventual return to a home country that in many ways feels foreign. It considers the emotional impact of familial secrets and growing up between cultures. The soft illustrations in a palette of grays and peaches lend a nostalgic air, and Glock's expressive faces speak volumes. This is a quiet, contemplative story that will leave readers yearning to know more and wondering what intriguing details were, of necessity, edited out. Glock and many classmates at her American school read as White; other characters are Central American locals. A truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story about a lost soul finding her way. (Graphic memoir. 13-18)
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October 11, 2021
Glock’s subtly crafted, emotive graphic memoir explores themes of belonging, identity, and loyalty in a highly specific context: teen life as the child of CIA spies. Sophia and her American siblings, cued white, have grown up in series of Central American countries but “haven’t lived anywhere long enough to be from there.” Their parents have mysterious jobs that require high security homes, and they’re vague about the reasons behind strict rules and regular moves. As Sophia’s older sister leaves for college and Sophia begins to parse the reasons behind her parents’ reserve, the teen tires of seclusion and starts keeping secrets of her own as part of her budding independence. Sophia’s disillusionment unfolds in hues of purple and peach against a backdrop of hurricanes and a military coup. Packaging meals for hurricane victims, she hears about mass graves, juxtaposing her actions’ impact against the scale of the churning world around her. She wonders, “Does someone keep secrets because they’re a spy? Or do they become a spy because they know how to keep secrets?” Moving to the U.S., she starts over anew, still a fish out of water, but with a newfound sense of her own resilience. Ages 12–up. Agent: Molly O’Neill, Root Literary.
October 15, 2021
Grades 7-12 In her graphic-memoir debut, Glock chronicles her life growing up in a household headed by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officers working abroad. She begins by painting a vivid picture of a challenging childhood that consisted of moves from country to country, struggles to fit in and make friends, and strict, secretive parents. After depicting this seldom-seen perspective, Glock moves into familiar territory by portraying her teenage years, which were spent in an undisclosed Central American nation. Even though Glock continues to illustrate the impact of having CIA officers as parents, the remainder of this memoir features a story line that shares similarities with other coming-of-age graphic novels. Brought alive by her expressive, fine-lined artwork in a subdued palette, Glock's journey of self-discovery involves peer pressure, partying, dating, drinking, teenage-friendship drama, sex, self-esteem struggles, and eventual self-acceptance. Readers in search of a graphic novel that focuses on the path toward adulthood or teenagers trying to claim their identity and independence away from the shadows of their parents will appreciate this offering.
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