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The Debwe Series
Fire Starters
Looking for a little mischief after discovering an old flare gun, Ron and Ben find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriff’s son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light.
Fire Starters is one book in The Debwe Series.
Fire Starters is one book in The Debwe Series.
56 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2016
10 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Jen Storm
4 books14 followersJen Storm (she/her/hers) is an Ojibwe writer from Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. She lives and raises her family, which includes her son, River and stepson Axel, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jen completed Deadly Loyalties, her first novel, at age fourteen and has continued writing ever since.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
May 18, 2017
“Fire Starters” is an excellent book for middle graders about the prejudice facing indigenous peoples. It’s also a morality tale about taking responsibility for your actions. Tough subject matter to read, as it should be. The artwork is great.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
August 3, 2018
Heavy issues addressed... quickly. I would have liked to see more resolution. The ending comes disappointingly fast.
March 17, 2017
Fire Starters is essentially a slice of life showcasing intercultural relations between a fictional reserve and the small town it resides beside. When a local gas bar goes up in flames, two aboriginal teens are suspect by the police and blamed by the public because they were seen earlier with a flare gun in hand. Parental Note: Tobacco use is used for both the expected personal use as well as for more traditional offerings. Religious symbols are also seen throughout, but it's not a religious story.
What I really liked about the story was the art and the subtlety. You can tell we're somewhere in Manitoba, and besides all the Winnipeg Jets iconography, you can see other current pop culture references in the background. Though perhaps I could complain that the teens all look perhaps a bit older than they should (Michael is the only one who looks a little babyfaced) our cast of snowflakes all have distinctive looks - even one of the boys has a slightly heavier-set look. That isn't to say that the artwork is super detailed or stylized, but you notice design differences on the principle characters. You also see a lot of small details that, if you are unaware of the situation, you might not notice - such as references to a missing aboriginal girl, as well as the apparent Canadian addiction to all things HOCKEY.
Where I get persnickity is some of the story and the treatment of police officers. This story is built around teenagers, and it's not big enough to address everything it touches. For instance, the main characters of Ben and Ron don't really get that much development as compared to their grandmother and the actual culprits, Mike and Jason. This is actually fine, because the real drama and development needs to come from people who need to examine what they did and change, because, short of doing pretty much what 90% of teenage boys would probably do with a flare gun, didn't do anything wrong, but in a way it just highlights that they're victims in a system designed to work against them. This doesn't really make them heroes so much as placeholders for a conversation. Fine for us grown-ups, but for the target audience, I would have preferred more of a lens through someone I'm supposed to associate with.
Now, the cop convo comes from a place as a first responder, so my grain of salt comes from regularly associating with the RCMP and DOPS. Michael is the sheriff's son, and has zero problem letting Ben and Ron take the blame because he figures that they're destined for jail anyway. The sheriff comes across as rough and angry, and it's pretty blatant from Grandma's mouth that he has it out for the boys because of racism. He does do the right thing eventually (a blink and miss it he's in the healing circle near the end) but my only problem with this as a teaching tool is that I don't want a conversation that assumes cops are naturally prone to hate a particular group. I'll be the first to acknowledge that there are problems with individuals and institutions need to be held to task, but I don't like narratives that support condemning a group as a whole.
On the whole though, I liked the story and would probably recommended it to ages 12+. Other graphic stories from Highwater Press are more appropriate for a slightly younger demographics, but I'll loan this out to the niece and little cousin and get their verdict and see if it's a little too mature for them.
What I really liked about the story was the art and the subtlety. You can tell we're somewhere in Manitoba, and besides all the Winnipeg Jets iconography, you can see other current pop culture references in the background. Though perhaps I could complain that the teens all look perhaps a bit older than they should (Michael is the only one who looks a little babyfaced) our cast of snowflakes all have distinctive looks - even one of the boys has a slightly heavier-set look. That isn't to say that the artwork is super detailed or stylized, but you notice design differences on the principle characters. You also see a lot of small details that, if you are unaware of the situation, you might not notice - such as references to a missing aboriginal girl, as well as the apparent Canadian addiction to all things HOCKEY.
Where I get persnickity is some of the story and the treatment of police officers. This story is built around teenagers, and it's not big enough to address everything it touches. For instance, the main characters of Ben and Ron don't really get that much development as compared to their grandmother and the actual culprits, Mike and Jason. This is actually fine, because the real drama and development needs to come from people who need to examine what they did and change, because, short of doing pretty much what 90% of teenage boys would probably do with a flare gun, didn't do anything wrong, but in a way it just highlights that they're victims in a system designed to work against them. This doesn't really make them heroes so much as placeholders for a conversation. Fine for us grown-ups, but for the target audience, I would have preferred more of a lens through someone I'm supposed to associate with.
Now, the cop convo comes from a place as a first responder, so my grain of salt comes from regularly associating with the RCMP and DOPS. Michael is the sheriff's son, and has zero problem letting Ben and Ron take the blame because he figures that they're destined for jail anyway. The sheriff comes across as rough and angry, and it's pretty blatant from Grandma's mouth that he has it out for the boys because of racism. He does do the right thing eventually (a blink and miss it he's in the healing circle near the end) but my only problem with this as a teaching tool is that I don't want a conversation that assumes cops are naturally prone to hate a particular group. I'll be the first to acknowledge that there are problems with individuals and institutions need to be held to task, but I don't like narratives that support condemning a group as a whole.
On the whole though, I liked the story and would probably recommended it to ages 12+. Other graphic stories from Highwater Press are more appropriate for a slightly younger demographics, but I'll loan this out to the niece and little cousin and get their verdict and see if it's a little too mature for them.
June 4, 2017
Full review to come!
October 31, 2020
I would be hard pressed to find a book, comic or otherwise, that disappointed me as much as Fire Starters. I thought Naomi Alderman's The Power abused it's potential but that's nothing on Fire Starters. A book I picked up on a whim. Maybe I saw it on a list of indigenous writings. I cracked it up because the synopsis looked interesting enough. Little did I know what I was in for.
The drawing is effective for a slice of life comic, the colors faded in the way that I like. The story moves well. Too well as it would turn out but 4 pages in and I was pretty hooked. I was invested in these characters I wasn't even sure I would ever have read yesterday. A hop, skip and a jump later and we've reached our inciting incident plus given some backstory context to both our white pair of kids and the native pair of kids. The white kids are basically your average white brats and the native kids are just.. kids. They want to fit in like everyone else.
After the instigative phase of the story is the investigative phase. This book was supposed to be about racism, prejudice and reconciliation. At this point I'm far far more invested than I expected in seeing what the write wants to tell me about these subjects. I'm open minded and listening and yet the spoiler alert is that Fire Starters doesn't really want to say anything.
It's clear the authors have things to say they just skip over every opportunity to really say it. There's a fantastic setup here. It really needed 100 more pages to work it out. I didn't care that we don't really get an understanding of the social dynamic because I was hoping to dive into what the reconciliation is but looking back I do want to see how the relationships work. It would have provided some context to these white kids and maybe even room for character for the native kids. It would have really given the investigative phase somewhere to go. Instead while it looks like the investigation is going to stir up old feelings and settle racial lines against each other but these things are mostly brushed off.
There are some hints of it like this wordless panel from page 46
and this panel from page 41
The things that happen in this story, the fire, the fight, the hockey game, these could be flashpoints to show how this incident affects everyone in the community or even if you want just these four kids involved. There was so much potential to explore WHY this reconciliation is necessary for ALL of the kids. How this incident is hurting all of them from the white kid to the passing kid to the older native kid and his geeky younger brother. I so badly wanted to see them as people to see how they were affected by this and to again see what would be required for reconciliation. But the investigative phase is over too soon before any of this potential is realized.
It was disappointing but I would have been okay with it because in my head the real meat and potatoes of this story isn't what happened before but what comes after. The reconciliation I was waiting to see the contrasting systems of justice. To see an "on the ground example of what reconciliation can mean". And. Yet.
In spite of the hinting towards it, in spite of the synopsis telling me this is what the book would give me the reconciliation is THE most rushed aspect of the book. It's so rushed it's been reduced to a single page.
Page 50
This single page represents my entire hope for the story. It's unearned, unclear, ineffective, and lacking. It looks great there's just nothing there. There's no story how we get to this page. And in spite of this looking like the start of the reconciliation process the next page shows aftermath. There's clearly so much that happens before that page, in that page and after that page and get just the most scarce of hints.
I don't know why this is so short. It needed to be bigger. Unfortunately without that room to grow it barely works as a primer of racism for elementary school kids. I'm stumbling trying to find the audience who can find satisfaction or education or value in this. I mean for crying out loud there's an entire storyline about racial identity vs racial presentation that goes nowhere. I'd love to read this again fully realized. I would drop money on it. Heck I'd kickstart it.
One thing it has successfully done is made me interested in the works of it's authors. Who knows what Jen Storms other stuff is like but I'll definitely crack it open if I see it.
The drawing is effective for a slice of life comic, the colors faded in the way that I like. The story moves well. Too well as it would turn out but 4 pages in and I was pretty hooked. I was invested in these characters I wasn't even sure I would ever have read yesterday. A hop, skip and a jump later and we've reached our inciting incident plus given some backstory context to both our white pair of kids and the native pair of kids. The white kids are basically your average white brats and the native kids are just.. kids. They want to fit in like everyone else.
After the instigative phase of the story is the investigative phase. This book was supposed to be about racism, prejudice and reconciliation. At this point I'm far far more invested than I expected in seeing what the write wants to tell me about these subjects. I'm open minded and listening and yet the spoiler alert is that Fire Starters doesn't really want to say anything.
It's clear the authors have things to say they just skip over every opportunity to really say it. There's a fantastic setup here. It really needed 100 more pages to work it out. I didn't care that we don't really get an understanding of the social dynamic because I was hoping to dive into what the reconciliation is but looking back I do want to see how the relationships work. It would have provided some context to these white kids and maybe even room for character for the native kids. It would have really given the investigative phase somewhere to go. Instead while it looks like the investigation is going to stir up old feelings and settle racial lines against each other but these things are mostly brushed off.
There are some hints of it like this wordless panel from page 46
and this panel from page 41
The things that happen in this story, the fire, the fight, the hockey game, these could be flashpoints to show how this incident affects everyone in the community or even if you want just these four kids involved. There was so much potential to explore WHY this reconciliation is necessary for ALL of the kids. How this incident is hurting all of them from the white kid to the passing kid to the older native kid and his geeky younger brother. I so badly wanted to see them as people to see how they were affected by this and to again see what would be required for reconciliation. But the investigative phase is over too soon before any of this potential is realized.
It was disappointing but I would have been okay with it because in my head the real meat and potatoes of this story isn't what happened before but what comes after. The reconciliation I was waiting to see the contrasting systems of justice. To see an "on the ground example of what reconciliation can mean". And. Yet.
In spite of the hinting towards it, in spite of the synopsis telling me this is what the book would give me the reconciliation is THE most rushed aspect of the book. It's so rushed it's been reduced to a single page.
Page 50
This single page represents my entire hope for the story. It's unearned, unclear, ineffective, and lacking. It looks great there's just nothing there. There's no story how we get to this page. And in spite of this looking like the start of the reconciliation process the next page shows aftermath. There's clearly so much that happens before that page, in that page and after that page and get just the most scarce of hints.
I don't know why this is so short. It needed to be bigger. Unfortunately without that room to grow it barely works as a primer of racism for elementary school kids. I'm stumbling trying to find the audience who can find satisfaction or education or value in this. I mean for crying out loud there's an entire storyline about racial identity vs racial presentation that goes nowhere. I'd love to read this again fully realized. I would drop money on it. Heck I'd kickstart it.
One thing it has successfully done is made me interested in the works of it's authors. Who knows what Jen Storms other stuff is like but I'll definitely crack it open if I see it.
April 21, 2017
'Fire Starters' by Jen Storm with art by Scott Henderson tells a good moral fable for younger readers. It works well in a graphic novel form.
Ron and Ben live on the Agamiing Reserve. Their grandmother looks after them when their mother is away. When they find an old flare gun in their deceased uncle's tackle box, they decide to take it to the dump and shoot it off. When the gas bar is burned down, they are accused, but the real person who did it won't come forward.
It's a story that feels like an after school special, but there's nothing wrong with that kind of story in a graphic novel format. The message of racism is a bit strong, but maybe that's not so bad either. The art is pretty good, and I enjoyed this story.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Portage & Main Press, Highwater Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Ron and Ben live on the Agamiing Reserve. Their grandmother looks after them when their mother is away. When they find an old flare gun in their deceased uncle's tackle box, they decide to take it to the dump and shoot it off. When the gas bar is burned down, they are accused, but the real person who did it won't come forward.
It's a story that feels like an after school special, but there's nothing wrong with that kind of story in a graphic novel format. The message of racism is a bit strong, but maybe that's not so bad either. The art is pretty good, and I enjoyed this story.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Portage & Main Press, Highwater Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
August 28, 2018
A touching story of family and prejudice being corrected. A very hopeful take on a very real problem. I love how empowered and unique each woman in the story was. I loved the mother with big arm muscles, as that isn't a physique you see very often in comics. I also liked that one of the main character was a little chubby, as that is also rare in comics.
I look forward to checking out more books in this series.
I look forward to checking out more books in this series.
July 13, 2020
Decent Graphic Novel
Art was good, but storyline was lacking. Everything was too easy. No real tension
Fast read though. I would read more by this author just because of the characters.
Art was good, but storyline was lacking. Everything was too easy. No real tension
Fast read though. I would read more by this author just because of the characters.
December 30, 2019
This book depicts the impact of racism and prejudice against First Nations people in Canada. It was good, but I thought the conclusion was a little too quick and abrupt.
November 7, 2022
This one was a bit disappointing. The resolution happened so quickly and so.. vaguely. The sheriff is suspicious of his son basically through the entire investigation of the fire, but is still trying HARD to blame the native boys for everything. He finally gets actual proof that it's his son, and I kind of thought he was still going to try to cover it up. But he just takes him to a meeting with the natives and then all of the racism and manipulation is suddenly resolved in one page of illustrations (no dialogue). It's like the author wanted to have them talk it out and learn from their experiences, but didn't know how that would actually happen, so they copped out by showing this little ceremony and some scenes of the white boy cleaning up his mess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Unfortunately it just didn't do it for me.
February 24, 2018
3.5 stars.
Fire Starters has an interesting story, which feels tragically believable. It addresses racism, white privilege, etc. Despite its heavy topic, it has a relatively happy ending. It's worth the read. I liked the art (and for those who have seen my previous reviews of work by Scott B. Henderson, yes I liked it better with colour), which I thought suited the story.
I will happily read anything else from Jen Storm if she puts out anything else. I definitely plan to continue reading books from HighWater Press and from the Debwe series.
Fire Starters has an interesting story, which feels tragically believable. It addresses racism, white privilege, etc. Despite its heavy topic, it has a relatively happy ending. It's worth the read. I liked the art (and for those who have seen my previous reviews of work by Scott B. Henderson, yes I liked it better with colour), which I thought suited the story.
I will happily read anything else from Jen Storm if she puts out anything else. I definitely plan to continue reading books from HighWater Press and from the Debwe series.
January 20, 2021
This graphic novel is appropriate for 6th grade students and up. There is no death and only a small amount of violence (fist fighting). It is a powerful short about racism against indigenous people and reconciliation.
April 29, 2020
and today we are reviewing Fire Starters written by Jen Storm, with lines by Scott B Henderson and colors by Donovan Yaciuk. This short
Published December 1st 2016 by HighWater Press and is definitly more of an officially young adult (but probably pre-teen middle grade) dealio.
As far as warnings go, this story is about racism and involves police. No one dies, but it's a bit too the point.
While I've read and reviewed several comics illustrated by Scott Henderson, I have only mentioned Jen Storm in relation to the This Place: 150 Years Retold Anthology. Storm is an Ojibway writer from the Couchiching First Natio in Northwestern Ontario, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The other relatively new person is Donovan Yaciuk who has also done work on Katherena Vermette's A Girl Called Echo graphic novel series alongside The ADventures of Auroraman and Neecropolitan. Otherwise they remain an eternal mystery.
Turning the book over, the synopsis is as follows: " Looking for a little mischief after discovering an old flare gun, Ron and Ben find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriffs son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light."
A really short and focused book for younger teens, Firestarters does not really dig into issues of sexuality, gender, class, or ability vs disability. Race is obviously the focus of this story, which it executes fairly well, if a bit didactic. Which is generally the way things go in this age demographic.
Other #ownvoices comics to check out if you're looking for more in this age demographic is A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette; 7 Generations, Sugar Falls, Betty and Tales from Big Spirit by David Alexander Robertson.
Published December 1st 2016 by HighWater Press and is definitly more of an officially young adult (but probably pre-teen middle grade) dealio.
As far as warnings go, this story is about racism and involves police. No one dies, but it's a bit too the point.
While I've read and reviewed several comics illustrated by Scott Henderson, I have only mentioned Jen Storm in relation to the This Place: 150 Years Retold Anthology. Storm is an Ojibway writer from the Couchiching First Natio in Northwestern Ontario, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The other relatively new person is Donovan Yaciuk who has also done work on Katherena Vermette's A Girl Called Echo graphic novel series alongside The ADventures of Auroraman and Neecropolitan. Otherwise they remain an eternal mystery.
Turning the book over, the synopsis is as follows: " Looking for a little mischief after discovering an old flare gun, Ron and Ben find themselves in trouble when the local gas bar on Agamiing Reserve goes up in flames, and they are wrongly accused of arson by the sheriffs son. As the investigation goes forward, community attitudes are revealed, and the truth slowly comes to light."
A really short and focused book for younger teens, Firestarters does not really dig into issues of sexuality, gender, class, or ability vs disability. Race is obviously the focus of this story, which it executes fairly well, if a bit didactic. Which is generally the way things go in this age demographic.
Other #ownvoices comics to check out if you're looking for more in this age demographic is A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vermette; 7 Generations, Sugar Falls, Betty and Tales from Big Spirit by David Alexander Robertson.
April 16, 2017
There seems to be more here, as though we have come in in the second act of a four act play. This doesn't make this a bad story. Life is sort of like that. We don't always know what's came before, and what happened after. It feels as though we don't know, and might never know everything that has happened in this community. How did the Uncle die? Was ther foul play? Why does the police dislike the native people?
The story involves two brothers who are accused of burning down the local gas station/store even though they didn't do it, and there is no evidence they did. The boy who did do it figures it will all work out, and that it doens't matter because it is just Indians, after all.
Well written, very raw story written by a First Nations writer, so we are seeing things from the other side, and perhaps that is why others have said that some things seemed odd.
As others have mentioned, the ending seemed to be weak, but it may be just that we didn't understand what it meant, and that perhaps there is another, second book to come? Or, as I said above, it is probably closer to what life is like.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
The story involves two brothers who are accused of burning down the local gas station/store even though they didn't do it, and there is no evidence they did. The boy who did do it figures it will all work out, and that it doens't matter because it is just Indians, after all.
Well written, very raw story written by a First Nations writer, so we are seeing things from the other side, and perhaps that is why others have said that some things seemed odd.
As others have mentioned, the ending seemed to be weak, but it may be just that we didn't understand what it meant, and that perhaps there is another, second book to come? Or, as I said above, it is probably closer to what life is like.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
December 12, 2023
A promising start, but a rushed second half and disappointingly skimmed-over conclusion made this a flop for me. We see all the buildup to uncovering and confronting the rifts and conflicts between Indigenous and whites in this community--why DOES the sheriff have such a chip on his shoulder, considering what we're told of their past? What's the story with the Indigenous-passing-as-white kid, and does that go anywhere? What's the story behind that big Missing poster?--but we never get to see the confrontations we need to happen, and the resolution is one page long, not the 10-or-more pages we need to see how we got to this point of reconciliation, what happens during it to help people, and why anyone would be changed by it. There was just no time granted to get that emotional impact.
This could have been a lot better if it had been given at least 50 more pages (preferably more) for deeper development.
This could have been a lot better if it had been given at least 50 more pages (preferably more) for deeper development.
January 21, 2018
My experience with Highwater Press is that they consistently publish great indigenous graphic novels and literature. In this case, Jen Storm’s Firestarter is expertly illustrated by Scott B Henderson.
The story and the art merge into a well crafted tale of the struggle many indigenous youth face with racism as they manoeuvre through the justice system. I know not all police are racist but in this story the officers are quick to point to finger at the 2 native youth in question. Added to this is a gruesome fight at the off reserve highschool and some racially charged name calling.
I would recommend this book to highschool aged youth. The Anishnaabe cultural elements were authentic and the use of the Elder in healing is a nice way to strike a contrast between mainstream and indigenous forms of justice. Recommended.
The story and the art merge into a well crafted tale of the struggle many indigenous youth face with racism as they manoeuvre through the justice system. I know not all police are racist but in this story the officers are quick to point to finger at the 2 native youth in question. Added to this is a gruesome fight at the off reserve highschool and some racially charged name calling.
I would recommend this book to highschool aged youth. The Anishnaabe cultural elements were authentic and the use of the Elder in healing is a nice way to strike a contrast between mainstream and indigenous forms of justice. Recommended.
July 18, 2018
better than reading Highlights at the dentist waiting room.
January 3, 2020
Short, straightforward story. Good art. Too short for character development. Good morality tale.
January 15, 2020
The book Fire Starters, written by Jen Storm, is a story following two boys, Ron and Ben, who get accused of starting a fire at a local bar. This story is filled with complex themes such as race and responsibility that are very eye opening. Rob and Ben’s experience begins when they find their uncles old flare gun and decide to take it outside and play with it. Soon after, when a fire starts at a local bar, causing it to burn down, the sheriff's son, Micheal and his friend Jason, blame the boys for starting it. As the investigation against Rob and Ben continues, the towns true colors come out and reveal the disgusting prejudeces the community holds against the boy simply because of their race. The main points throughout this book that really impacted me were when so many people treated Rob and Ben so horribly after they were accused of starting the fire, when the Sheriff conducted a biased investigation in order to protect his son and get Rob and Ben in trouble, and at the very end when the Sheriff attended the healing circle in order to start correcting his actions.
The main focus of this book is racism and, specifically, how a small town can be so biased against members of their own community because of their race. Just an accusation made by the Sheriff's son quickly proved to be detrimental to the boy’s lives, simply because of the stigmes against their race. When Michael’s friend, Jason, who also was apart of starting the fire, began to have second thoughts about blaming Ron and Ben, Michael replied by saying, “It’s not a big deal. They can handle it. It’s not like my dad won’t be putting them in jail eventually, anyway!” (Storm, 31). This is just one of many examples of the disgusting and racist assumptions people in Ben and Rob’s town made about them. After the accusations had been made against Rob and Ben, the community's true opinions began to emerge as other slowly started to mock them with racist remarks. As the investigation continued, Rob and Ben were on the school bus when kids started making fun of them, “I heard they set their own gas station on fire trying to break in and steal money… crazy natives,” (40). These cruel comments only continued and eventually turned violent, as seen through images on pages 41-42. When Rob fought back against the boy who shoved him, everyone gathered and began calling him distgusting names such as pyro and stupid indian. These are examples of how horrible Rob and Ben were treated after the accusation, ut they also show how the community had the capability to act like this before the event even occurred. The Sheriff was also influenced by racist stigmas and he had already made his decision while conducting the investigation, showing how truly difficult it was for Rob and Ben just to prove their innocence. Not even the police gave them the slightest benefit of the doubt. He blindly believed his son not only because they were related, but because he also had made the same assumptions about Ben and Rob that Michael had. At the very end of the book, the only clear sign the reader gets that the Sheriff and Michael had learned from the experience was when he made an appearance at the healing circle. The Sheriff said to Michael as he drove the the healing circle, “Lets go. You gotta make this right,” (53). This was a really important sentence to me because although it is brief, it shows that they know what they have done and what they have in the past is wrong and they want to change. At the bottom of page 53, there is and image of them walking together into the healing circle. In my opinion, the fact that this was a brief moment shows how, even after proven wrong, racist stigmas are difficult to remove one engrained in someone or in a community mind. At the very end of the story, Michael and Jason are exposed as the true criminals.
This book was truly one of the most impactful and informative books I have read in a long time. Through the use of imagery and important messages, I learned so much about racism and how it can play a role in events such as this one. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because I feel it is an important message that everyone should make an effort to understand. The book is also well written and mostly images, making it understandable for so many people.
The main focus of this book is racism and, specifically, how a small town can be so biased against members of their own community because of their race. Just an accusation made by the Sheriff's son quickly proved to be detrimental to the boy’s lives, simply because of the stigmes against their race. When Michael’s friend, Jason, who also was apart of starting the fire, began to have second thoughts about blaming Ron and Ben, Michael replied by saying, “It’s not a big deal. They can handle it. It’s not like my dad won’t be putting them in jail eventually, anyway!” (Storm, 31). This is just one of many examples of the disgusting and racist assumptions people in Ben and Rob’s town made about them. After the accusations had been made against Rob and Ben, the community's true opinions began to emerge as other slowly started to mock them with racist remarks. As the investigation continued, Rob and Ben were on the school bus when kids started making fun of them, “I heard they set their own gas station on fire trying to break in and steal money… crazy natives,” (40). These cruel comments only continued and eventually turned violent, as seen through images on pages 41-42. When Rob fought back against the boy who shoved him, everyone gathered and began calling him distgusting names such as pyro and stupid indian. These are examples of how horrible Rob and Ben were treated after the accusation, ut they also show how the community had the capability to act like this before the event even occurred. The Sheriff was also influenced by racist stigmas and he had already made his decision while conducting the investigation, showing how truly difficult it was for Rob and Ben just to prove their innocence. Not even the police gave them the slightest benefit of the doubt. He blindly believed his son not only because they were related, but because he also had made the same assumptions about Ben and Rob that Michael had. At the very end of the book, the only clear sign the reader gets that the Sheriff and Michael had learned from the experience was when he made an appearance at the healing circle. The Sheriff said to Michael as he drove the the healing circle, “Lets go. You gotta make this right,” (53). This was a really important sentence to me because although it is brief, it shows that they know what they have done and what they have in the past is wrong and they want to change. At the bottom of page 53, there is and image of them walking together into the healing circle. In my opinion, the fact that this was a brief moment shows how, even after proven wrong, racist stigmas are difficult to remove one engrained in someone or in a community mind. At the very end of the story, Michael and Jason are exposed as the true criminals.
This book was truly one of the most impactful and informative books I have read in a long time. Through the use of imagery and important messages, I learned so much about racism and how it can play a role in events such as this one. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because I feel it is an important message that everyone should make an effort to understand. The book is also well written and mostly images, making it understandable for so many people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2024
This is a short and powerful read. I wasn’t sure where the story was going in the first few pages (I went in not knowing anything other than it was an Indigenous graphic novel) so I wasn’t pulled in looking for clues. I was a little unsure about the artwork since I didn’t know much about the story.
And then when the story started, it was difficult to put down. This left my head whirling, thinking of all the ways this book could be used with teenagers.
The racism towards the Indigenous teenagers. The questioning of what to do when you know something isn’t right… and figuring out what to do about it. The lesson of being held accountable for your actions. The lack in detail in artwork… I’m not sure what this signifies but there’s room for discussion, for sure. The poster to shed light on MMIWG. And forgiveness.
This is worth a reread.
And then when the story started, it was difficult to put down. This left my head whirling, thinking of all the ways this book could be used with teenagers.
The racism towards the Indigenous teenagers. The questioning of what to do when you know something isn’t right… and figuring out what to do about it. The lesson of being held accountable for your actions. The lack in detail in artwork… I’m not sure what this signifies but there’s room for discussion, for sure. The poster to shed light on MMIWG. And forgiveness.
This is worth a reread.
June 22, 2020
I found this story quite poignant. Jen Storm does a wonderful job with the clash of communities of white and Native. The addition of the character Jason who passes for white so does not mention his Native heritage hits very close to home. The graphic novel is a good glimpse of what racism exists but also how forgiveness is essential to move on to better understanding and acceptance. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the dynamic of the Native people in Canada. It would of been even better if it wasn't so short and could of expanded on the many subjects brought forward. All in all a good YA graphic novel.
October 28, 2022
Honestly, it doesn’t feel like there’s much to say about something this short: just that I enjoyed it.
It feels in the vein of Backman’s ‘Beartown’, but on a smaller scale and with a strong element of Indigenous experiences in Canada.
For what it is, I think it’s well-done. The art style isn’t my favourite, but it serves the story passably. Truly, I just wish it had been longer and gone into more depth - as is, it felt like we only had time to go surface deep with most of the characters.
3.5/5 would read again, but I mostly am left wanting more
It feels in the vein of Backman’s ‘Beartown’, but on a smaller scale and with a strong element of Indigenous experiences in Canada.
For what it is, I think it’s well-done. The art style isn’t my favourite, but it serves the story passably. Truly, I just wish it had been longer and gone into more depth - as is, it felt like we only had time to go surface deep with most of the characters.
3.5/5 would read again, but I mostly am left wanting more
July 8, 2018
This was a short little graphic novel about two aboriginal boys being automatically blamed for a crime they didn't commit, which unfortunately happens a lot. The author is from winnipeg manitoba, my area, and if your not from around here or haven't seen stuff like this happen, I can imagine this book is very eye-opening. I hope to see more and more stories like this out there, it was very well done, good for younger readers, and I loved the graphic novel aspect of it :)
December 17, 2018
A very quick read with a simple but powerful story. The plot--two Native boys are accused of starting a fire because they were earlier seen with a flare gun--does a beautiful job of illustrating prejudice and injustice without coming across as too didactic. Because of the brevity of the graphic novel, the characters aren't very well developed, giving the story a fable-like quality. This should be an easy sell to my library's graphic novel fans.
December 25, 2021
This was my first graphic novel and while it was difficult for me to get into at first (because I don't think I like reading them), I did get used to it and was able to finish it rather quickly. I liked the content (well, not really "liked" because it deals with stereotypes and racism and problems that Native Americans deal with all too commonly) but it was a good read. I hope it brings awareness to a minority that is oftentimes overlooked.
April 7, 2018
For every white person who grew up near reserve - read this breathtakingly beautiful graphic novel.
Remember that no matter where you grew up, it’s near reserve.
Be prepared to swallow some hard truths, and be prepared to see what reconciliation can look like. Remember that reconciliation takes white people in positions of power surrendering that power to indigenous leaders.
Remember that no matter where you grew up, it’s near reserve.
Be prepared to swallow some hard truths, and be prepared to see what reconciliation can look like. Remember that reconciliation takes white people in positions of power surrendering that power to indigenous leaders.
June 4, 2018
Love that it features indigenous characters and is written by a native author; wish that it were longer and that it included more exposition and character development. Also, the artwork was well done, but I think the high-school-aged characters looked like they were way older than they were supposed to for some reason.
March 2, 2018
This was an easy read - a really approachable format for talking about Racism and prejudice. I think the lesson about reconciliation is an important theme. I'm going to make my 13 year old son read this to return it to the library.
September 29, 2018
Two Ojibwa boys who happen upon a flare gun in their garage took the opportunity to play with it. However, they were subsequently blamed for setting fire to a gas bar station. They have to clear their name when the local police come looking for them.
April 26, 2021
Although it takes place in Canada, it could be taking place anywhere in the U.S., too. I would have liked to have seen the restorative justice piece of the story fleshed out. It seemed an abrupt end. This was effective as a graphic novel.
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