Hi Heidi.
Yes, I have read Glidden's book and feel it's appropriate for YA. There is
nothing age-inappropriate, IMHO, in the book (e.g. no scenes of Israeli-Arab or
Israeli-Palestinian violence), no sexual scenes. I'll leave it to you to judge
how much attention span would be needed for such a lengthy book, but you need
to adjust that for graphic books.
As for point-of-view / political bent, Glidden admits from the start that she's
going there with a secular, leftist, critical eye (e.g. she shows that she's
read Joe Sacco's Palestine and considers it a representative narrative), but
while on the Birthright trip, she feels less rigid about her opinions. She's
certainly stated that in interviews since publication.
I was surprised that there was no mention in your query - or in the responses
thus far - to the AJL Newsletter's book review. So, I looked it up with our
handy-dandy online book review index tool and was reminded that the only review
(by Barbara M. Bibel of Oakland) published was for the 2 mini-comics which
preceded the book-length graphic memoir (and which were - essentially -
incorporated into it).
I'm reproducing Barbara's review below (from AJL Newsletter Nov / Dec 2008, p.
7) :
The author of this graphic novel traveled on a Birthright trip to Israel in
2007. Having mixed feelings and conflicting opinions about Israel, she hoped
that the trip would help her learn more about the country and see for herself
what life was like there. She also wondered how the official tour guides
assigned to the group would present the sensitive political issues surrounding
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Chapter 1 has the group arriving in Tel Aviv,
meeting the guides, and discussing the Separation Barrier and its effects on
the lives of the Palestinians on the other side. Chapter 2 deals with the Golan
Heights and related political issues. Each chapter is a separate booklet. The
author's website states that she has just signed a contract with Vertigo to
publish the entire story as a 200-page color book ; interested readers would
best be served by waiting for this complete work. It is an interesting, honest
presentation of a young woman visiting Israel for the first time.
Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland Public LibraryCongregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley,
CA
*****************
B'shalom,
Steven M. Bergson, EditorJewish Comics Anthology (2 vols.)
On Friday, November 5, 2021, 03:19:57 p.m. EDT, Heidi Rabinowitz via
Hasafran <hasafran@lists.osu.edu> wrote:
Has anyone read the graphic novel How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less
by Sarah Glidden? Is it appropriate for YA readers? If so, what age? And would
it make sense to non-Jewish YA readers who don’t have background knowledge
about Israel?
Thanks
Heidi Rabinowitz
he...@cbiboca.org
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