Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks [book]

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks [book]

Publisher: New York : First Second, 2012
1 v. (unpaged) : chiefly ill. ; 22 cm
ISBN: 9781596435568

Plot Summary:
Maggie was estranged from her mother and grew up with her 3 brothers and fathers being home schooled for most of her life until high school. She is close with her brothers and when she enters high school she becomes unsure of herself, but it is made much worse by the fact that Maggie is haunted by a nineteenth century ghost that leads Maggie and her friends to the grave yard many times throughout the novel. Maggie makes friends in school, named Lucy and Alistar who are outcasts and include her into their circle without passing judgement. Through Maggie and Alistar's conversations, Maggie learns that Alistar was once a bully to all of the people around him and school, and in a night of revelation he shaved his head into a mohawk and left all of the incrowd behind in order to be the person that he wanted to be.
Maggie spends her time in novel trying to ascertain what the ghost needs in order to be at peace, and even steals an artifact from a museum thinking that it will help the ghost return to her family. In the end her brothers reveal to her that they have always seen the ghost as well and it culminates with her realizing that some things can't be fixed and that she was not alone in the world in seeing the ghost, but that she always had her family. It leaves off with Maggie, Lucy, Alistar and her brothers becoming friends and going to school with one another, with all the ghosts of the past put to rest (except for the actual ghost, she sticks around).

Critical Evaluation:
This book was one of the first graphic novels I have ever read, and I thought that it was done well, and can appeal to both girls and boys (although I think that it may appeal more to females because of the main character). The book is in black and white and the illustrations are well made; it looks like a classic graphic novel to me with the signs of "Pow!" and large close ups of Maggie and other character's faces with exaggerated expressions most of the time. The themes of acceptance, family, and self doubt are all throughout the novel presented in all of the characters and their relationships with the people around them.

Reader's Annotation:
Maggie enters into high school after being home schooled with her 3 brothers as her only friends. Maggie also has a strange secret that makes making friends at school and adjusting to normal teen life that much more difficult.

Websites to look Into:
http://www.friendswithboys.com/
http://www.faitherinhicks.com/ice/

About the Author:
Faith Erin Hicks is Canadian and a comic artist, animator, and webcomic. She has contributed to "George of the Jungle" an animated series, and she creates comic strips for newspapers. One of the comics is called "Jenny's Brothers" (which is good comic similar to this book) and her own series caled "The Adventures of Superhero Girl".

Similar Books:
"Anya's Ghost" by Vera Brosgol
"Drama" by Raina Telgemeier
"Zombies Calling" by Faith Erin Hicks

Booktalking Ideas:
Introducing a graphic novel that can appeal to females
Using the book in a discussion about feeling like an outcast in high school

Genre:
Graphic Novel, Fiction

Interest Age:
13+

Challenge Issues:
Drinking and Theft
The only parts of the book that I can could see being issues would be the fact that there is drinking at a party in one of the flashback scenes and that they steal from a museum. I think that I can combat this with the fact that both characters realize what they did was wrong in the incidences and they become better for realizing their mistakes.

Why this Book?
I chose this book because it looked cute and after I read it I realized that it was a good story that could appeal to young women, and people that felt like they were outcasts or wanted to stand up for themselves.