My brain has been full of white noise since the election. There's something about fresh bad news that makes it more difficult for me to get lost in fiction. Instead, I've been making contingency plans in real life: modelling possible threats and stashing resource for rainy days to come. That, and working on my own writing, fighting imaginary monsters on the page.
I bought SQUIRE as a Christmas present for a young relative, and once I had it at home, I thought, hm. Maybe a graphic novel is the key to getting back into reading for fun.
That worked pretty well, although I haven't yet gone on to read a non-graphic novel. SQUIRE reminded me a lot of the novels I used to love when I was twelve. There are resonances with old school girl-warrior stories, like Pierce's ALANNA, which was maybe my intro to taking the fantasy genre seriously (or as seriously as I could when I was seven). The first half of the book hit me hard--the excitement about becoming a soldier and a hero, and the clear signals that it was going to end in guilt and trauma.
After reading, I'm almost wondering if I ought to gift it to a different relative. One of my nephews signed paperwork to enlist in the US Army a few weeks ago. He debated the decision back and forth for months, and his reasons are all things I remember feeling: a desire to be strong and tough, a desire to do something difficult, a desire to be respected by everyone who met me. He wants to be a good man, and his whole life people have been telling him that he can achieve that by signing up for the Army Rangers.
I tried to tell him that he would pay for that respect from strangers with his whole soul, but I'm not surprised that he didn't listen. The worry I'm holding for him is one more heavy thing contributing to the white noise in my head.
Anyway, SQUIRE. Pretty good! The art is beautiful, although I found the panels during fight scenes difficult to follow. The characters are endearing, and the world is vivid. I found the second half of the book to be a bit weaker than the first half; the first half sets up a problem that can't be solved by a plucky band of youngsters, and then the second half shows those youngesters solving the problem, which...
It's hard to tell the more complicated, less hopeful story, though, especially in a single novel. Plus, maybe it's just that I'm not feeling very hopeful at the moment that makes the ending feel implausible. Life isn't tidy, and I'm tired, and that isn't this book's fault.
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