BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader

Zenobia by Morten Dürr, illustrated by Lars Horneman [in Booklist]

Vast open water. An overcrowded boat. A horrific storm. A girl plunges backwards into the violent waves. Wishing, dreaming of rescue, Amina conjures happier moments playing hide-and-seek. “I am right here, Mama,” she thinks. She remembers making dolmas, salty like seawater – and tears. She recalls the inspiring adventures of Syrian warrior queen Zenobia. She relives the dangerous journey with her uncle to the sea, while Zenobia’s invincible spirit buoys her.

Morten Dürr, an award-winning Danish writer of more than 50 titles, makes his North American debut here, and his sparse, sharp text is wondrously visualized by prodigious compatriot Lars Horneman. Horneman’s palettes are especially effective, with blue and blue-greens bookending Amina’s watery fall and browns and black to capture an already quickly fading past. Only Zenobia’s panels glow in a saturated salmon, as if trying to keep hope alive. Wrenchingly compelling is Horneman’s use of separated panels: for example, Amina in her mother’s arms is sliced into three boxes. Inevitably, tragedy looms. An award-winner in Denmark, its creators’ homeland, Zenobia​ will undoubtedly find empathetic stateside audiences.

Review: “Graphic Novels,” Booklist, January 1, 2019

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2018

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