Barry, Lynda. One hundred demons!BARRY, Lynda. One hundred demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. ! Sasquatch Books, 216p. illus. c2002. 1-57061-459-8. $17.95. SA Inspired by a 16th-century Zen monk's painting, Barry creates 17 vignettes, called "demons," in this autobiographical, but fictionalized, graphic novel. Many of the stories involve her adolescent experiences as the "cootie-girl" everyone picked on. Topics include first boyfriends, betrayed friendship, street games, hate and love, abuse and healing, death, and creativity. Barry depicts a number of significant characters that give these stories life, including her half-Philippine mother and Philippine grandmother who play major roles in enhancing the emotional intensity of nearly each recollection. Ink and watercolor panels have a raw, childlike child·like adj. Like or befitting a child, as in innocence, trustfulness, or candor. childlike Adjective like a child, for example in being innocent or trustful Adj. 1. quality that might not be immediately appealing, but they grow on the reader as the stories are told. These stories are rich, vibrant and deserving de·serv·ing adj. Worthy, as of reward, praise, or aid. n. Merit; worthiness. de·serv  ing·ly adv. of comparison with Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, a novel used frequently in high school literature classes for its sophisticated development of character, voice and theme in brief vignettes of childhood experiences. Like Cisneros's, Barry sets her "demons" during her younger years. However, whereas the former keeps her characters firmly rooted in the past, Barry transports the reader from the past to the present, revealing the lessons she learned were gained after introspection introspection /in·tro·spec·tion/ (in?trah-spek´shun) contemplation or observation of one's own thoughts and feelings; self-analysis.introspec´tive in·tro·spec·tion n. as an adult. Such cognition cognition Act or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. might not be easily grasped by an immature immature /im·ma·ture/ (im?ah-chldbomacr´) unripe or not fully developed. im·ma·ture adj. Not fully grown or developed. immature unripe or not fully developed. audience, making One Hundred Demons best suited as an addition to a public library or high school library's graphic novel collection. In addition, many of the vignettes would be appropriate for reading, analysis and discussion in high school literature-based courses. Lisa Carlson, MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Teacher-Libn., Shelton HS, Shelton, WA S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. |
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