trilogy – Mom Read It

Julia’s House comes to the end of its journey with Julia’s House Goes Home

Posted on November 27, 2021November 27, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Julia’s House Goes Home, by Ben Hatke (Oct. 2021, First Second), $18.99, ISBN: 9781250769329

Ages 4-8

The third book in the Julia’s House series will tug at heartstrings. The last time readers saw Julia’s house, in last year’s Julia’s House Moves On,the house had sprouted wings and was flying; Julia’s plans in the literal air. Now, the house lands, but takes a terrible tumble and rolls away, leaving Julia holding only the sign from her door! As she tries to track down the house, she gathers her Lost Creature friends, who’ve all been tossed and tumbled as the house bounced away, but just when she thinks she’s found the house, she makes a distressing discovery. Can she and her friends make things right again? A touching close to the Julia’s House trilogy, Julia’s House Goes Home shows a maturing Julia; a main character who’s gone from always having a plan, to learning that it’s okay to throw your plans out the window and just live in the moment, to having your plans fall apart in front of you – and having your friends be there to catch you when you fall. Readers familiar with Ben Hatke’s books will delight in seeing familiar monster friends and a wink to his 2016 story, Nobody Likes a Goblin. Watercolor artwork gives a moving, wistful, yet comforting feel to the story, and the back endpapers offer a sweet epilogue to sharp-eyed readers. I really loved reading all three books together. It’s a very gentle story that unfolds and invites you in to spend some time with it.

You can follow Ben Hatke’s Instagram for more of his artwork.

Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The Nameless City saga comes to a close with The Divided Earth

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Nameless City: The Divided Earth (The Nameless City #3), by Faith Erin Hicks (Sept. 2018, First Second), $14.99, ISBN: 9781626721609

Ages 8-13

Faith Erin Hicks’ epic graphic novel trilogy, The Nameless City, comes to a phenomenal close with The Divided Earth. Dao prince Erzi now has control of The Nameless City, but the city is under siege by Dao and Yisun forces who want the war for the Nameless City to come to an end. The Named – the people of the city – are caught in between. Rat and Kaidu (Kai), the two main characters, plan to sneak into Erzi’s palace and steal back the ancient text containing the formula for napatha, an ancient weapon that Erzi plans to unleash on the city.

The Nameless City saga has incredible worldbuilding and storytelling. Faith Erin Hicks has given readers strong characters with complex backgrounds and relationships, and a grand-scale story about a clash between cultures and societies who are tired of war. Rat and Kai have both had their heroes’ journeys and are smarter, stronger, wiser characters than they were at the outset. It’s been said that the best villains are the ones who believe they’re truly the heroes, and that certainly holds true for Erzi, who believes he is doing what’s best for The Nameless City, and who believes that rule of the Named is his birthright, having been born there. It certainly makes for a more tragic villain. Faith Erin Hicks is gifted at writing and rendering emotion, and colorist Jordie Bellaire makes thoughtful choices that bring out the terrible emotional cost of battle as beautifully as she does the gentle moments of love between parent and child, or between two friends who would die for one another.

If you have fantasy readers who haven’t yet discovered The Nameless City, please get the books into their hands. They’ll be happy you took the time to booktalk it.I hope I see this series on Summer Reading lists next year: it’s wonderfully diverse and examines the fallout that happens when one culture attempts to dominate all others.