The New York Times Book Review - Elizabeth Wein
…the contrast between the warm golds and browns of Africa make a stunning visual pattern as they alternate with the blues, greens, grays and purples of the sea voyage…The visual aspect of Illegal is both manageable and richly complex; there is a gorgeous and glorious level of detail and attention to hue in Rigano's illustrations, which lift a relatively straightforward story to a higher plane. The graphic novel format, and Rigano's inspired illustrations, drive and enhance Colfer and Donkin's written dialogue. The complete package is a highly accessible introduction to the plight of all refugees.
Publishers Weekly
★ 04/30/2018
This achingly poignant graphic novel by Colfer and Donkin, collaborators on the Artemis Fowl graphic novels, imagines how one Ghanaian orphan ends up adrift in the Mediterranean. Ebo’s older sister Sisi is already in Europe, and he knows his brother Kwame is headed there, too, so Ebo sets out to find him. It’s clear that he succeeds, because the story opens on a scene of the two brothers drifting without food or water on the ocean. But in flashbacks, they see Ebo searching for Kwame in a teeming refugee hub in Niger. Punchy dialogue and wistful narration note both Ebo’s poverty and his gifts: optimism (“I’m stronger than I look,” he tells a boss), a talent for singing, and initiative (he parlays a box of wet wipes into cash by selling them one by one). Water is precious, and Ebo and Kwame endure periods of intense thirst. Rigano brings the brothers’ struggle close, but his magnificent panels include moments of beauty, too. Clouds tower above the ocean, and starry skies light the desert. Refugees, readers will understand, are not statistics; everyone is an individual. Ages 10–up. Agent: Susannah Palfrey, Hachette Children’s Group. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"Illegal powerfully visualizes the current struggles being faced by refugees and emigrants...through stunning, intimate visuals" — Entertainment Weekly
"Illegal offers an excellent, compelling narrative about an issue that desperately needs our understanding. This book seizes your attention and does the hard work of reminding you of the humanity behind the statistics and political rhetoric. Intensely recommended." — Manhattan Book Review
"Many people in first world countries are distressed by the hardships they see in news reports of immigrants fleeing their homelands to escape danger and to find a fulfilling life. However, the impact of these conditions is made much more powerful and personal when readers are taken on such a journey through story... Page-turning action conveys the trickery, violence, desperation, greed, evil, and goodness of humanity. The full-color illustrations are detailed, aptly convey emotions, and occasionally open into spectacular double-page spreads. This title is both riveting and timely. Highly recommended. " — School Library Connection, Highly Recommended
"With quick, simple language and vivid, readable graphics, this brings attention to the drastic outcomes of human smuggling and the plight of migrants leaving via North Africa for a better life. Like Deborah Ellis’s The Breadwinner, this is an adventure story that challenges readers with grim realism." — The Toronto Star
"Moving and heartbreaking... Ebo’s story is powerful and necessary, and will encourage readers to help refugees in whatever ways they can." — Bookish
"The horrors Ebo witnesses, the impossibilities he survives, are haunting testimony to the human spirit. Artemis Fowl series creator Colfer (who taught elementary school in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia) leads the team... in transforming staggering statistics (UNHCR’s 2017 data cites 65.6 million have been forcibly displaced) into a resonating story about a single boy and what remains of his family. Italian artist Rigano’s gorgeously saturated panels—rich in details, affecting in its captured expressions, landscapes made spectacular as if a reminder of everyday beauty despite tragedy—proves to be an enhancing visual gift to the already stirring story. A creators’ note and quotes from real refugees close out this illuminating, important volume. " — Booklist, STARRED Review
"Moving and informative, Illegal puts an unforgettable human face to the issue of immigration; it is recommended for all readers of middle school level or higher." — ForeWord, STARRED review
"Achingly poignant graphic novel" — Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"A thrilling and moving addition to any collection, and ideal supplemental reading in classes where students are studying immigration." — School Library Journal
"Raw, realistic, and emotional, this graphic novel puts a harrowing spin on immigration and the risks people take to seek opportunities in other countries.... This graphic novel...makes truths about humanity abundantly clear with the frightening situations and tragic outcomes conveyed through the narrative, emotive illustrations, and the true story in the last five pages. Middle and high schools can use this book in curriculum and recommend it to comic enthusiasts." — VOYA Magazine
"The narrative continues, moving back and forth through time, depicting every new, painful trial—murder, poverty, dehydration, repeated dehumanization—with sensitivity and nuance. Rigano's illustrations show the beauty of the unforgiving landscapes and the individuals desperately seeking a better life; Colfer and Donkin's text is deep and evocative. Illegal is not an easy read but the creators have made the story both approachable to and captivating for a young audience. With the timely subject material and backmatter dedicated to both the refugee experience and the art of creating a graphic novel, Illegal is sure to be a bookseller, librarian and teacher favorite." — Shelf Awareness, STARRED Review
"ILLEGAL doesn’t...try to get across a strong political point of view. The authors instead take a closer view at one...experience. The result is a powerful story that will stay in minds long after it is finished... ILLEGAL is not an easy book to read. The experiences Ebo has are horrifying. The graphic novel begins with an epigraph by a Holocaust survivor that concludes "How can a human being be illegal?" The answer is on every page: They cannot." — KidsReads
"Action-filled and engaging but considerate of both topic and audience, Ebo's story effectively paints a picture of a child refugee's struggle in a world crisscrossed by hostile borders." — Kirkus Reviews
"This fictionalized tale of the young refugee Ebo – written by Colfer and Donkin and stunningly illustrated by Rigano – conveys an all too true and all too common journey taken by those in search of a better life, and delicately balances its portrayal of despair and loss with hope and love... Colfer, Donkin, and Rigano were able to powerfully depict loss and tragedy, as well as hope and love, with subtlety and a touch of tragic beauty. In this, they rather wildly succeeded." — Multiversity Comics
School Library Journal
05/01/2018
Gr 6–8—Twelve-year-old Ebo's tale doesn't begin on the raft on his way to Europe. It doesn't begin as he works in the streets of Tripoli, Libya, to earn his fare. It doesn't begin with the journey across the Sahara or even in his home of Ghana. It starts when his brother, Kwame, leaves home to find their sister, Sisi, long departed for Europe. Not content with a life of poverty, Ebo, too, takes off, close on his brother's heels. Colfer and Donkin gloss over nothing in their portrayal of undocumented immigration, from illness and violence to poverty and corruption. Throughout the months of hard labor he must endure to pay for a ticket, sleeping outdoors and depending on the kindness of strangers, Ebo remains determined. Rigano's dynamic images keep readers on the edge of their seats, and the portrayal of tenacious Ebo is elegant but unromanticized. In a scene toward the end, in which rescue is uncertain, the authors firmly assert that no human is illegal; Ebo says, "They must help us, we are people." The novel concludes with a starkly illustrated true account of an immigrant who faced trauma in her quest for a better life. VERDICT A thrilling and moving addition to any collection, and ideal supplemental reading in classes where students are studying immigration.—Anna Murphy, Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn
NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
This audiobook is a moving testament to the difficulties faced by African refugees in search of a better life. Ebo follows his brother, who has left their Ghanaian village in hopes of immigrating to Europe. He meets both helpful and brutal people during harrowing months of travel. The story employs multiple devices to mirror its dark atmosphere and the "word bubbles" of its origin as a graphic novel. Instead of color, music and sound effects suggest mood and are often a backdrop for dialogue. Sometimes young Ebo sings. Locational cues are frequent—waves crashing against a leaky boat, cacophonous voices in the city, truck engines failing in the desert, a hungry baby crying. An ensemble cast speaks emotively with authentic accents, making the characters distinguishable and believable. L.T. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-05-14
Ebo is known across his village for his beautiful singing voice, but will his voice keep him safe in his journey to the shores of Europe? Readers follow the flight of Ebo, a Ghanaian refugee child, to Europe to find the siblings who fled before him. Ebo's journey takes him across the scorching heat of the Sahara and through the streets of Tripoli, where he works to raise funds for passage across the Mediterranean. All the while, Ebo and the companions he meets along the way must elude the watchful eyes of the authorities who are constantly on alert for refugees. But after Ebo finally saves enough money and secures a seat on a boat crossing to Greece, he finds himself on the brink of death. Like all the others, it is too crowded; the engine is broken; and the fuel is slowly running out. Authors and illustrator take readers back and forth through time, building suspense as Ebo's story of survival unfolds. The format allows sensitive and difficult topics such as murder, death, and horrific, traumatizing conditions to unfold for children, Ebo's reactions speaking volumes and dramatic perspectives giving a sense of scope. A creators' note provides factual context, and an appendix offers an Eritrean refugee's minimemoir in graphic form.Action-filled and engaging but considerate of both topic and audience, Ebo's story effectively paints a picture of a child refugee's struggle in a world crisscrossed by hostile borders. (Graphic fiction. 10-15)
