Manuel has had panic attacks ever since witnessing an act of violence against his art teacher. In this beautiful graphic novel, he tries to manage his stress by finding anchors—grounding himself—in the photographs he takes of the world around him. He is withdrawn and isolated until he’s put with two classmates, Sebastian and Caysha, for a class project. As he gets to know them, he finds comfort in visiting Sebastian’s cattle farm, and learns about his friends’ preparation for the county fair, where Sebastian will be showing his calf and Caysha her “fancy chickens.” Gradually, Manuel opens up to his friends and is able to start healing, even as he begins to develop a crush on Sebastian.
Author/illustrator Niki Smith’s limited-palette images show a masterful grasp of lighting, allowing readers to share in Manuel’s photography-driven view of the world. She is just as skilled in capturing the character’s emotions and in shifting to harsh black and white to depict Manuel’s flashbacks to his trauma. The serious aspects of the storyline are balanced by fun moments among the friends, especially Caysha’s enthusiastic love of her chickens. The growing feelings Manuel has for Sebastian are handled lightly; the romance is not the focus of the story, but feels like a natural part of it.
A beautiful tale of friendship, healing, and first love.
Manuel is Latino, Sebastian White, and Caysha Black.
