"Scars" /// Grades 7 to 10 YA Graphic Novel

"Scars" by David Alexander Robertson and illustrator Scott B Henderson is an intense and powerful graphic novel for teens. Even though the graphics are only in black and white, it tells an engrossing and moving story of two teens with lives that have direct parallels - one set in the year 1870 and one in current times. The novel flips back and forth between the two teenage boys; one struggles with depression and the other, a Plains Cree boy named 'White Cloud' is faced with choosing to live even after his entire family is wiped out from smallpox. It is a terrible and yet beautiful story: it demonstrates the will of Indigenous peoples to survive even in the midst of personal tragedies. This graphic novel does an excellent job of showcasing a horrid set of historical events in North America with realism, as well as legitimately capturing the challenges that contemporary Aboriginal youth face today.

According to Strongnations.com - a bookseller website that reviews, lists, and details Aboriginal literature, this book is listed in recommended books for teens. The book summary links to an author biography, which states that David Robertson comes from a Swampy Cree background and takes his storytelling seriously. While there is no mention of an Aboriginal ancestry for the illustrator, this does not necessarily take away from the authenticity of the novel as the publisher is Highwater Press, a company that only publishes high quality Indigenous fiction and non-fiction.

I personally think this book is a hard hitting, yet 'cool' way for teens to be educated about the horrors and difficulties that Aboriginal peoples have faced and continue to battle with. Graphic novels are a great alternative format for those who may not want to read a typical informational or educational book about the history of how smallpox affected First Nations peoples.

References:

Robertson, D., & Henderson, S. (Illustrator). (2010). Scars. Winnipeg: Highwater Press.