The Arrival, a graphic novel by Shaun Tan

Reviewed by Joey
In most novels about immigrants, we get a recap about how strange this new world was; but to us it is all normal, so we can’t truly appreciate how they felt. That’s where The Arrival steps in. It depicts how different it would feel for an immigrant in a way that we would understand. Shaun created what looks like an entirely new world with new devices, new creatures and a new language, and along the way stories are told about several immigrants and why they were forced or chose to come to this new land. On top of that, not a word is spoken.
I think that this book is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. It is the first and only book I know of that can convey the feelings and emotions without a single word. It is some of the best illustration I’ve ever seen and truly one of a kind.
I would recommend this book to anyone, quite literally anyone. Because of its lack of pictures anyone of any language can feel the story flying by.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart

Reviewed by Joel
This wonderful tale starts off in an orphanage with a boy named Reynie Muldoon. He is an eleven-year-old that isn’t fascinated by T.V. or the radio, and in the end, this is a crucial element that may save his life. When Reynie sees an article in the paper asking kids if they would like to take tests and receive special academic privileges, Reynie is quick to ask if he can sign up for these tests. By the end of the tests, four children have passed, all of them orphans. Reynie however, was the only person that answered each question correctly. The four children, Reynie, Constance, Sticky, and Kate, then form the Mysterious Benedict Society. Mr. Benedict’s name is in the title because he is the founder of the tests, and the reason they took place. Mr. Benedict has a medical condition called narcolepsy, causing him to fall asleep at any given moment when he is extremely happy. For this reason, his associates have him sitting or lying down a great deal of the time for fear he might hurt himself. When Mr. Benedict was studying the human brain, he found that for some reason, people around the world were receiving messages into their brains from T.V. and radio waves. The messages were “piggy-back-riding” the waves, as Mr. Benedict put it. When Mr. Benedict learns the dangerous source of the messages, he organizes the team of four children to seek out more information. As it turns out, the source of the messages is the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, or LIVE. This is a private school for academically talented students, though accept any and all students. The children, are then sent on a mission to enroll at this school and find the reason for the messages.
Throughout this story, the reader is taken on a rollercoaster of adventure. I really enjoyed this wonderful book. Things that I liked in particular were the fact that each of the children had different personalities that were vastly unlike each other. Sticky: A Bookworm. Reynie: An Average Boy. Kate: An Adventurer. Constance: A Very Independent Individual whose story has a twist at the end. I really liked the way that the author made the reader feel scared and nervous in bad situations, but this book also made me laugh out loud. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys and can handle a longer book.