Red scare

Title:

Red scare

Author:

Walsh, Liam Francis, author, illustrator.

ISBN:

9781338167085

9781338167092

Physical Description:

236 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 23 cm.

Reading Level:

GN 200 L Lexile

Subject Term:

Preteen girls -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Poliomyelitis -- Patients -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Ability -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Flight -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Cold War -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Nineteen fifties -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Geographic Term:

United States -- History -- 1945-1953 -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Genre:

Graphic novels.

Historical fiction.

Summary:

"In the aftermath of the Korean War, Peggy's small hometown is rife with anti-Communist hysteria. But Peggy has bigger problems: She's struggling to recover from polio. Taunted by her classmates, Peggy just wants to be a normal kid, until she stumbles across a mysterious object that gives her the power to fly. Unscrupulous operatives from the American and Soviet governments seek the object to overturn the tense political stalemate, and Peggy finds herself smack in the middle of the Cold War arms race." --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lake Elmo Library	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi)	J GRAPHIC WAL	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

A page-turning sci-fi adventure set in 1953, featuring a clever girl who, against all odds, must outsmart bullies, the FBI, and alien invaders during the height of the communist Red Scare.

The New York Times Book Review calls Red Scare a "masterly graphic novel debut... tightly wrought, intense, unpredictable... breathtaking action sequences... pacing is remarkable... a virtuosic performance."

" Red Scare is a brilliant, fast-paced adventure. Action, history, and a tiny bit of fantasy collide in eye-popping panels, loaded with heart." -- Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth series

Peggy is scared: She's struggling to recover from polio and needs crutches to walk, and she and her neighbors are worried about the rumors of Communist spies doing bad things. On top of all that, Peggy has a hard time at school, and gets taunted by her classmates. When she finds a mysterious artifact that gives her the ability to fly, she thinks it's the solution to all her problems. But if Peggy wants to keep it, she'll have to overcome bullies, outsmart FBI agents, and escape from some very strange spies!

Author Notes

Liam Francis Walsh is an award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. He was born in northern Wisconsin and grew up on a dairy farm with lots of siblings and books and a pet crow. His work has appeared in the New Yorker , the Guardian , and Reader's Digest , and he is the author of two pictures books, Make a Wish, Henry Bear and Fish . He lives in Switzerland with his wife and daughter.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in 1953, Walsh's debut is an action-packed, period-oriented thriller that follows student Peggy, who is recovering from polio and uses forearm crutches, as she finds a glowing red object that allows her to fly--and draws FBI interest. Alongside her family's struggle to make ends meet and the bullying that she endures at school, Peggy's white-presenting community obsessively fears communism's potential impact. Government emissaries pursue a purported Russian agent locally, and tensions rise when new kid Jess is outed as being the daughter of a communist. Walsh takes on complex themes, but a lack of nuanced characterization undercuts key scenes, as when Peggy's largely off-page veteran father, who lives with PTSD after losing two legs and an eye in the Korean War, defends Jess's father from a mob with a sudden monologue about the dangers of abandoning American principles--one that paints violence as inconsistent with U.S. history. The story nevertheless maintains a strong tempo throughout, mixing polished Tintin--style characterizations with a feel of classic comic noir to communicate the era's unease. Back matter provides further context about the time period, polio, and the artist's process. Ages 8--12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (May)

Booklist Review

At the height of the Red Scare in the U.S., Peggy, who needs to use crutches since she contracted polio, is struggling to fit in. Her twin brother's been acting strange ever since their dad returned home from the war in Korea a double amputee. Meanwhile, FBI agents are in pursuit of an enigmatic man in a trench coat, who possesses a mysterious technology that might be a weapon. When Peggy accidentally crosses paths with the FBI's target, he hides the tech in her crutch; shortly thereafter, Peggy discovers some miraculous new abilities. With art clearly inspired by Tintin, with clear, stylized line work and saturated colors, Walsh builds a twisting plot combining sf tropes with a tumultuous period in U.S. history. Peggy's friendship with a new neighbor whose father is embroiled in the panic over communism makes her evaluate her own relationship to the national culture of fear, and her family's adjustment to her father's transformed, complicated presence is a moving subplot. Fans of historical fiction and classic sf adventure comics will find plenty to like here.

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

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