Moose

by Max de Radigués

I recently discovered my library has an adult graphic novel section. Picked this one up browsing. Don't be fooled by the seemingly visual simplicity- this story is disturbing and not for young readers. It's about a lonely kid Joe, who is relentlessly bullied in school. It's awful the lengths the other boy goes to in order to make his life miserable. It's sad that some adults try to reach out to Joe, but he can't tell them what is going on- afraid of how the bully will retaliate. Who easily twists circumstances to make things look like Joe's fault. Joe suffers mostly in silence, but finds a bit of solace in nature. He cuts through the woods on a walk to school and is thrilled to observe a moose on a few occasions. I did think it rather funny that in detention, Joe was ordered to copy articles out of National Geographic (instead of doing homework) and came across photos of partially-nude tribal women. He happily found an article on moose and so learned something he appreciated while doing the work that was supposed to be punishment. Joe is also a fan of Lord of the Rings, which endears him to me somewhat. So it looks like the bully situation is not going to get any better for Joe until a fateful day when the bully ambushes him in the woods. I'll leave the reader to find out what happens if they want to approach this book. It's not pretty. Joe is suddenly presented with the possibility of enacting revenge. And the bully shows his true colors- he certainly seems to deserve whatever he got. Nasty kid.

The artwork really did nothing for me, though. But I'm sure its simplicity was to make you focus on the events, bare and bleak as they are.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5               160 pages, 2015