The Girl Who Owned a City, the graphic novel, adapted by Dan Jolley and illustrated by Joelle Jones and Jenn Manley Lee, based on the novel by O.T. Nelson first published in 1975.
A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only us kids behind. My parents are gone, so I’m responsible for my little brother, Todd. I have to make sure we stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but here on Grand Avenue, some of us are surviving. Because of me.
I figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take away what we’ve built and rule the streets themselves. How long can we keep fighting them off? We need to find another place for us to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.
In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But do I have the strength to take charge of a whole city?
I loooove graphic novels so I was excited to read this adaptation of a MG novel originally published back in the 70s. The first thing that struck me is how gorgeous the art is. Very beautifully done, with coloring that really set the tone of the book.
When a virus wipes out the adult population, the kids are left to fend for themselves. And THE GIRL WHO OWNED A CITY is about a tough-as-nails girl who steps in and takes charge when the kids on her street aren’t doing so great. I loved reading about this character because not only is she tough, but she’s smart and quick-on-her-feet, and trying her hardest to improve everyone’s lives…but she’s not perfect either. She makes mistakes and she doesn’t always do things for the right reasons. Flawed characters with room for growth are the best kind to read about.
I also loved reading about how the world worked and how things changed due to the virus. It seems bleak and grim at times, but the characters make the best of their situation, and I loved how they went about setting up their city, seeing how they ran it. There are a lot of dystopian books out there, but this one really stood out to me, especially since it’s both MG and a graphic novel. I’m very tempted to find the original now!
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My daughter had to read this for school a while back, but I never nabbed a copy. Too cool that they made it into a graphic novel. I’ll let her know. And thanks for reminding me that this needs to be on my to-read list. =o)
This sounds so cool. I haven’t read many graphic novels, but I definitely want to pick this one up now!
Today I am reviewing O. T. Nelson’s The Girl Who Owned a City, which has been brought back as a graphic novel. I received an eARC of this title from NetGalley.