Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall

Genre

I am using this book to fulfill the graphic novel requirement for the 7th-12th grade age range. I chose this book from the ALA: YASLA top ten graphic novels for teens in 2024.

Targeted Age Group

This book is targeted to ages 12 and up.

Summary

In 1930s Mississippi, magic is only allowed to be practiced by white people. A group of BIPOC witches enjoy the competition and community of broom racing, working together to avoid unjust arrest and eventually move their families to better places.

Justification 

I was drawn in by the multiple historical topics, racial identities, and queer identities explored in this book. From the portrayal of segregation through the use of magic, to trans identity, to the topic of residential schools, this novel clearly addresses the realities of life in America for multiple marginalized groups of people. The summary on the inside of the book calls this “a queer, witchy Fast and the Furious that shines light on history not often told” (Walls and DuVall, 2023, n.p.). That description, along with the colorful art made this an easy pick for me.

Evaluation

The first aspect of this book I want to look at is its language; not necessarily the diction, but the non-English languages that are used throughout the book. This graphic novel features Spanish, Indian Sign Language, Cantonese, and Chahta. The variety of language representation in this book was beautiful and enriched the interactions that the characters had with one another, giving those conversations a sense of familial closeness and authenticity (since conversations aren’t always translated in real life). Walls (2023), at the end of the book, talks about her decision not to translate any of the non-English languages, stating that she wanted to “[let] readers rely on context to understand what is being said if they don’t know the language” (Walls, 2023, unpaged). I felt that this decision worked well and didn’t detract from the experience of reading this book, since most of the book is in English.

The illustrations in this book are beautifully rendered, from the linework to the colorful pages. The clean, easy to read artwork is in perfect form for conveying sign language. Since the lines don’t blur too much and the colors are blocked or blended in a simple way, the sign language is easily visible, as are facial expressions, character movements, and scenery, all of which are critical reading in a graphic novel for conveying what is going on during a scene. That being said, it’s not just the ease of visibility that makes this novel well-illustrated. The artwork is expressive through characters’ facial expressions and body language, clearly captures the flow of the plot, and the variety in composition and color creates a visually engaging novel. There’s no time to feel bored with whatever is going on on the page, because DuVall uses their artwork to create 

Because the tension in this book is based in the realities of historical oppression, the authors are able to call on attitudes, body language, phrases, practices, and more that portray how white society has oppressed BIPOC people in the United States. Working through this historical perspective, the creators don’t have to delve into much worldbuilding, instead focusing on the plot of the races and the risk the characters take to maintain these communities for themselves. The plot also takes its journey through each of the characters, looking at their lives outside the races, where we discover their hopes and dreams, mixed with the pain they experience in a world that discriminates against them. 

Lastly, the theme of this graphic novel is that community support is stronger than oppressive governments. This book isn’t meant to solve or give a happy ending to early American racial tensions. Instead, it highlights the variety of experiences felt by each of the characters; pain, joy, relief, love, anger, friendship, & more. Together, this cast of characters stands up against and protects each other from the unjust practices and accusations of white society, and supports each other in their joy as they move each other towards more hopeful and more free futures. I enjoyed this graphic novel, and especially enjoyed seeing the amount of people that were involved in putting it together. Happy reading!

References

Walls, J., DuVall, T. (2023). Brooms (T. DuVall, Illus.). Levine Querido.