A New York Times-bestselling graphic novel based on the true story
of two families--one white and one black--who find common ground as the
civil rights struggle heats up in Texas.
This semi-autobiographical tale is set in 1967. A white family from a
notoriously racist neighborhood in the suburbs and a black family from
its poorest ward cross Houston's color line, overcoming humiliation,
degradation, and violence to win the freedom of five black college
students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman.
The Silence of Our Friends follows events through the point of view of
young Mark Long, whose father is a reporter covering the story.
Semi-fictionalized, this story has its roots solidly in very real
events. With art from the brilliant Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole)
bringing the tale to heart-wrenching life, The Silence of Our Friends
is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.
Praise for The Silence of Our Friends:
[A]n engrossing narrative about race in America, while honestly
dealing with a host of other real-world issues, including familial
relationships, friendship, dependency, other-ness, and perhaps most
importantly, the search for common ground. --Publishers Weekly
A moving evocation of a tipping point in our country's regrettable
history of race relations, Long and Demonakos's story flows perfectly in
Eisner and Ignatz Award winner Powell's graceful and vivid yet unpretty
black-and-gray wash. --Library Journal
[C]onvincingly depicts the systemic racism, blatant and subtle, that
suffused and corroded everything during [the] period...[Popwell's]
imagery amplifies the effects of the book's multiple perspectives--the
overwhelmed kid's-eye view of uneasy family dynamics and open Texas
spaces, the hyperkinetic chaos on campus, the cropped literalism of TV
newscasts. --The New York Times
Powell uses a mixture of large and small panels along with a variety of
frame compositions and points of view to give the book a cinematic
realism. From this intimate vantage point, racist incidents are
shockingly ugly, while happy domestic moments--as when the kids from
both families belt out Soul Man--are unself-consciously beautiful. The
youthful protagonist and graphic-novel format will plunge readers into a
time that can seem very distant. Ideal as a class read, absorbing for
solo readers. --School Library Journal
Covering a time period of societal unrest from Viet Nam to the
assassination of Martin Luther King, Silence uses realistic
black-and-white illustrations to convey a subject that is not black and
white. --VOYA
