Alexis Castellanos' wordless graphic novel proves a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
My journey with Alexis Castellanos' inaugural book began when I was given a mission by one of the chief librarians at my local library: find good, newly released graphic novels to resurrect our graphic novel shelves and bring new life to them. The entirely of the following work day was dedicated to fulfilling that task, via extensive research. Graphic novels were never my strong suit; I've resented a lot of different kinds over the years, namely Japanese manga and young adult stuff, never finding the right niche for various reasons (namely, the inappropriateness and obscenity).
The results of my research confirmed a lot of the things I already knew, particularly, that the Young Adult graphic novel scene is a complete and utter train wreck, but I was genuinely surprised to find how strong the juvenile and "middle-grade" scene was. Quite literally, I was finding a graphic novel that caught my eye left and right (unfortunately for my librarian boss, because what she expected to be a list of YA stuff to buy turned out to be a very, very long sheet of juvenile-level books). One of those graphic novels that caught my eye was in fact Isla to Island. On top of recommending it to my boss, I liked what I heard about it so much that I ended up ordering the book for myself from another library, along with Marjorie Liu's Wingbearer. It is worth noting that I rarely pull the trigger on trying out books so quickly, and it was the first time ever doing so for graphic novels.
To my delight, both books arrived that same week, and I dove into Isla to Island almost straight away. I was incredibly eager to find out what a wordless graphic novel was truly like, and I got the sense just from the cover and jacket art that I was in for a real treat.
One of the unique things about Isla to Island is that the writer and illustrator are one and the same. Naturally, one might think that no dialogue would help any artist be able to write and publish graphic novel, but in the case of Isla to Island, its exceptional idea and plot proves that Castellanos is indeed qualified as a writer, on top of being an excellent illustrator. For a wordless graphic novel, it is all the more vital for the illustrations to provide enough context and information to hook the reader in place of the words, and Isla to Island does it incredibly well. I was never left confused or wondering about anything, the story flowed at an enjoyable pace, and nothing felt missing at all. Yes, nothing. Words not included, because words not necessary. If anything, Isla to Island sheds light on the fact that many writers overdo dialogue and include it where it isn't required to convey a thought to the reader.
Writing and art fused seamlessly in such a way I haven't seen before, thanks to the quality of both and the fact that one person is responsible for both aspects. If you do it right, you don't need words in order call something writing, the pictures themselves contain the essence of it. It may be different from a normal graphic novel, but make no mistake, the heart and soul of writing is for sure present and visible in Isla to Island, just like any other book.
In fact, the story is the whole selling point of the book. Set in the 1960s, Isla to Island stars Marisol, a young girl living in Cuba during the time of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Marisol loves her home, but ultimately is forced to leave due to the revolution. Her parents, determined to protect her, send her to America, and Marisol struggles to adapt to her new life with her foster parents in New York City. The illustrations do a good job at making you feel the emotions: what if you were Marisol, and you had to leave everything and everyone you loved behind because of war? What if you had to immigrate to a foreign land to seek refuge, all alone? You can't help but feel bad for Marisol, and feel what she feels. You experience it all, character speech isn't necessary to understand what she's going through, especially after she arrives in New York City, where the illustrations go from being vibrantly colored to entirely black and white.
I enjoyed how the story was informative of certain historical events as well. I had never known about Operation Peter Pan, a program started by a Catholic charity whose mission was to provide the opportunity for Cuban families to send their children to America so they could escape the horrible Cuban Revolution. Over 14,000 children escaped Fidel's regime this way. So, Isla to Island is not purely fictional. There are distinct connections to the real world that give the book educational value when it comes to the Cuban Revolution.
The story also had a solid dose of inspiration, which was predictable but still good. Those struggling with fitting in in a variety of settings can relate to Marisol's journey and find the courage to overcome their fears. If Marisol can do it, so can you! The majority of the story surrounds Marisol's experiences both at her new home and at school in NYC. Both her and her Catholic foster parents learn to bond with one another over the course of the story, even if Marisol doesn't yet understand a word of English. It's an emotional roller coaster at many times, bringing you down to Marisol's very lowest moments as well as all the way to her highest, most joyful ones.
The way Castellanos uses both color and black-and-white illustrations in Isla to Island is both smart and very fitting: for all the scenes that take place in Marisol's homeland of Cuba, there is color everywhere, but as soon as she arrives in New York City, the entire book becomes black-and-white, and remains this way until Marisol begins to adapt to her new life and find the joy in it once again. It starts with her connecting to her passions once again like books, and botany. Those things start to become color, then Marisol herself, until finally, her entire world becomes "alive" once again. I don't know if the use of black-and-white drawings was required, to save time, or if it was simply Castellanos's choice, but either way, it worked perfectly and served the story well. The way she used both kinds of drawings was unique and pretty genius, at least from my perspective.
But the single best thing about Isla to Island is how appropriate it is for its age group. As mentioned before, graphic novels aren't my strong suit because of my experience with YA level stuff; most of it is too extreme and overall, stupid from head to toe. On the other hand, there are plenty of Juvenile-grade graphic novels that are poor as well; mostly because they have no real value when it comes to educating readers or impacting them positively by inspiring them. However, Isla to Island strikes a perfect balance by being kid-friendly enough to capture young readers' attention, while also being mature enough to educate them about things like immigration and how to face hard, unexpected challenges and still find happiness. It handles its harder topics in a way that would be acceptable to families that might have entirely different views from each other. Isla to Island is enlightening to the mind on certain things without trying to steer you in any particular political direction. Anybody anywhere can understand the difficulties one might face when immigrating to a different part of the world. I feel like this would also be a good book for parents to read with their children, they can answer and explain some of the meanings behind the illustrations kids may not yet fully grasp.
With authors such as Castellanos, the middle-grade graphic novel scene appears to be blooming. Works like Isla to Island may very well help transform its genre into one of the most popular in the coming years. YA may be dying, but the middle-grade is thriving. We'll see what kind of popularity those books have soon enough. For their sake, I hope authors such as Alexis Castellanos continue to thrive for years to come, and considering Isla to Island is her first book, she will only get better and better.
Isla to Island isn't anything earth-shattering and you're not going to be a hyped as you would for a new entry in a mega franchise, but that is perfectly okay. It's still incredibly well constructed and written. Adults may find some things to be predictable and not very new, but middle-grade and younger students can easily find themselves immersed in Marisol's heartwarming story, and through it, they'll be able to learn things that will leave a positive impact on their lives. I think I've finally found my niche in graphic novels. Isla to Island gets an 8.0 of out 10 minimum, and no lower than that.
You can find more about Isla to Island and the author, Alexis Castellanos, on her website at: https://alexiscastellanos.com
Hey Strider, this is another great, thorough review. I love your reviews and always look forward to the next one!