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Summary
Summary
A story about first love, first fights, and finding yourself in a messed up world, from Stephen Emond, acclaimed author of Happyface.
Walter Wilcox has never been in love. That is, until he meets Naomi, and sparks, and clever jokes, fly. But when his cop dad is caught in a racial profiling scandal, Walter and Naomi, who is African American, are called out at school, home, and online. Can their bond (and mutual love of the Foo Fighters) keep them together?
With black-and-white illustrations throughout and a heartfelt, humorous voice, Bright Lights, Dark Nights authentically captures just how tough first love can be...and why it's worth fighting for.
Author Notes
Stephen Emond started his career by drawing a comic strip called Steverino. It helped him develop as both an artist and a writer. He thought the comic strip was a great way to learn writing because every strip has a beginning, middle and end. He did 25 page books every month with three cartoons per page. He won a national contest - the Andrew-McMeels/Follett College Store¿s STRIP SEARCH: DISCOVERING TOMORROW¿S TOP CARTOONISTS TODAY and had his comic printed in a book of the same name. The next cartoon character was Emo Boy. He has superpowers but they were destructive. Then came Happyface - a comic about a boy who suffered a terrible tragedy but puts on a Happy Face and swallows all the pain. The next project was the Emo Boy movie directed by Kyle Newman. After the movie, Stephen Emond began writing an autobiographical comic strip Lemons.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Walter Wilcox has always wanted to blend in, especially since his parents split up and he moved to the city with his police officer father. Then Walter meets a cute, funny, black girl named Naomi, he is surprised to find she actually seems to like him back. Walter's life, and his and relationship with Naomi, becomes complicated when his dad is accused of racial profiling. Officer Wilcox says he was just doing his job, but Walter knows what he hears around the dinner table and that parts of his dad's story don't add up. When the couple's relationship becomes a hot topic online, it might be too much for them to handle. The story focuses on Walter trying to reconcile reality with the way he has been raised to see the world and Emond handles it authentically, including making it clear that Walter is just starting to understand the bigger issues like his own privilege. While Walter and Naomi are well developed, other characters lack dimension, which is unfortunate, given the book's focus on perception and stereotypes. The author's illustrations, interspersed with the text, help set the mood, as do references to today's social media climate. Though similar in topic to Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down (Holt, 2014), this readalike is more inward-focused, instead of examinging the effects of racial profiling on the greater community. VERDICT A timely choice that will get teens talking.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Walter lives with his father in an apartment in a dangerous part of the city. When his father-a white police officer-arrests an African-American teen, claiming he matches the description of a burglar who robbed and assaulted his neighbor, Walter's father quickly finds himself at the center of a racial controversy. Walter, who hates fighting and conflict, tries to stay uninvolved, even after a stolen picture of him kissing his new girlfriend Naomi, who is black, appears on Facebook, along with strangers making comments about their relationship. He soon learns he cannot keep his feelings bottled up inside and must figure out what it means to fight. Emond raises difficult questions about racism, crime, and civil rights, without promising or providing easy answers. As in Happyface and Winter Town, illustrations share part of the storytelling weight; Emond's stark b&w imagery, mostly cityscapes and neighborhood scenes, dovetails with Walter's interest in comic books and noir films, while underscoring his idea of the city as a "mood ring," reflecting what one brings to it. Ages 12-up. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In Emond's latest illustrated YA novel, high-school senior Walter Wilcox is a wallflower. Witness to a divorce that's moved him and his dad into the city, Walter doesn't expect good things to happen to him, which is why his tender first relationship with Naomi is such a surprise. But when his dad becomes embroiled in a police scandal over racial profiling, Walter, who is white, is forced to confront how others in their urban community view his interracial relationship with Naomi, who is black. Emond's take on a ripped-from-the-headlines story is decidedly understated and deeply rooted in the characters and the setting. The fictional East Bridge comes to life in Emond's gorgeous, inky, noir-infused cityscapes, and the richly imagined inhabitants add verisimilitude to the novel. Readers coming to this story for romance may feel shortchanged, as the relationship here is more true-to-life and awkward than swooningly romantic, but that's what sets Emond's book apart. A real slice of contemporary teenage life that's painfully honest about the below-the-surface racism in today's America.--Barnes, Jennifer Copyright 2015 Booklist