Surviving the City (Surviving the City, 1) (Volume 1)

Product Description

Tasha Spillet’s graphic-novel debut tells a story of kinship, resilience, cultural resurgence, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up Indigenous in an urban landscape―they’re so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez’s grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can’t stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can’t bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez’s community find her before it’s too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don’t?

Surviving the City is one book in the Surviving the City series.

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—A poignant look at the lives of two best friends, Miikwan and Dez. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Being Indigenous, they belong to one of the most marginalized populations in Canada, and every day they face the risk of experiencing violence, going missing, or even being murdered. Miikwan’s mother is already missing, and Dez is worried about where she will live now that her grandmother has become too ill to be her guardian. Despite all their hardships, the teens endeavor to honor their cultures and navigate an unsafe urban environment. The main characters in this graphic novel are so expressive and authentic, it’s impossible not to care for them. The earth-tone palette is appealing, and the backgrounds are dynamic—vivid yet subtle, with real-world places depicted and actual posters for books and albums on indoor walls. There are often spirits present, portrayed in transparent blues for the Indigenous ancestors, who always offer warmth and support, or stark grays and blacks for the alien spirits who identify the predators. The action moves through panels in a multitude of sizes, which advances the action smoothly and enhances the tension of the story line. Factual information is included at the end of the book, along with selected bibliographies for anyone interested in statistics and further reading. VERDICT An important title with first-rate storytelling and beautiful use of color and design. Pair with David A. Robertson’s Will I See? for timely accounts of the systemic violence impacting Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people and their families and communities.–Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

Review

[A] haunting graphic novel… debut author Spillett and Donovan… present a story of girls growing up with the historical legacy of Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people, particularly women and girls.
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Publishers Weekly

Engrossing… [this story]
 remains a tribute to the missing and murdered and a clarion call to everyone else.
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Kirkus Reviews

Centering the strong hearts of Indigenous women and girls and shattering racist assumptions, Surviving the City is a beautiful, uncompromising honour song to those of us that not only survive the urban, but navigate through it with the courage of our Ancestors.
―
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of This Accident of Being Lost

Selected for
2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers
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American Library Association (ALA)

Selected as an AIYLA Young Adult Honor Book
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American Indian Youth Literature Award (AIYLA)

Nominated for the Forest of Reading’s Red Maple Award
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Ontario Library Association

Review

Among YALSA’s 2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens
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YALSA

Book Description

A contemporary story for teens about heart-wrenching decisions and the anguish of missing loved ones.

About the Author

New York Times–bestselling author Tasha Spillett (she/her/hers) draws her strength from both her Inninew and Trinidadian bloodlines. She is a celebrated Afro-Indigenous educator, poet, and emerging scholar. Tasha is most heart-tied to contrib