Now 2023 Previous Articles Road Essays Road Reviews Author Black Authors Title Source Age Genre Series Format Inclusivity LGBTA Portfolio Artwork WIP

Recent posts


Month in review

Reviews
Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey and Amy Melissa Bentley (narrator)
Arf by Spencer Quinn
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
Bird & Squirrel All Together by James Burks
Castle Shade by Laurie R. King
Cat-Cat by Gertrude Hevener Gibson
Death by Café Mocha by Alex Erickson and Melissa Moran (Narrator)
Drew LeClair Gets a Clue by Katryn Bury and Devon Hales (Narrator)
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, Volume 4 by Hinowa Kouzuki and Waka Miyama (Illustrator)
Girl in Reverse by Barbara Stuber
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
I Am a Cat Barista, Volume 1 by Hiro Maijima
It's the End of the World and I'm in My Bathing Suit by Justin A. Reynolds
Key Player by Kelly Yang
Lost Lad London, Volume 1 by Shinya Shima
Lowriders to the Rescue by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third (Illustrations)
Murder Spills the Tea by Vicki Delany and Shaina Summerville (Narrator) (2022)
My Dress-Up Darling, Volume 4 by Shinichi Fukuda and Taylor Engel (Translator) (2019)
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 15 by Adachitoka
Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Paws and Effect by Sofie Kelly and Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)
A Poisonous Page by Kitt Crowe and Tina Wolstencroft (Narrator)
Room to Dream by Kelly Yang
The Sound of Thunder by J. Torres and Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrations) (2014)
A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker (Narrator)
Turkey Day Murder by Leslie Meier and Karen White (Narrator)
Wedding Cake Crumble by Jenn McKinlay and Susan Boyce (Narrator)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Miscellaneous
October 2022 Sources

October 2022 Summary

Previous month



Rating System

5 stars: Completely enjoyable or compelling
4 stars: Good but flawed
3 stars: Average
2 stars: OK
1 star: Did not finish



Privacy policy

This blog does not collect personal data. It doesn't set cookies. Email addresses are used to respond to comments or "contact us" messages and then deleted.


Lowriders Blast from the Past: 11/30/22

Lowriders Blast from the Past

Lowriders to the Rescue by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third (Illustrations) (2022) is the fourth book in the Lowriders in Space graphic novel series. This one focuses on cross-culturing, gentrification, migration, and climate change. Sokar is a monarch butterfly who has come out of the mountains looking for help for the other monarchs, trapped by a raging forest fire.

Sokar speaks Arabic and wears a hijab. As Cathy Camper explains in the afterword, the previous books have focused on Raúl the Third's heritage but now she wants to include some of her own. Sokar's understanding of both Arabic and Spanish gives another interesting side to this volume, lessons on Spanish word origins that came into the language from Arabic by way of the Moors.

Sokar's vulnerability to smoke and smog segues into another main plot thread for this volume: climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels. Flappy, who happens to be smitten with Sokar, wants desperately to find a way of converting the lowrider into a greener machine without having to give up the beautiful paint job he's done on it. The solution is solar paint, something that's theoretically possible but not quite as off the shelf as it is for Flappy.

All in all, I liked this latest volume, although it seemed less fantastical as some of the previous ones. I think it's a sign of the times, that even escapist fantasy needs to take a look at the major problems facing the world.

Chart showing the placement of the four books on the Road Narrative Spectrum

Like the previous three, this volume sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. The lowriders and Sokar collectively are marginalized travelers (as every previous volume has has) (66). Their destination is the wildlands, or the forest where Sokar's family is trapped (99). Their route is an offroad one (66).

Five stars

Comments (0)


Lab puppy
Name:
Email (won't be posted):
Blog URL:
Comment:

Twitter Tumblr Mastadon Flickr Facebook Facebook Contact me

1997-2023 Sarah Sammis