Book Review: The Adoption by Zidrou and Arno Monin

The Adoption
by Zidrou (writer) and Arno Monin (artist) and Jeremy Melloul (translator) (741.5 Zid)

At first glance, I figured this graphic novel by Belgians Zidrou (writer) and Arno Monin (artist) was going to be a typical sentimental feel-good story. The cover sums up that impression — crusty old grandfatherly Gabriel faces off against adorable waif Qinaya, and you presume the story is about how an old white guy comes to love the little dark-skinned girl his children have adopted.

 

Don’t be misled — that is part of this complex story, but only part, and not the most important part. In a nutshell, retired Belgian butcher Gabriel does find it initially hard to connect when his forty-something son and wife adoption a little girl in Peru following a devastating earthquake that has left hundreds dead, including little Qinaya’s parents. In the first half of this two-part graphic novel, Gabriel does go through the growing pains of a new relationship and does come to love his incomprehensibly cute new granddaughter. That’s what makes the second half of this story the most important — when it turns out Gabriel’s son cut some corners in the adoption process and actually kidnapped Qinaya, whose parents turn out to be alive. In the second half of this story, Gabriel travels to Peru, first to see Qinaya one last time, but also in a voyage of personal growth and discovery, that leads him back to Belgium and a chance to mend some fences in his family.

 

The artwork in The Adoption is absolutely phenomenal, from the highly detailed and expressive characters, to the well-realized geography — both up close and in scenic backdrops. The storyline is emotional and I challenge any reader not to be affected by the twists and turns.

 

Highly recommended!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The House by Paco Roca, Paul at Home by Michel Rabagliati.]

[ publisher’s official The Adoption web page ] | [ one of many Zidrou author pages for this Belgian writer ] [ official Arno Monin Instagram feed ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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The Martian Child by David Gerrold

The Martian Child
by David Gerrold

“The Martian Child” is based on the true story of Gerrold’s adoption of his son. Every adoptive parent can relate to the fear that the adoption agency will find the adoptive applicant lacking in some way, and he does a good job of running the reader through all the paperwork, the outside reading he did, and the overwhelming bureaucracy potential parents deal with. But in Gerrold’s case he was also dealing with being an openly gay man trying to adopt a foster child who had a large agency file outlining the boy’s many emotional and behavioral issues. His family, friends, and even the agency try to talk him out of this particular boy, but Gerrold is convinced this is the child for him. Afterall, the boy thinks he’s from Mars, and Gerrold is a science fiction writer – peas in a pod.

Told with humor and poignancy, we follow Gerrold through all his paperwork, and the home visits with the child, and after several weeks the boy is allowed to move from the foster home to Gerrold’s home on a trial basis. Eventually the honeymoon phase of their relationship passes and Gerrold has his hands full with a fearful boy with low self-esteem who has been dumped by his mother when a toddler, and abused at every foster home. Dennis is now acting out constantly by stealing and lying, and deliberately breaking things at every opportunity.

Gerrold is at his wit’s end but is determined to stick with his promise to this boy to never fail him. It is very moving to watch Gerrold work through these issues as he realizes his motivation for this adoption is to build a family, and family sticks. This revelation suddenly makes everything fall into place.
Most amazingly, a large number of children available for adoption announce that they are from Mars. They relate the exact same story of how they have arrived at earth, what their mission is, and that they will be returning to Mars. As he methodically presents his facts about this phenomenon the hair on the back of your neck will rise. SPOILER ALERT. If I didn’t know that this story would have a Happy Ending, knowing Gerrold writes sci fi and having grown up on Twilight Zone, I would fully expect this tale to end with Gerrold ineffectively chasing a Martian ship that has reclaimed his son.

Gerrold’s off-beat sense of humor and his slightly skewed views on everything he observes makes this book very enjoyable. It’s a quick read at 190 pages, and has a sweet epilogue.
David Gerrold won a Hugo in 1995 for Best Novellette, “The Martian Child,” which appeared in “Fantasy & Science Fiction” magazine in September, 1994. He expanded the story into this novel which was published in 2002. A movie based on the novel, “The Martian Child,” was released in 2007 starring John Cusak, but be aware the movie changes the father’s orientation to that of a straight widower.

[ official David Gerrold web site ]

Recommended by Charlotte K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

A Father's Love: One Man's Unrelenting Battle to Bring his Adopted Son Home

A Father's Love: One Man's Unrelenting Battle to Bring His Adopted Son Home
by David Goldman [Biography Goldman]

David Goldman's Brazilian wife, Bruna, took their 4-year-old son, Sean, to Brazil for what was to be a two-week family vacation with David joining them later. But once in Brazil, Bruna called David to announce she was leaving him and keeping their son. Later, Bruna divorced David in Brazil, remarried, and died in 2008 giving birth to a daughter. David spent over five years and $700,000 fighting the Brazilian courts, Bruna's new husband, and her parents for custody of his son. It took the involvement of the international media and the US government to force the issue. Christmas Eve, 2009, David and Sean finally flew out of Brazil together. A fascinating story that is a quick read yet emotional. The first few chapters are background on David's growing-up years, how he met Bruna, and their life together. Once the media and government officials become involved in 2008 the suspense builds toward Christmas Eve. The last couple of chapters covers the family reunion, and how Sean is coping. The legalese is light-weight, just enough to explain what's going on yet not to overburden the story. The real story is how David and his friends fought the fight and finally overcame the old Brazilian system that allowed old families, wealthy families, and cronyism to dominate Brazilian application of laws. This story stayed with me for several days and I re-read parts of the book several times. I also visited the website, bringseanhome.org, to read the court rulings, filings by the attorneys,and statements made by the second husband, watched the NBC Dateline interviews, and read how the foundation continues the fight for other parents with abducted children. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in downloadable E-book format.]

[ David Goldman's Bring Sean Home Foundation web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!