Visions of the Crow

by Wanda John-Kehewin, nicole marie burton (Illustrator), Kielamel Sibal (Illustrator)

Overview

“Your ancestors have called us to help you.”

“I think y'all have the wrong number.”

Damon Quinn just wants to get through his senior year unscathed. His mom struggles with alcohol and is barely coping with the day-to-day. Marcus and his cronies at school are forever causing Damon trouble. The new girl, Journey, won't mind her own business. To make matters worse, now a mysterious crow is following him everywhere. After he is seized by a waking dream in the middle of a busy street, Damon is forced to confront his mom with some hard questions: Why haven't I met my dad? Where did we come from? Who am I?

Damon must look within himself, mend the bond with his mother, and rely on new friends to find the answers he so desperately needs. Travelling through time and space, Damon will have to go back before he can move forward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774920459
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Series:	Dreams , #1
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Wanda John-Kehewin (she/her/hers) is a Cree writer who uses her work to understand and respond to the near destruction of First Nations cultures, languages, and traditions. When she first arrived in Vancouver on a Greyhound bus, she was a pregnant nineteen-year-old carrying little more than a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and hope. After many years travelling (well, mostly stumbling) along her healing journey, she now writes to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. A published poet and fiction author, her first novel for young adults, Hopeless in Hope, won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize and was named to USBBY’s Outstanding International Books list.

nicole marie burton (she, they) is an illustrator and art director living on unceded Algonquin land. Born in the US and now based in Ontario, they are a founding member of the Ad Astra Comix publishing collective and currently co-run Petroglyph, a comic art studio specializing in collaborations with scholars, unions, and non-profits. In addition to a number of shorter works, their published books include The Boy Who Walked Backwards, Wonder Drug, Enemy Alien, and The Beast: Making a Living on a Dying Planet.

Kielamel Sibal (she, her) is a Filipino Canadian letterer, graphic designer, cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. She is passionately curious about the craft of different storytelling methods, from comics and video games to film and illustration. Born in Pampanga, Philippines, Kiela currently conducts her sparkling antics of wizardry in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

What People are Saying About This

Educator Ian Perry

This graphic tale of intersection of the day-to-day, gritty real world and the sometimes intrusive, overwhelming, and hard-to-deal-with vision world is beautifully handled. Fantastic interconnectedness of the various levels of reality explored in the book—consciousness, spirit, family, society, history—with a hopefulness for the future.

cartoonist and comics educator Sarah Leavitt

Highly recommend—I read this book in one sitting! In Visions of the Crow, Wanda John-Kehewin and nicole marie burton have created an immersive world, full of pain and struggle, but also love, friendship, and beauty. And the characters living in that world are complex and compelling—I just had to find out what happened to them.

Brenda Hickey

Dreams: Visions of the Crow is an honest exploration on how the journey forward often begins through an understanding of the past. Damon’s particular challenges shine an important light on past scars that still need to be healed. There’s a beautiful message of breaking the cycle of trauma with patience, empathy and perseverance.

Editorial Reviews

John-Kehewin hopes that Indigenous youth and adult readers will draw from Damon’s spiritual journey. As a former employee with the Ministry of Children and Families, John-Kehewin is aware that although Indigenous youth and children may have their physical needs met, they don’t often have their emotional and spiritual needs met. She hopes Dreams: Visions of the Crow will help with that.

For non-Indigenous readers, she wants them to go beyond the stereotypes and understand that Damon’s mother’s alcoholism is “the residual effects of the residential schools and history itself."

Windspeaker.com - Shari Narine

A vibrant and awe-inspiring journey of self-discovery....Definitely a series to watch [that] will be a great help for teens to understand the...history and culture of the Canadian [First Peoples] and their struggles today.

NY Public Library Grace Rosa

[An] intriguing coming-of-age story. Recommended.

CM Association - Ann Ketcheson

An important story.

Kirkus Review

Tight prose links Wanda John-Kehewin’s poetry background to [this] graphic novel for young people. It is a powerful story that proves knowing ourselves means understanding where we came from. burton’s illustrations transport the reader into Damon’s world. The contrast between the dull, dreary colours of Damon’s everyday life and the vivid, colourful realm of his dreams in particular, highlight the healing power of learning from history.

Prairie Books Now

A graphic novel recommended for teens interested in stories about social justice and the importance of family roots.

School Library Journal - Andrea Lipinski

This story, based on the experiences of the author, examines how Indigenous cultural connection can be a pathway towards healing from the lasting impacts of residential schools and intergenerational trauma.

Top Grade CanLit for the Classroom 49th Kids

Bringing in everything from traditional cooking to magical medicine power, Van Camp’s graphic novel celebrates cultural resiliency while never shying away from the difficulty faced by his characters.

Vancouver Sun - Stuart Derdeyn

Among Book Riot's 15 New YA Comics and Graphic Novels Coming Out April–June 2023

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Grab your copy.

Comics Beat

2023-01-25
A First Nations teen finds himself swept into a metaphysical exploration of self-discovery.

Damon Quinn, who has a Métis father and Cree mother, doesn’t really know who he is. His mother abuses alcohol, and he suffers constant torment from racist bullies in school; all Damon wants is to leave everything behind. Things start to change when a black crow begins following him around and new student Journey insists that she and Damon should stick together because they are both Indigenous. Initially unwilling and disoriented, Damon begins entering dreams that feel incredibly lifelike. In them, he learns from his ancestors about his cultural roots. Slowly, his curiosity helps him embrace these vivid dreams that contrast with the drabness of his waking life. Damon’s emotional journey introduces the cultural and familial disruptions and intergenerational traumas from residential schools and other forms of colonization. Damon’s relationships throughout the novel parallel his growing interest in his self-identity. He develops more empathy for his mother after meeting his ancestors and learning about their struggles. Friendship with Journey creates a safe space for Damon to be himself. Even his bully turns out to represent Damon’s own past self-hate. At some points, the writing reads somewhat like a textbook, interrupting the flow of the story. The panels are simply and clearly drawn, and the colors vary from neutrals to deep jewel tones to amplify the scenes’ emotions.

An important story that doesn’t completely deliver an engaging read. (Graphic fiction. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews