The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel

by O. T. (Terry) Nelson, Joëlle Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only the kids behind. With her parents gone, Lisa is responsible for her little brother, Todd. She has to make sure they stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but on Grand Avenue, some kids are surviving. Because of Lisa.

Lisa figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take that away and rule the streets themselves. How long can Lisa's group keep fighting them off? They need to find a place to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.

In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But does Lisa have the strength to take charge of a whole city?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761356349
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2012
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	347,350
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN420L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

O. T. Nelson has said that he wrote The Girl Who Owned a City because he wanted "children to realize that they are important and that they have the ability to think and make a difference." Mr. Nelson is an artist and writer who lives in Minnesota with his wife. He has two adult children.

Joëlle Jones launched her artistic career in 2006. Among her varied projects are the illustrations for three titles by Jamie S. Rich—12 Reasons Why I Love Her, You Have Killed Me, and Spell Checkers; the comic-book spinoff of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog; the Iron Man story in Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man #150 by Brian Michael Bendis; and Janet Evanovich's bestselling graphic novel Troublemaker. She lives in Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

"The strong-willed, resourceful main character sets an excellent example for girls of all ages and the ingenuity of the children shows the virtues of perseverance and resiliency in the face of disaster. Overall, this is an entertaining read with great artwork that is sure to attract fans of graphic novels." —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

Gr 6–10—This adaptation of O. T. Nelson's 1975 novel by the same title (Lerner) tells a story that will intrigue young readers everywhere: what would happen if all of the adults were gone? As the book opens, a mysterious virus has killed everyone over the age of 12. Lisa is foraging for supplies and bringing them home to her younger brother. When a local gang starts attacking kids for their supplies, Lisa brainstorms about how to protect what she has and how to recruit other kids on her street to form a better defense against the gangs. Eventually, she gathers the kids together, moves them into a local school, and calls the building the City of Glenbard. Much of the story is about the kids teaching one another basic survival skills like driving cars and shooting guns while the City's population grows. The characterization starts out being about the "good kids" against the gangs, but Lisa proves to be more complicated than that. In addition to the conflicts with marauding gangs, she is frequently challenged by her trusted allies because she keeps calling it my instead of our City. Jones's illustrations are shaded in brown and green earth tones and are filled with movement and life. The faces of the children are angular and interesting, looking realistically like kids who have been struggling to survive. This will be an ideal recommendation for readers looking for a dystopian story in which young people need to step up and be their own heroes.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

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