Bright Lights, Dark Nights

June 1, 2015
Walter lives with his father in an apartment in a dangerous part of the city. When his father—a white police officer—arrests an African-American teen, claiming he matches the description of a burglar who robbed and assaulted his neighbor, Walter’s father quickly finds himself at the center of a racial controversy. Walter, who hates fighting and conflict, tries to stay uninvolved, even after a stolen picture of him kissing his new girlfriend Naomi, who is black, appears on Facebook, along with strangers making comments about their relationship. He soon learns he cannot keep his feelings bottled up inside and must figure out what it means to fight. Emond raises difficult questions about racism, crime, and civil rights, without promising or providing easy answers. As in Happyface and Winter Town, illustrations share part of the storytelling weight; Emond’s stark b&w imagery, mostly cityscapes and neighborhood scenes, dovetails with Walter’s interest in comic books and noir films, while underscoring his idea of the city as a “mood ring,” reflecting what one brings to it. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit.

Starred review from June 1, 2015
First love, racism, family strife, and the Internet's culture of anonymous cruelty are some of the many themes explored in this illustrated novel by Happyface (2010) author Emond. High school senior Walter, who is white, lives with his dad, a cop whose career has nose-dived in the years since he and Walter's mom divorced and they moved from a middle-class suburb to a working-class neighborhood in the city. Anxious and endearingly awkward, Walter has done his best to fly under the radar with his peers, until he falls hard for his friend's sister: smart, witty, harp-playing Naomi, who is black. The pressure experienced by couples from different ethnic backgrounds is realistically intensified for this sweetly likable pair when Walter's dad arrests a black teen for burglary and is accused of assaulting him, igniting debate and anger in their neighborhood and at large. Most impressive in this emotionally charged novel is the way each of the characters is fully imagined; they emerge as complex individuals who are shaped by a variety of factors and are not portrayed as simple heroes or villains. There are no easy answers to the issues at play in this story, and fittingly, there is much that is left open-ended. Readers will be left with plenty on their minds and in their hearts. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Walter Wilcox has always wanted to blend in, especially since his parents split up and he moved to the city with his police officer father. Then Walter meets a cute, funny, black girl named Naomi, he is surprised to find she actually seems to like him back. Walter's life, and his and relationship with Naomi, becomes complicated when his dad is accused of racial profiling. Officer Wilcox says he was just doing his job, but Walter knows what he hears around the dinner table and that parts of his dad's story don't add up. When the couple's relationship becomes a hot topic online, it might be too much for them to handle. The story focuses on Walter trying to reconcile reality with the way he has been raised to see the world and Emond handles it authentically, including making it clear that Walter is just starting to understand the bigger issues like his own privilege. While Walter and Naomi are well developed, other characters lack dimension, which is unfortunate, given the book's focus on perception and stereotypes. The author's illustrations, interspersed with the text, help set the mood, as do references to today's social media climate. Though similar in topic to Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down (Holt, 2014), this readalike is more inward-focused, instead of examinging the effects of racial profiling on the greater community. VERDICT A timely choice that will get teens talking.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 In Emond's latest illustrated YA novel, high-school senior Walter Wilcox is a wallflower. Witness to a divorce that's moved him and his dad into the city, Walter doesn't expect good things to happen to him, which is why his tender first relationship with Naomi is such a surprise. But when his dad becomes embroiled in a police scandal over racial profiling, Walter, who is white, is forced to confront how others in their urban community view his interracial relationship with Naomi, who is black. Emond's take on a ripped-from-the-headlines story is decidedly understated and deeply rooted in the characters and the setting. The fictional East Bridge comes to life in Emond's gorgeous, inky, noir-infused cityscapes, and the richly imagined inhabitants add verisimilitude to the novel. Readers coming to this story for romance may feel shortchanged, as the relationship here is more true-to-life and awkward than swooningly romantic, but that's what sets Emond's book apart. A real slice of contemporary teenage life that's painfully honest about the below-the-surface racism in today's America.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)