Review by Booklist Review
When Tom Token enrolls in the St. Ivory Academy of Spellcraft and Sorcery, he knows that he's their first ever student of color, but he doesn't realize that Headmaster Lynch a wizard shamelessly garbed, along with other faculty, in KKK robes has been oppressing Black people for centuries. With the help of sympathetic classmate Lindsay Whitethorn and the ghosts of magical freedom fighters Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, Tom must fight to recover John Henry's powerful hammer and overthrow the school's racist administration. Clearly, Barnes is not going for subtlety here; almost every element seems designed to remind the reader that we live in a world of overt white supremacy. Unfortunately, this exploration doesn't delve much deeper than surface level, with more energy spent on fight scenes than world building or character development. Kirkland dazzles with a number of dynamic action sequences, drawing inspiration from Japanese manga and video games, and while this collaboration begins to make a strong statement with bold representation, little attempt is made to address the important questions they've raised.--Ronny Khuri Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--Tom Token is the first black student--and black mage--to be admitted to St. Ivory's Academy of Spellcraft and Sorcery. Tom's first day sees him fighting racist students and encountering faculty wearing Klan hoods, but he also befriends Lindsay, his student liaison, and soon, he stumbles onto a conspiracy. It looks like there might have been black students at the school in the past. Tom sets out to unravel this secret, with the help of not only Lindsay but also the ghosts of legendary wizards Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. The world of St. Ivory's is littered with references to "Harry Potter," Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Sailor Moon, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even more obscure media, such as G Gundam, much of which might fly over younger readers' heads. There are also allusions to racial tensions throughout history; those who reread and reexamine imagery will be richly rewarded. The pace is brisk, and Tom and Lindsay receive only a modicum of backstory before the story picks up. But the vivid, anime-esque artwork and creative, at times explosive panel layouts make up for the gaps in characterization, engrossing readers in a one-of-a-kind adventure. VERDICT Barnes and Kirkland's dynamic tale is best described as Jordan Peele's Get Out for the graphic novel set. Action packed, thoughtful, and visually delicious, this is a story that's not to be missed.--Matisse Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
St. Ivory Academy of Spellcraft and Sorcery has launched a Magical Minority Initiative, but newly enrolled Tom Token discovers it's harboring some long, dark secrets.Artistically influenced by anime and manga, this volume puts a contemporary racial twist on the misadventures of teenagers in a wizarding school la Hogwarts. Readers are introduced to St. Ivorythink ivory towerwhich presents itself to the brilliant yet underserved black teenager Tom as interested in increasing diversity and stepping away from its separate-but-equal past, or so says headmaster Atticus Lynch III. Readers can expect racially coded puns throughout. Some might call it campy, others corny for its humor, which in no meaningful way disguises the meta-purpose of the text as a racial allegory on today's struggle amid much neo-Confederate discourse on increasing minority representation versus achieving substantive racial justice goals. Readers find the ghostly Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and the (possibly mythical) figure of John Henry thrown in to offset the obvious villains with a cohort of black resistance historical actors. After experiencing numerous stereotypical racial microaggressions, Tom and his familiar, a crow named Jim, are clued into a web of a conspiracy that goes back to the Civil War. With the help of his student liaison and newly-minted White Ally() Lindsay, they must act before fatal consequences ensue.Succeeds at increasing black representation in graphic fantasy but not much else. (Graphic novel. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
