Review by Booklist Review
In this thought-provoking companion to I Go Quiet (2020), readers discover a fair-skinned girl atop a wall flying a kite, a red diamond cut dramatically into the blue above an alabaster cityscape. "Sometimes I go loud," she declares as another girl approaches, dark hair piled high on her small frame, kite in tow. Soon, the two become friends, empowered by the understanding that they are "louder together." However, when a fierce storm arises and floods their city, the new friends are separated as everyone evacuates in a fleet of small boats. "Alone, I go quiet," the first, now solitary girl thinks sadly. Happily, though, when the storm subsides, and she reaches land, she is reunited with her friend: "and with you, I get loud." Interestingly, Ouimet depicts much of the storm's action in black-and-white thumbnail sketches that capture its energy and chaos and stand in stark contrast to his other full-color double-page spreads. With surreal touches, this beautifully illustrated refugee tale is largely a celebration of friendship and the strength it offers wherever it exists.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An unusual, climate-steeped sequel to I Go Quiet (2020). A young child tells, in first person, of their experience making a new friend when two kites meet high up in the sky. The two children then travel to a different home, in what may possibly be a climate-induced migration, where the friends are separated briefly and then reunited. The child's friend does not speak; rather they are a peaceful companion and co-adventurer and then a welcome face amid unfamiliar surroundings. However, the deeper meanings of this story seem cryptic. Where Ouimet's first book was fairly straightforward and linear, this text is more nuanced and obtuse, likely requiring scaffolding by an adult during the telling. Moreover, while it seems the residents of the city become refugees, their new city so resembles the first as to belie the journey itself and its significant turmoil. Illustrations range from a dramatic fish-eye effect to sharp, diagonal lines and dramatic weather changes that fill the page. Joining earth tones with deep jeweled hues of purple and blue, the artwork recalls aspects of Chris Van Allsburg and Shaun Tan; in fact, Tan's The Arrival (2007) seems an apt pairing. Two spreads of small, black-and-white panels offer a graphic-novel approach to the telling of the grimmer moments in this unusual story. Visually compelling; narratively obscure. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
