Review of Hey, Kiddo

 

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Genre

Graphic Memoir. The category I am reviewing for is 7th-12th grade Graphic Novel. 

Target Age Group

Hey, Kiddo is a young adult book suitable for readers aged 12 and up, or 7th grade to 12th grade.

Summary

Hey, Kiddo follows Jarrett Krosoczka and his family history from before he was born, through his toddler years, junior high, and high school. Narrated by the author with illustrations and real-life artifacts, this memoir deals with the experiences of having a mother struggling with drug addiction, grandparents who love both tenderly and a bit tough at times, a father who reappears later in life, and the importance of choosing who you allow in your life and achieving your dreams.

Justification

This National Book Award Honoree has been on my TBR list for a while, as I have seen other reviews for it online and amongst my colleagues at my library. It can’t be denied that this memoir is full of emotion and heart. Rarely do I find myself shedding a tear at many books anymore, but by the author’s notes, my eyes were definitely welling up. The heavy themes are a reason to embrace this title rather than shy away from it, though. It makes the narrative and characters that much more impactful. Don’t worry, there are moments of humor, too! 

E-Book Reading Experience

I chose to read Hey, Kiddo as an e-book, and, overall, I am glad I did, as it enhanced my reading experience. While I am a proponent of reading books physically over e-books, I enjoyed being able to zoom in on illustrations and authorial artifacts to analyze them better. The colors of the illustrations were also quite vivid on my device. Lastly, I was grateful for the opportunity to “bookmark” certain pages to review at a later point. Plus, the check-out/check-in process for e-books at a public library is very straightforward and hassle-free. 

Evaluation

I have decided to limit my evaluation to cover Hey, Kiddo's illustrations, mood, and dialogue.

Illustrations

Though this memoir would standout anyway without illustrations, having it take the form of a graphic novel is important for many reasons. For starters, this is a memoir not only about family tragedy and growth, but of an artist’s inception. Having the narrative be visual as well as worded is another form of autobiography. The illustrations are Jarrett’s life as well. The illustrations and color palette are consist throughout. The heavy, cartoon brushstrokes against the gray, black, and orange watercolors provide a steady throughline for the narrative to work on and with. These patterns are only broken by the sudden inclusion of reallife artifacts like letters, photographs, invitations, and more that remind the reader that, though these people are animated, they are and were real figures for the protagonist, who is also a very real figure.

Mood 

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the color palette of gray, black and orange in combination with the distinct line work and character design greatly impacts the narrative. The way Krosoczka plays with color, lighting, and zoom all affect the mood throughout the memoir in interesting ways. For example, during serious, intense moments, the page is mostly dark, centered in on one figure. During reoccurring nightmare scenes, orange and gray monsters crowd the page and the protagonist, creating a sense of anxiety and dread. When Krosoczka learns about his mom’s addiction from his grandpa, the page is centered on the grandpa’s deadpan face, as if we are the protagonist being told this information. Lastly, when there is shouting, large orange words take up space on the page, making characters feel withdrawn and small. Overall, Krosoczka does a fantastic job of conveying various serious, intense, moods throughout the memoir.

Dialogue

Told in first-person, Krosoczka's narration changes throughout the memoir as he grows up. His age at each section of the narrative underpins how he voices, and understands, the events happening to him at each time. As a toddler, he does not understand where his mom has gone, but he still loves her deeply, and the narrative reflects that. As a teenager, he has developed a deep understanding that his mother is addicted to heroin, and that she has been in and out of jail and halfway houses. This, too, impacts the dialogue and narration from an older, and more angsty perspective. The dialogue given to each character makes them each distinct and lifelike, which would make sense given the genre. The title, Hey, Kiddo, makes an appearance several times, in the mouth of his grandparents and mothers, reminding the audience that this is the author’s story we are being let in on, and these other characters all speak in a manner toward a young child, adolescent, and then young man. 

Reference

Krosoczka, J. J. (2018). Hey, Kiddo. Graphix.