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van Lieshout, Maria

Song of a Blackbird

256 pp. | Macmillan/First Second | January, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9781250869814 $25.99 | Paper ISBN 9781250869821 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781250412119 $11.99
(1) YA This deeply personal and poetic graphic novel illustrates the heroic actions of everyday Dutch people as they resisted the Nazi regime, as well as the lingering trauma inherited by subsequent generations. An omniscient blackbird with the ability to "sail between time and place" guides readers, and at times the characters, through the events of two seemingly disparate timelines. In 1943, headstrong Dutch university student Emma becomes involved in the covert relocation of Jewish children. When a group of defiant artists recruits Emma to participate in the forging and transportation of official documents, the stakes escalate with deadly consequences. In 2011, Annick, a young woman living in Amsterdam, sets out on an unexpected journey through her family's complicated WWII history, uncovering her ill grandmother's long-lost brother (and potential bone marrow donor). Art (embodied by the blackbird) as an act of defiance and source of inspiration is central to the story, with a series of handmade prints serving as a catalyst for revealing hard truths, merging past with present. The present-tense prose and print-block style digital illustrations are equally expressive, often hinting at meaning through an evocative phrase or dramatic shift in page layout. Van Lieshout seamlessly integrates black-and-white photographs, many from the actual resistance group Underground Camera, into panels and layouts. Extensive back matter highlights the real-life individuals and events that inspired and informed the narrative.
Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

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