By Nanette McGuinness

Loss is an inevitable part of most children’s lives, whether it’s the death of a pet, a friend, a parent, or a grandparent.  As a result, good books that deal with the subsequent emotions are invaluable, both to children and teens, and to those who care for them, helping young readers process their often inarticulate but heavy feelings. Over the past few years, a number of excellent children’s books in translation have been published on this topic, including Do Fish Sleep? and Cry Heart, But Never Break. And while it’s painfully heartbreaking for the littlest kids to live through loss, it can be even harder for teens, who are old enough to comprehend and absorb its implications. 

Much as graphic novels excel in addressing difficult topics, they are well suited to examining death and loss from different perspectives. Among this year’s Eisner nominees are three excellent, relevant graphic novels/series in translation that I highly recommend, one for middle grade readers and two for upper YA readers.

missing you

A poignant, heartwarmingly sweet graphic novel from Brazil for middle grade readers, missing you tells the story of Lara and Thomas, whose mother died shortly before the opening of the book.  When they find an injured deer on the side of the road, they bring it home and name it Lion. The young deer turns into their much-loved companion as it grows, sprouts antlers, and becomes increasingly curious about the forest. Eventually, though, Thomas and Lara must learn to let go of yet another loss. While the denouement and parallels come as no surprise, the children’s—and readers’—journey is nonetheless beautiful and deeply meaningful.

Nominated for Best Publication for Kids.

Orange, Complete Edition Box Set

Science fiction meets slice-of-life romance manga in this wonderful boxset reissue for YA/ upper YA readers. Originally a serial, Orange has generated numerous spinoffs, including an anime film, anime TV series, and a live-action film. The complete collection won an Eisner for Best US Edition of International Material—Asia in 2017. 

Orange is the story of high school students Kakeru, Naho, Suwa, and their circle of friends, told from Naho’s point of view. When the story begins, it’s a new school year. Naho receives letters from her ten-year-future self, telling her to take specific actions to avoid “her biggest regret.” Initially dubious, she becomes a believer due to the accurate details in the letters. While she doesn’t follow the first requested action, it becomes clear over time that her future self regrets not having known to act to keep new student Kakeru from killing himself. It eventually comes out that all the friends have gotten letters from their future selves, at which point they start working together to save Kakeru. Even Suwa helps, letting go of his attraction for Naho as he realizes how much she likes Kakeru. 

The goal of all their efforts is not to change the future, per se, but rather to create a parallel universe, a new timeline in which Kakeru survives and marries Naho. Do they succeed? Let’s just say that in this genre, happy endings delightfully rule the roost.

Nominated for Best Graphic Album—reprint.

Goodbye, Eri

Like missing you, Goodbye, Eri involves the loss of the protagonist’s mother. Here, though, it’s in a manga for upper YA readers that focuses on closure as well as how someone stays alive, both in our memories and via media. Before the story begins, Yuta’s mother gave him a camera, asking him to make videos of her, up to and including her death. He does so, except he (understandably) can’t bring himself to film the very end. He creates a movie from his recordings, inserting an action-movie explosion for her missing death images. When he shows it at school, everyone mocks him. Despairing, he decides to kill himself. As he contemplates plunging from the roof of the hospital where his mom died, he meets a mysterious woman named Eri, who persuades him not to. Over time, we find out that Yuta’s father filmed the mother’s death for him, that his mother was less good than manipulative, and that Eri has her own complicated secret.

Goodbye, Eri blends reality and fantasy, blurring the line between them so much so that those who prefer their genres crisply delineated may find this book irritatingly confusing, particularly with its Matrix-like meta twist at the end. You’ll have to read the manga to find out what Eri’s unexpected secret is, as you’re not going to read a spoiler here! With its decidedly mature themes of death and suicide, Goodbye, Eri is not for younger YA readers, nor for everyone. But it’s brilliantly done, with important messages about memory, closure, mourning, and media.

Nominated for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

About Nanette McGuinness 

Opera singer and translator Nanette McGuinness is also the host and coproducer of “For Good Measure,” a podcast about diverse, underrepresented composers and other creatives. The Artistic Executive Director of the classical contemporary music group, Ensemble for These Times, she has sung 25 roles in 13 languages on two continents and has appeared on eight commercial recordings, the latest of which was released this summer, “Emigres & Exiles in Hollywood.” An early reader and equally early bookworm, Nanette is a regular at San Diego Comic Con. No cosplay, though—she saves that for the stage.  She’s thrilled to have translated the Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novels and honored to be the co-translator for the Smurfs and the new translations of Asterix, including the new Asterix spinoff, Dogmatix.  Check out the books she has translated at https://athenatranslations.nanette.biz.