Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A COMING-OF-AGE graphic novel Brownstone by author Samuel Teer and illustrator Marina ‘Mar’ Julia is set to hit the shelves on June 11.
As her Caucasian mother heads on a trip without her, the young adult novel’s biracial protagonist Almudena finds herself on a self-discovery journey. She spends the summer with her estranged Guatemalan father Xavier in his Latin American neighbourhood, navigating their relationship and the English-Spanish language barrier between them.
She also attempts to adjust to her culture, which she is uninformed of, by connecting with her father’s neighbours, only to find herself being judged for not knowing or understanding her heritage, which causes her to feel alienated.
The novel aims to discuss the joys and hardships of the Latin community and is expected to speak to a teen audience who see themselves in Almudena.
“This was less about my need to tell a story and more about sending up a signal flare into the world, to say to other mixed race people of all ages, ‘Hey! You are not alone’,” Samuel said.
