This short graphic novel is based on a true story. The real people who feature in the narrative and their fates (known and unknown) are listed at the end, and they form the core of the story. Since this is an honest look at a school in the US in 1832, which had only black students, it does not have a happy ending.
It is a hard-fought battle and may have had some positive ripples, but it was sad to see how it all played out. It starts with the town that is happy enough with the girls’ school run outside of town (Connecticut, USA). Then one girl asks a question that leads to another, and the status quo changes. Things move quickly from that point on, and some of the dialogues were quite evocative and calls to question what passed for ordinary at the time.
I was pleased with the detailed information that the author provided at the end regarding the people because it made me consider once again that the events of the book were actually true and might have been even more dramatic than those shown in its pages.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 