Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Reviewed by Eden

Imagine being the kid who gets picked on day after day. Not having any friends, nor anyone that would even want to be near you. Not even really having parents looking out for you, and wanting to win a graphic novel competition to make up for it all! But trying to succeed at all of these things, with almost blind eyes.

In Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown, Flint, or his commonly used nickname Squint, has an injured eye and might go blind soon. He is a lonely boy who lives with his grandparents after his dad’s death and his mom’s abandonment. He had a best friend Travis, who he used to play football with, but left Squint after he stopped playing football because of his hurt eyes. Squint later finds out that there is a comic book competition and figures if he wins, he’ll be the most popular boy in school and will never get bullied again. He works harder and harder to finish his comic book. Then, suddenly, a girl he recognizes sits down at his table and asks about his eye. After the quick and awkward conversation, she holds up her phone and presses a button. Is she recording? And why? He doesn’t think she is bullying him, but what else could it be? 

I enjoyed this book because it always made you think why did this happen, or ready to find out what happens next. When the mysterious girl sits next to Squint in the cafeteria, the authors show the awkward feeling between them, which makes the scene more dramatic. And I really wanted to know her role in the book.

My second reason is that it always made me feel happy when something goes Squint’s way, even when another unfortunate event happens. For example, Squint’s comic is finished and he thinks it looks great. But when his eyes get a bit clearer, he realizes his drawings are off and some of the lines aren't even connecting! This scene made me feel better for Squint because at least one important thing in his life was perfect, but then he really sees how it looks.

I would suggest this book to people who don’t really need a long heroic journey for a book to be good. Squint does have adventure, but it's not an action book. It has a really smooth, but exciting plot. I can really feel what the characters are feeling. Because of this, I would give this book a ranking of 9/10. It was a really fun book and everyone will enjoy it because it is really relatable!

Shadow Mountain, 247 pages