Description
Writer Julio Anta and artist Jacoby Salcedo take readers on a gripping and inspiring journey filled with both high stakes and heart as Jaime embraces his new calling as Blue Beetle!
Jaime Reyes is an ordinary high school student in El Paso, Texas, with a deep love for his family, culture, and home. Whether it's working with his dad at the auto shop or a multi-generational barbecue filled with music and dance, Jaime loves nothing more than his neighborhood's spontaneous gatherings that go late into the night. But lately he's begun to realize that he and his border community are being used as pawns in an increasingly toxic immigration debate.
The last few months have seen armed troops deployed along the U.S. and Mexico border, manufactured crackdowns at official border crossings, and now at the community level, a mounting resentment amongst a group of disaffected and reactionary youth who believe they're being "replaced" by El Paso's growing immigrant population. And to make matters worse, one of Jaime's oldest friends, Riley, has bought into the propaganda. What started off as innocent web searches has now led Riley down a path to joining an unabashed hate group with a chapter in El Paso looking to cause some real-world violence.
But Jaime's problems get even more complicated when he finds an odd bug-like artifact while stargazing. He starts feeling a little different-like there's another voice in his head pushing him towards his most base instincts. And to make matters worse, he's been having surreal dreams that show him that the true threat El Paso faces isn't "illegal aliens," but actual aliens known as the Reach. In fact, according to his dreams, Jaime is meant to pave the way for the Reach's impending invasion!
Review
This is a timely reminder that we, as humans, share this planet. All of us, together.
Jaime lives in El Paso, a place that was once a part of Mexico. Most people, including his family, are Latino, but now the borders have been closed and civil unrest is heating up.
Then Jaime is taken over by an Alien force, called the Reach, and now he has superpowers. He is told that he is the one chosen to open the way for the Reach to come to Earth, but he is growing increasingly uncomfortable with their true motives.
His old friend, Riley, has joined an extremist hate group, and the rest of his friends are working to stamp out racism, even if that means taking action of their own.
Showing us that we all share this world, this is a terrific graphic novel that tackles issues like racism, and group pressure. It also explores one of my wife’s favourite ideas - that humans will probably never truly unite unless we are faced with an alien threat! Great reading for all those aged 12 to 16 years.
