About This Book:
From drag sensation and star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Kim Chi and the acclaimed author of the K-Pop Confidential books comes a contemporary superhero series about a community coming together, fabulously, to save a local library.
For twelve-year-old Korean immigrant Jae Han, the library is more than a place to check out books. It’s a safe space to work on his comic book featuring drag superhero Donutella Hamachi, play video games to improve his English, and befriend other outcast kids sheltering among the stacks. When the mayor announces plans to demolish the building and pave a mall parking lot, Jae Han pleads with his friend the librarian to intervene. But even if the mayor doesn’t shutter the library, Ms. Henny reveals, a funding deficit will. Called to action, Jae Han rallies his ragtag group of friends to halt the destruction of their haven. Can they—with help from the sparkling Donutella Hamachi—unite long enough to defeat the slime-shooting blobfish enveloping screaming citizens in goo (i.e., ace a fundraising campaign)? Filled with diabolical plots and empowerment aplenty, this lively foray into the heart of a town’s darkness, sprinkled through with hilarious graphic panels, will delight superhero fans, comic book creators, and anyone who has felt outside the mainstream—and perfectly at home in a library.
*Review Contributed By Adrien Carter, Staff Reviewer*
Power of Libraries
What I Liked: The entrance to this book starts powerfully as we enter straight into Donutella’s world when she has to defeat a blobfish. We then instantly get pulled from that world to be introduced to the bullies that have been tormenting Jae Han Kim, mirroring how he feels when he isn’t engaging in this other world he made for himself. After this occurrence, we get to learn more about Jae Han Kim and get a glimpse at why the library is important to him, how, and why his art serves as his escape from reality.
There are illustrations included throughout this book that come from the graphic novel that Jae Han Kim is working on throughout the story. These illustrations help make this story come to life and provide another view of what is going on in this town. Each chapter contains a few pages, making it easy for a young reader to follow along, and in between the chapters, there are illustrations or pages from the graphic novel. This structure allows for a more hesitant reader who enjoys graphic novels to be intrigued by this story and remain immersed throughout the book.
There are several important messages that come across through this story, beginning with the importance of community. This book also shows the importance of staying true to oneself, both with Zavion’s friendship with a bully as well as the major’s shift in personality because of the businessmen that he is engaging with. This book also briefly touches on the complexity of gendered expectations and how people should be allowed to enjoy any hobby regardless of their gender. The book does a great job of exploring parental expectations, and the stress children can be under to meet their parents’ expectations, as we see both through Jae Han Kim and his brother, who is a basketball superstar but would rather be drumming.
Final Verdict: Donutella Hamachi and the Library Avengers is a fun book highlighting the importance of libraries for everyone and the transformative power that a library contains. Children ages 8 and up will enjoy the creativity throughout this book, as well as the friendships that are highlighted throughout.
