Duran Duran, Imelda Marcos, and me A graphic memoir

After a phone call brings news of her father's death, author-illustrator Mapa returns to the Philippines to grieve with her mother and extended family. The trip sets off a powerful string of memories, from her carefree childhood until her teens, when the People Power Revolution overthrew the Marcos regime, and her family immigrated to the U.S. Weaving together her obsession with movies and music, family stories, and the huge cultural shifts taking place during the 1980s, Mapa captures the excitement of living through a cultural revolution, the security of growing up in a stable, loving home, and the emotional anguish that can only be experienced by a 14-year-old girl listening to the Police's King of Pain on endless repeat. Illustrated in a sequential panel layout, the expressive figures are well served by clean outlines and grayscale palette. Though the small panels and abundant text can occasionally feel crowded, the emotion shines through on every page. Heavily nostalgic and told from an adult perspective, this will appeal to older teens and adults.--Hayes, Summer Copyright 2017 Booklist

Coming of age during the 1986 Filipino People Power Revolution was no small thing. Here, creator Mapa (with Wendy Pini, Elfquest) revisits the political moment through her personal history, framing the story with the sudden death of her father, which she hears about at her home in Canada, where she's raising her own family. As she travels back to Manila, she reflects on aspects of her Filipino identity, such as religion, the place of women in society, and political dissent. Her upbringing in the political upper class in an overwhelmingly poor country gives her an interesting, albeit privileged, perspective on events of the day. Beginning with the assassination of political exile Ninoy Aquino, the corrupt (and U.S.-supported) Marcos government became increasingly threatened by a growing populist resistance, culminating in Filipinos of all stripes taking to the streets to demand the president's resignation. Though the structuring device of the family tragedy of a woman far from home is imperfectly integrated with the central historical narrative, both are poignant and thought provoking in their own right. Verdict A solid historical recollection, with a smattering of personal narrative, Mapa's memoir enlightens readers on a lesser-known and stunningly successful moment of peaceful protest.-Emilia Packard, Austin, TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.