Bibliographic Information

Title: Brooms

Author: Jasmine Walls 

Artist: Teo DuVall

Publisher: Levine Querido

Copyright Date: October 10, 2023

ISBN: 978-1646142682

Genre

Historical Fantasy

Format

Graphic Novel

Print Length

248 pages

Reading Level/Interest Level

Grades 7-12 (per Booklist)

Awards or Honors

YALSA Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens (2024)

Plot Summary

In an alternate 1930’s Mississippi, police patrols sweep people’s homes looking for children who have developed natural magic. Those children are then taken to government schools and must limit their gifts to what is allowed by the law. Anyone caught using natural magic on their own can be put in prison or have their magic bound. Only those who have enough money to buy a special permit can use their magic freely, which leaves out anyone living on the margins – especially the poor and ethnically diverse.

Luella has an idea for how young Mattie and Emma might earn enough money for a magic permit – compete in the underground broom racing scene. They can join the Night Storms, a team Luella’s girlfriend Billie Mae has assembled with friends Loretta and Cheng Kwan. Broom racing is dangerous, and not only do the Night Storms risk physical danger and being caught using illegal magic, but also the retribution of competing teams. Together, the friends face their fears and attempt to claim their magic and change their futures.

Author Background

(Bio and photo source: Levine Querido, n.d.)

Critical Evaluation

The beginning of the book is a little jarring, as it jumps right into the use of magic and fear of the police patrols without first establishing the world of the story. But gaps are quickly filled in through conversations between the characters, flashbacks, and context clues in the art. Soon the broom racing scene is introduced and we meet the diverse cast of characters who will make up the bulk of the story: Luella (Mexican and Choctaw), Mattie and Emma (Black and Choctaw), Billie Mae and Loretta (Black), and Cheng Kwan (Chinese American).

Diverse representation continues with the fact that Loretta walks with a leg brace, Emma is deaf and uses sign language to communicate, Luella and Billie Mae are girlfriends, and Cheng Kwan is a trans woman. Author Jasmine Walls and artist Teo DuVall said such diverse representation was a conscious effort to help decolonize the fantasy genre (MacGregor, 2023). I appreciate that Walls also explains some of her character research and choices in the Creator’s Note at the end of the novel.

I enjoyed the camaraderie of the friends and thought it was very creative to place the story in this specific American time and place, but look at life on the margins through a fantasy lens. There were times where details got a little fuzzy – both in the story and literally in the art. The relationship between everyone in Luella’s house is never clearly defined (grandmother? parents? cousins?), or the relationship between Billie Mae and Loretta (are they sisters? or just friends?). And likewise, sometimes the art is clear, but sometimes characters have no face or the art panels are so small with only a few details and it’s hard to know what’s happening. Still, the book has spirit and heart and I did enjoy it.

Creative Use for a Library Program

In Brooms, Loretta uses her sewing skills to tailor dresses that fit Cheng Kwan. A library could run a program for youth where they bring in thrifted items and learn to tailor or alter them to better fit their size or preferences.

Speed-Round Talk

In a time and place where magic is only legal if you have the right skin color or enough money, a group of friends work together to break the rules – and maybe change them for good.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

There could be pushback to the depiction of Luella and Billie Mae’s relationship, though there is nothing explicit about it. There may also be pushback to dialogue about the horrors of residential schools and the Ku Klux Klan. The author and artist of this book did a lot of research, so a possible defense would be to show the historical accuracy of the issues portrayed here, including the presence of LGBTQ+ individuals in 1930’s Mississippi.

Reason for Inclusion

Some of the themes of Brooms are pretty heavy – racism, sexism, homophobia – but the graphic novel format and creative storytelling offer teens an easier approach to the topics, while still finding ways they are likely to see themselves represented here.