Queen of the Sea, a taut page turner on an unlikely subject

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis doesn’t look like a graphic novel. For starters it’s as thick as most books that you’ll find on the adult best-seller list, that is to say it’s very thick. The subject matter also doesn’t typically lend itself to something that you’d associate with an engaging graphic novel. You see, Queen of the Sea is about an island that operates as a convent in the early 1500s.

Meconis presents the book as a graphic novel, but with many novel type aspects that break up the book nicely. For example, she has a series of pages in the book that concentrate more on the words, than the pictures. This doesn’t happen often, but it makes readers really dig into what’s happening with the characters or on the island. Usually these breaks are done when background of the sisters, convent life or historical perspective are needed to help modern readers understand that time period.

The result is an amazing graphic novel that reads like a book. There are moments in Queen of the Sea that are as taut or as full of suspense as any top notch spy novel that you’d read.

Margaret is an orphan living on the island. It’s what she knows and everything is normal until the day Eleanor arrives. Actually, she’s Queen Eleanor of Albion and she’s been banished to the island once her sister seizes the throne.   It’s a protective move to isolate that’s been done by those loyal to her, instead of her sister. She arrives with William, a child who is close to her age. This is a blessing because there aren’t any other children on the island and Margaret doesn’t have any opportunities to play and simply be a normal kid.

The personal dynamics that develop between Margaret and William are natural. They’re both kids exploring the island, finding the best places to hide and do all the sort of adventure stuff that you really shouldn’t do at a convent. It’s William’s mother that offers the biggest riddle for Margaret and the other sisters. Eleanor’s identity isn’t known by everyone and even when it’s brought forth who she is readers aren’t sure who they should trust.

While all of this is happening Meconis blends in slices of convent life that are absolutely fascinating. There is also a brilliant illustration of chess and how the individual pieces work, relative to their power and strength in the game.

Queen of the Sea is not a history book. However, its detail and passion will make you believe that it happened. It might be best to think of the book as alternate history or fictionalized history. Regardless of how you want to define the book it will make you curious about that period of time and just might make you want to read some non-fiction accounts of convent life.

The art in the book is beautiful, emotional and conveys life on an island. Unfortunately for the nuns on the island it’s not a sunny Mediterranean island, it’s a mainly gray place with only a couple of days of semi-sun. This allows the colors in the nun’s faces to really pop, especially when the red cheeks develop when a couple of them get angry.

Queen of the Sea in an excellent graphic novel for ages 10 years old and up. Those younger readers might be harder to convince that a story about nuns on an island is actually compelling and filled with mystery and well paced action. Heck, even older readers would be hard pressed to convince that a book about nuns has the vibe of being a page-turner. The variation is art styles helps move the book forward also. For most of the book the characters are realistically drawn. At times, usually in tandem with the exposition of the island, the art is drawn more simply, in a cartoon style. These alternative colors and style help break up the seriousness of the book and make it more relatable. Make a graphic novel about nuns enjoyable will you? Dylan Meconis asks you to hold her beer-and you will, you’ll also be drawn into this world and legitimately want to know more.