The Leak is a graphic novel that centers around a tween girl and four issues that are central to her life. There are boys (actually one in particular), her family, her hobby-which is writing and creating her newsletter, and midnight black sludge that she finds near the lake that she goes fishing at. It’s written by Kate Reed Petty with illustrations by Andrea Bell. The graphic novel is interesting because it has a laser tight appeal to a certain age range due to several characteristics.
First off, The Leak is about Ruth Keller, the tween who is trying to navigate those things in life that orbit any 12-year-old. Her brother is cool and visiting from the city, but his girlfriend is more interesting because she’s interning at a newspaper there. Ruth sometimes buys into conspiracy theories and rumors, but she also has a thirst for getting stories that she feels are being buried out to the public.
One day while out fishing with her crush, Jonathan, she notices a thick, black sludge near the lake. There’s also a very stiff fish nearby who doesn’t like it died due to a lack of water. Thankfully, she takes a sample of it but is also quite distracted by flirting with her crush. At school, her friends are pressing her about the crush, if they’ve kissed and what they do when they’re alone.
In science class, they’re talking about water quality. The dentist accuses Ruth of not flossing, despite the fact that she does it every day. She and Jonathan think that they have a lead on what’s polluting the lake, so they confront the country club located near it. With the help of her brother’s now ex-girlfriend, she’s armed with confidence and able to ask more precise questions that could get to the source of the sludge. She’ll also do it all in her newsletter that is gaining subscribers.
The Leak is a graphic novel that will appeal to girls who are in 5th or 6th grade. Those ages will be in exactly the same mindset as Ruth and happily follow along as she’s solving mysteries, creating her posts, and dealing with her crush. However, the content in The Leak is older than it appears. There are two instances in the book, one with cameras being in the bathroom at a local restaurant and the other that uses the word penis, that will preclude elementary schools from putting the graphic novel in their libraries.
From working with a couple elementary school libraries in our area I’ve come to know what they’ll accept and what they won’t. More often than not, they’ll go with caution and not stock the book.
The book is aimed at middle school readers. But the content looks friendly to upper elementary-aged readers. It’s that the art in The Leak looks young. It’s that look that elementary-aged readers have come to expect and appreciate. Based on that, as well as the book’s sense of adventure it’s all a bit deceiving. When those same eight or nine-year-olds ask questions about content that’s in this graphic novel it’ll make some parents or librarians question why it’s in there. It’s not that The Leak has lots of mature content. Rather, it has two isolated instances of older content that is packaged in a book that looks appropriate for younger girls.
Thus, that narrow band of lower middle school girl readers with an interest in journalism will enjoy The Leak. The characters and mystery vibe have legs and could produce great stories, but the content needs to be at a younger demo if the series really wants to gain traction.
The Leak is by Kate Reed Petty with illustrations by Andrea Bell and available on :01 First Second Books.
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