CYBILS GRAPHIC NOVEL NOMINEE: Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre & Rafael Rosado

CALL ME IGGY

written by Jorge Aguirre, art by Rafael Rosado, color by John Novak

First Second, 2024

ISBN: 978-1-250-20415-8

Source: purchased

Ages 14 and up

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ignacio "Iggy" Garcia is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen living his best life. After bumping into Marisol (and her coffee) at school, Iggy's world is spun around. But Marisol as too much going on to be bothered with the likes of Iggy. She has school, work, family, and the uphill battle of getting her legal papers. As Iggy stresses over how to get Marisol to like him, his grandfather comes to the rescue. The thing is, not only is his abuelito dead, but he also gives terrible love advice. The worst. And so, with his ghost abuelito's meddling, Iggy's life begins to unravel as he sets off on a journey of self-discovery.

Call me Iggy tells the story of Iggy searching for his place in his family, his school, his community, and ultimately—as the political climate in America changes during the 2016 election— his country. Focusing on familial ties and budding love, Call me Iggy challenges our assumptions about Latino-American identity while reaffirming our belief in the hope that all young people represent. Perfect for lovers of multigenerational stories like Displacement and The Magic Fish.

REVIEW

Call Me Iggy blends several interesting storylines. Iggy's first day of high school starts with a bang when he runs into another student, sending her drink and books flying. As he helps her pick things up someone takes a picture which soon ends up going viral online as a meme. Being stuck in Spanish class instead of the French class he wanted doesn't help, at least until the cute girl he knows from 8th grade sits down next to him. Despite his parents immigrating from Colombia, Iggy knows nothing about his ancestors and no Spanish. After accidentally dumping his grandfather's ashes all over the basement floor, Iggy soon finds himself being followed around by his grandfather's ghost. At first this isn't so bad as it helps him with his Spanish, but before long he's getting poor grammar tutoring and even worse love advice. So Iggy turns to the classmate whose books he sent flying for tutoring in Spanish. He agrees to help her family clean a building in return for the tutoring. As he gets to know Marisol better, he grows more interested in his family's background as well as the 2016 presidential election. Despite taking place only a few years ago, the references to the 2016 election tip this into historical fiction, but it feels quite contemporary in terms of the concerns expressed. The art is eye-catching and appealing. The moments of humor balance out the more serious issues. Ultimately this is a story of a young man searching for his place in the world through friends and family.