Cover Image: White All Around

White All Around

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book is a comic book about the first all-black school. It is based on true events, and it was very interesting to learn about this small piece of history. The school has sadly ended because of white mob attack, but it was a very inspiring story to read with some very nice deeper thoughts. I have especially liked its graphic design, it was a very nice read.

Was this review helpful?

White All Around is a stunning graphic novel inspired by the Prudence Crandell school in Canterbury 1832. This was the first school in America to welcome black girls through its doors. This is the time when black girls are free, but not allowed an education.

The surrounding townsmen do not appreciate these girls moving into areas that they consider ‘white spaces’, and do everything they can to shut down the school. The townsmen create laws to prevent the school from functioning and when that does not work turn to darker means.

This was a terrifying portrayal of how a group of people can hide behind masks and crowds to do hateful things. But it also shows the resilience of the sufferers of this abuse.

The interactions between the girls were lovely and I would have liked to see even more. I’m glad the novel contains extra information about the girls at the end.

This was not a story I had ever heard before, but this graphic novel intrigued me enough to learn more about it. It's important to learn about history and this was such an engaging and beautiful way to do it.

Thanks to Netgalley, I have given an honest review of White All Around by Script by Wilfrid Lupano & art by Stéphane Fert.

Was this review helpful?

i've seen from other reviews that the author is apparently white, and as i am not black, i can't say if the author has the right to tell this story or not. but i still think this was a very informative graphic novel about a real life boarding school for girls of color during the 1830s, way before the american civil war and the abolishment of slavery. as you can imagine, there was much racism and terrible acts committed, especially amongst the people of canterbury. there were a lot of horrible things that happened to them, but i especially admired miss crandall's bravery. i wish there was more to know about the girls, as we weren't able to get to know them that well in the story. there were random subplots that i think didn't add much to the story and i felt like it was better if they just focused on the main one, since it's a short novel and the extra subplots made it kind of confusing. the art style i really enjoyed and i love the colors.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

In Canterbury, 1832, Sarah, a black girl, asks to Prudence Crandall, a white woman who runs a girl's school, if she can teaches her about refraction—so Prudence starts teaching Sarah in classes. Because of the racism Sarah suffers from the white people, Prudence decides do something unexpected: her school will only allow black girls and no white girl in Canterbury would study there anymore. Obviously, after this decision, watching new black girls arriving to study in Prudence's school, the white people in Canterbury starts a war (with unjust laws and physical violence) against them.

I was very glad I find a story so well developed, with a nice pacing and relevant discussions as this one.

The research was well done and the introduction/afterword helps to clarify some points that weren't showed directly (or were suppressed) in the story. I loved the arts and the pace of the panels—even the ones with no dialogues at all have many things to say to the readers.
The characters' building worried me at first, when Prudence was presented—I started to think that it would be something as "The Help" or any other story about white saviors you can find, but the mainly focus remains on the students.
Show how the black girls could question the whiteness in their education and the perspective about the violence of black people against white people was something I didn't expect and I loved how the story had pointed it.

I could talk about this GN a lot more, but anything I'd say would be less interesting than it, so just read it, it worth A LOT.

Was this review helpful?

The concept was intriguing as I have not read about it before.
It was informative, yes, but the illustrations could have been better.
It was good one, but not best I have read,

Was this review helpful?

I am a bit dismayed that this is the first I've heard of the Prudence Crandall School. It's the exact sort of story that fascinates me: a woman bucking societal norms for the greater good. Crandall was already pushing boundaries by having her girl's school curriculum emphasize science and math. She was encouraging her students to think and ask questions, to really explore the way that the world works. It was a logical step, then, to include Black students. Of course, that was completely revolutionary in the 1800s. Lupano shows us all of the challenges the school faced: low enrollment, public ridicule, lack of support, and outright threats. But we also see the students challenged by what they were learning in school and from public opinion. They are questioning religion, their role in society, what to protest and what to accept. They come from different backgrounds and it affects how they interact with one another. The school's eventual downfall is disappointing but unsurprising, given the political climate of the time. The cartoony illustrations keep the events from feeling too intense but remain highly expressive. It's absolutely compelling. Even cooler, the afterward includes brief biographies of Crandall and of each of the students. To have a paragraph about most of the students is a bit astonishing, given how little we know about most women from the era.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of White All Around from #NetGalley, and I spent a sunny Friday morning reading it. I am a huge fan of Graphic Novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It recounts the life and school of Quaker teacher and abolitionist Prudence Crandall (who was already a hero of mine prior to reading). I enjoyed Stephane Fert's artwork and the glimpse of 19th Century New England with its colorful falls and cold blue winters. I enjoyed all of the characters in the story. My only criticism is I felt it was packed full of ideas and could easily have been a series of graphic novels (similar to The March trilogy) developing characters and plot leisurely over time. Both Lupano and Fert invite us to linger on the page and consider images or ideas - a trilogy would have truly allowed for that. I especially enjoyed the Afterward by Joanie DiMartino, the Prudence Crandall Museum's curator, which gives the reader a glimpse of Prudence and her students and their impact on American History and society. I would recommend pairing this with Kyle Baker's exceptional graphic novel on Nat Turner. An excellent book. Check it out!

Was this review helpful?

A very interesting tale that managed to juxtapose historical information with magical realism in a new and unexpected way.

Was this review helpful?

White All Around is a wonderfully illustrated graphic history that follows the events of a boarding school in Canterbury, Connecticut. Prudence Crandall (its headmistress) decides to welcome young ladies of colour. The White townspeople get furious and sought to abolish the school by any means necessary. While they are vehemently against the school, both the teacher and the girls fight bravely to have equal rights.

I enjoyed the FOREWORD given at the beginning about Nat Turner, and the AFTERWORD about the students who attended the school. It helped me learn more about each woman, and see the whole picture.

This book is targeted towards the middle grade level, however, I believe that everyone should read it. It's a good introduction into the black history and racism. It was an easy 5⭐️ read for me and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Was this review helpful?

{Digital copy provided by NetGalley}


This is an absolutely stunning graphic novel centered around a boarding school in 1832 who starts educating black girls, only to be met with fierce resistance and violence. The real life history interwoven into this story was very interesting and the book is as well, if a bit dry at points. The true standout however is the incredibly beautiful art, really reflecting nature, animals, clothes, architecture, and people in the most vibrant fashion. A unique achievement!

Was this review helpful?

This is a graphic novel based on true events from 1830s Connecticut. Prudence Crandall, a boarding school teacher, decides to admit black girls/women into her school at a time when black people in the “free” North still faced segregation, racism and hostility.

This is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read and I adored the illustration, it was so well done and lively. I adored the colour palette. I will certainly look out for other works by this illustrator.

I enjoy historical fiction, especially when there’s a focus on social issues or movements. This is a commentary on racial and gender discrimination and is definitely an important story that more people should be aware of, but I did feel that a lot of the characters were a bit underdeveloped. I wish there had been more focus on the students of the school and less on Crandall. I get that she is the centre of the story, of course, but in a book highlighting discrimination based on race, I had hoped for less focus on a white woman (writing as a white woman myself). I think good characterisation is super important if you’re dealing with a story based on true events so I wish there had been more of a focus on that.

The story is an easy read in terms of style and in being easy to digest. I read in one sitting. This was a new story to me, so I really enjoyed learning about this period of history. The end note including true facts of the story and a further explanation of how things turned out for the characters was a great addition and I appreciated the context provided.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. For me this was mainly due to the illustration. Thank you to Netgally and Europe Comics for providing this ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**all opinions are my own**

Was this review helpful?

This short graphic novel is based on a true story. The real people who feature in the narrative and their fates (known and unknown) are listed at the end, and they form the core of the story. Since this is an honest look at a school in the US in 1832, which had only black students, it does not have a happy ending.
It is a hard-fought battle and may have had some positive ripples, but it was sad to see how it all played out. It starts with the town that is happy enough with the girls' school run outside of town (Connecticut, USA). Then one girl asks a question that leads to another, and the status quo changes. Things move quickly from that point on, and some of the dialogues were quite evocative and calls to question what passed for ordinary at the time.
I was pleased with the detailed information that the author provided at the end regarding the people because it made me consider once again that the events of the book were actually true and might have been even more dramatic than those shown in its pages.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

This was an interesting read. I never knew about this piece of history. The ending to the comic is bittersweet but makes sense. The afterword also had some interesting extra info.

Was this review helpful?

“Even in the land of the free, not all of America’s children are welcome.“

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review

I had never heard of this piece of history before, so thank you to the author for bringing this to my attention through a graphic novel.

White All Around is a true story of Prudence Crandall, a schoolteacher and activist, who ran a successful boarding school for girls in Canterbury, Connecticut in the 1830s. When Crandall decides to open the school for black students, and later, exclusively black students, the townsfolk are not afraid to show their disagreement. The school becomes a target for vandals and angry opposers of Crandall’s decision.

The story is nicely paced and I really enjoyed the intrigue of the few characters in the woods. It’s surprising how connected you can feel to characters through a graphic novel – I grew very fond of Crandall and her students.

Wilfrid Lupano tells this story in an accessible way, accompanied by Stephane Fert’s wonderful illustrations. I appreciated the addition of factual accounts of history at the end for a more in depth look into this story.

Something to note is that this is a black story written by a white man. As a white reviewer myself, it is not my place to say whether this is or is not appropriate of the author. However, I do think the topic is handled sensitively and is well-researched, but I am happy to be corrected if others disagree.

Was this review helpful?

An important story told about Connecticut in 1832 and a girls boarding school which open its doors to POC and the fallout from this . It’s a shocking story if I am honest as it still shocks me to this day that people behave so appalling to others but I am glad I read it. It makes this story more accessible by putting it in graphic novel form. My daughter was keen to read it to and enjoyed it and asked lots of questions afterwards. I also found the illustrations to be very good

Was this review helpful?

This is a beautiful graphic novel despite its challenging subject matter. The art style is soft, gentle, and has muted color palettes which convey season, mood, and time throughout the book. The art was definitely my favorite part of White All Around, and I'll look out for more work by Stephane Fert.

I found this important story about the early history of integrating education in America to be more white-centric than I would hope for something published in 2021. We have many stories about the white perspective of American history and race relations, and I was hoping this would focus more on the voices and stories of the black women in Canterbury. They did not feel fully fleshed out within the narrative of the graphic novel, although the afterword did provide more context; I wish some of those stories had come through the narrative more in the book. I do think this book is a good entry point for learning about experiences of racism and sexism in 19th-century America, but it could have gone further to develop those nuances.

Was this review helpful?

"White All Around" is no character based story. It doesn’t tell thoughts and the development of one or more characters, instead historical facts have been incorporated in an appealing and fulfilling way. I was shocked about the intolerance of the people in the town and knowing that this is based on real actions, makes it even worse. But I think that’s exactly what historical literature should do: It should raise attention for the issues and errors of the past times to avoid them in the present and future. This graphic novel opens eyes for racism, sexism and intolerance in general, which needs to be done more often. An appropriate Fore- and Afterword provides background knowledge about the setting and situation of the story. All in all it’s a greatly drawn graphic novel, which hopefully may invite more people to read about historical events.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an important story to be told especially in today's environment and in this case, it was told with the care it needed.

Was this review helpful?

A really important story. The rating reflects the amazing execution of the artwork (5 stars) and the slightly disjointed narrative (3 stars).

The story follows the historical account of a boarding school that begins to educate young women of colour. It felt really apt to read this during international women’s day - the author does a fantastic job of highlighting the bravery and determination of women who had not been allowed to access education, the allies that supported it, and the barriers they encountered along the way.

It’s not a happy ending (because it wasn’t back in the 1830s) but the book benefits from some further contextualising of the story, and celebrates the contribution many women continued to make to the abolitionist movement.

Really hard in places, but an important narrative we should all be aware of. Definitely worth reading!

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Ebook copy in exchange for an honest review!

First off, I really loved the art style! So soft and lovely! Despite the generally uncomfortable situations that occur in this story, the illustrations are always gentle and fairy-tale-like.

Though I didn't really connect with any of the characters, (Which is the cause of the loss of one star), I liked the story overall. It was a really interesting choice of setting, too! I've never come across a book or even a movie set in this time period!

I give White All Around four stars out of five!

Was this review helpful?