White All Around is a graphic novel based on true events in American history... And a reminder of how much I still have to learn about my own country. This beautifully illustrated novel balances the dark reality of America for black people in the 1800s with hope, beauty, and humor.

White All Around recounts the history of the first black girls' school in Canterbury, Connecticut in the 1830s. Back then, black Americans could live "free" there, 30 years before the emancipation. Despite this, they essentially had no civil rights – even though they were not slaves, heinous crimes could be committed against them with no legal repercussion.

In 1832, Nat Turner leads his famous, violent uprising against slave owners. A year later... Prudence Crandall uses her privilege and station to start an all girls' school for girls of color. In White All Around, it's young Sarah's deep desire to learn that inspires Prudence to start her new school. The rest of the story follows the struggles they go through to keep the school afloat and open, despite the community's condemnation and fresh memory of the Nat Turner incident.

I was enraptured by this book in multiple ways. The illustrations are soft, muted, and slightly abstracted. It was reminiscent for me of Over the Garden Wall or, (as funny as this sounds), Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The artistry is truly a treasure, and lightens up some of the dark content. For this reason alone, I think this would be a fantastic introduction for a younger audience to such a serious topic.

While it does have whimsical, beautiful art and moments of joy, White All Around does not shy away from the truth of what these black girls had to go through just to get the education they had a right to get. The authors make it plain to see what the larger white community they lived in thought of their efforts.

Another thing I appreciated – but also kind of wish they elaborated more on – was the aspect of the "white savior". While what Prudence did was incredibly brave and admirable, she was still a white woman in a position of power. How much could she really understand of her students' history and situation? As one character states, they're learning about white people and white history from a white person. I thought this was a really good thing for the authors to bring up, yet I wish they elaborated more on the topic.

Finally, something I greatly appreciated about the book was the inclusion of an introduction and an afterword that gave some background on the story. As soon as I downloaded it, I was wondering if it was based off of a real story or not – this is immediately cleared up in the forward. The afterword also gives a sort of "epilogue" to the characters we read about, but concerning their real-life counterparts. I really appreciated that, and I loved seeing how some of the black girls grew up to be in positions of power and influence. Having these explanations right in the book, instead of having to Google them, was considerate of the authors.

Overall, in a time where it's more important than ever to learn about black history, White All Around is a fantastic, accessible start. It's beautifully written and illustrated. It is tender and hopeful, yet doesn't shy away from the hard reality. It was a reminder for me personally how little I know about black history, and left me passionate to learn more. I would highly recommend this novel.

I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

White All Around is the heartbreaking story of the students of the Prudence Crandall School. The stage is set in Canterbury, Connecticut, 1832, when Prudence Crandall announces she will only be accepting young Black women to her school, including boarders from out of state.

The artwork is beautiful, and the story gives a glimpse into a little known event in American history.

For me, the most interesting part was the afterword, where we learn what happened to the students in their adult lives. Many became prominent members of the Black community, agitating for the abolition of slavery and equal rights. Many also went on to become teachers themselves.

Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Publishing for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an important (and true!) story that got to be told in such an amazing way. The artwork was the best I have ever seen in a graphic novel. The story was so important too. All I can really say is that you should go pick if you want to learn more about the injustices that black people have faced in America.

I'm honestly speechless at the end of this it was so good.

<i>Even in the land of the free, not all of America's children are welcome.</i>

Well. WELL. This is a gut wrenching graphic novel about historical racism. It's a familiar enough story to those who know American history - white men at odds with Black women educating themselves - but the story of the Prudence Crandall School is new to me: a young white woman goes against the town of Canterbury to open a school for only Black girls in the 1800s. The white residents of the village oppose her actions and treat both Ms Crandall and the children terribly, but the ladies are determined to learn and defy the ridiculous restrictions placed upon them.

The artwork is simply stunning and vibrant and filled with warmth and colour. The women and girls that are the central focus of the story are wonderfully done. In addition to the lone lady teacher, and the girls aching to learn, you also encounter a woman living in the woods who has no love for the villagers, and a young boy who travels around regaling locals with tales of Nat Turner, a real life Black enslaved preacher who led a rebellion in 1831.

This is definitely well worth a read for everyone, although I'm sure it'll leave you just as furious and frustrated as it left me. Equality is for everyone, and we need more girls and women like the ones herein. I really appreciate this novel for highlighting this true, heart-breaking story of injustice, racism, determination and feminism.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was inspiring and beautifully illustrated. It taught me about history that I was not previously aware of in a easy to digest manner. I think this graphic novel is a great start for anyone who is interested in history, and Black history in particular. It was both sad and inspiring at the same time. These women were so brave and were a pleasure to read about. History lessons tend to overlook Black history and if they teach any it’s quickly skimmed over. This book helped teach me about women I probably wouldn’t have ever learned about. The art style was also beautiful and captivated to look at. Definitely would highly recommend this book.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that tells a personal story of the oppression and racism that Black people faced even in the 'free' North during the time of slavery in the United States. The young girls coming to the school are amusing, the people working to keep the school open are inspiring, but the book also doesn't shy away from the evil that people did to and the hate they had in them. It hurts to read the hatred play out that people had for others.

Due to subject matter, I would say this book is for middle school and older. Anyone who enjoys graphic novels and wants to learn about history will get something from this book. I can't promise a perfect ending but I do know it is a story that needs to be told and remembered.

I think that sometimes it was hard to read, because the letters were kinda 'smudged'.
I am in love with the illustrations, I think they do justice to the story and in a pyshical book, they will look marvelous.
I liked this book, it represents the opresion lived in the USA before the civil war. It shows how education is vital for everybody and it is a right important as eating and sleeping.
It shows how subjective the laws were and how people with power could do everything they wanted. Something that sill happens....
I just think that the story was a bit all over the place and the end was to soon
3.5 STARS

Really good section of history, that isn’t centered around slavery, but still showcases the struggles of Black Americans, particularly to gain rights. The art is beautiful, the story unexpectedly dark and the plot advanced fairly naturally. Overall fantastic

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. :)

This graphic novel is a gem. The art of Stéphane Fert is such a pleasure to look at. The warm colors, the charadesign... everything is absolutely stunning. And I found that the gentleness of the art really helps us throughout a very hard theme story.

Now the story. We are diving into a part of American history quite difficult to look at but that still needs to be addressed. We are talking about the never-ending, exhausting fight of the American black women. And I think it is quite beautifully handled here, sparing no one.

In a little town where slavery has been abolished, white people don't see too kindly to the founding of a school for black girls. From there, everything is done to get rid of the school, the teacher, and the girls. With this graphic novel, we had the opportunity to have a good look at the ugliest parts of Humanity, and let me tell you, it hurts. But above all, it's a tribute to the strength and determination of black women and their fight, sadly still relevant today.

In conclusion, "White all around" is, by far, a beautiful and necessary read.

What a fantastic story! It tells about a piece of history that I had known nothing about, but wish I had. The history of race relations in the US is often glossed over in our history classes, to the detriment of students. The Prudence Crandall School is something that we should have learned about.

In addition to being a valuable book in terms of historical awareness, it's also a beautiful work. The art style is gorgeous; soft and impressionistic, with a fantastic color palette. The contrast of the softness of the art and the horrifying acts touched upon in the story is striking. The story itself is sometimes hard to read; it doesn't sugar-coat things, but also makes sure to give recognition not only to the bad things that were done, but by the resilience and tenacity of the girls at the school, many of whom went on to become teachers themselves.

It was a great read on all levels - it made me think, it made me feel things, and it helped me learn more about the history of my country and the history of white supremacy within it. White people love to talk about whether they would be "one of the good ones" if they lived in the past. I think that's an impossible question to answer (and not particularly helpful, since it is still centering whiteness in the discussion about race), but stories like these give perspective. Being "one of the good ones" was more difficult than you would imagine, and there was immense pressure against it. We can't know what we'd do in that situation, but we can work towards racial justice in our own time. Beyond that, we can realize that the question of what we would do as white people is obscuring the real message: as difficult as it would be to be a Prudence Crandall, it was even more difficult to be one of her students, and their bravery should be recognized and celebrated.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to get my hands on this graphic novel about pre-civil war America! I didn’t understand it at first because I never heard of the boarding school before (obviously cause I’m a dumb European duh..) but as soon as I kept reading it wasn’t so bad! However I found adding the witch into this was quite bizarre and puzzling like are we reading a story involving fantasy or a real life scenario that actually happened from the past here? lol

As well the wee boy was cute in this like he seemed like a character who would put a smile on your face! I wish we could’ve seen more scenes of him and that he was the main character ;(

Anyways it’s a alright graphic novel, I just wish tho it evolved into something more...

A gorgeously illustrated graphic novel about a boarding school in Canterbury, Connecticut, 1832 that educated young, Black women from all over the Eastern United States. The White townsfolk in the area were vehemently against the school and sought to abolish it by any means necessary. It's a fantastic fictional historical recount of true people and events.

There are events and perspectives in American history that are ignored, and the Canterbury Female Boarding School in Connecticut is one of them. Prudence Crandall opened the doors of her school to Black women in 1832, and the “good people” of Canterbury became undone. This French import fictionalizes what happens in third person, although readers spend most of the time with Miss Crandall and her students as they experience the excitement of learning while undergoing horrendous persecution.

A young Black boy, Charles, is also a prominent character who seems to live in the forest and repeat Nat Turner’s words; this terrifies most of the people within the community regardless of race. Another character, a White woman who lives isolated in the woods and embraces the term witch, is also key in several scenes illustrating the incongruity of evaluating people by their physical appearances.

The art fluctuates between warm and cool colors, but rather than enhance the mood or indicate transitions it seems random at times. Perhaps most disturbing are the Black caricatures that appear in some background city panels and which is certainly embraced within the character of Charles. This may be a deliberate action on behalf of the artist, as Charles represents Nat Turner and shares words of concern regarding Black people turning into the system designed by White people instead of embracing themselves, but it is a question that remains.

White All Around certainly asks readers to question American history as it stands the racist structure upon which it stands. It is thought-provoking and includes a detailed and informative afterword by the curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum regarding pertinent historical details. This is a worthwhile read, but I would recommend it for adults because of its potentially problematic stereotyping unless it is a piece that young adults discuss in a classroom environment.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"White All Around" follows the story of Prudence and her school Prudence Crandall School. Before reading this, I have never heard of the story of Prudence and her school but this was such a well written graphic novel. The story was so captivating that I could not put the book down until I made it to the last page. There were subplots but the main focus is on the Black students, who have to fight against the prejudiced racist population, who also happens to be sexist. The book is about teaching, who wants to learn regardless of their background and skin colour. It is perfect for both young audience and adult readers as it focusses on education and the racism these Black students and Prudence faced.

These stories madden me due to seeing how cruel people can be if the authorities allow and push them to be but I loved reading and learning about a more positive story. Even though these people faced so much negativity and violence, they never sat down and said no. They sought education and wanted to learn to be a part of this world, they were forced into. I definitely recommend this to all readers to read and learn from the past. Even if there is only one person left to fight, it is enough to fight back against injustice.

The artwork in this was absolutely beautiful. The author did a wonderful job of fitting a lot of information into a short and concise graphic novel. I do wish the characters had been given a little more depth, but I also realize you can only fit so much into something this length. Nevertheless, it got me interested and I would love a novel-length version! The story was lovely and heartbreaking and a good snapshot of pre-Civil War America. I appreciated the info given at the beginning about Nat Turner and the information at the end about what happened to some of the characters after the school closed.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This comic book does a splendid job of relating the events leading to the abolishment of the first school for girls of color.

I am so glad to have read it.

It was just what I was looking for this month. Something real, captivating, and informative… It is basically about the mistress of a female boarding school in Canterbury, Connecticut, 1832 deciding to take in colored girls as students. I especially love the last pages which the readers can find the summary of the character’s biographies. And the way of how the words came together with the gorgeous art style left me no choice other than to read it in one sitting. Highly recommended.

I love seeing small stories that fit into History but we don't know much about. This part of historical was so impactful for a large community and allowed so much change to be born from it.
It was great to learn more about this part of history, but I also got attached to this group of young girls wanting to learn and simply live.
I hope stories like this will continue to be brought to page and screen and minds.

I do however think it important to note that this graphic novel was written and illustrated by two white Frenchmen.
As much as I appreciate anyone writing on topics that need more visibility, I do also believe it's important to make sure that white people, who already own most of the industry, do let black artists express themselves and tell their own history, without being impacted by the casual everyday racism that does affect publishing.

Interesting idea for a graphic novel. Definitely not something that I had given much thought to. Inspiring story of a school that wanted to help young African American ladies.

It was an interesting read with beautiful illustrations. I wish I could give a bigger insight on this, but I can only say that the story, albeit half truths around, was sad and interesting, it gave a bittersweet feel,