Boy vs. Shark

by Paul Gilligan (Author)

Boy vs. Shark
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

A hilarious middle-grade graphic memoir about boyhood, toxic masculinity and a shark named Jaws. For fans of Guts and New Kid.

In the summer of 1975, 10-year-old Paul Gilligan doesn't have a whole lot to worry about other than keeping his comic books untarnished, getting tennis balls off roofs and keeping up with the increasingly bold stunts of his best friend, David.

And then Jaws comes to town.

Suddenly everyone is obsessing over this movie about a shark ripping people to pieces. And if you haven't seen it, not only are you missing out, you're also kind of a wimp.

Needless to say, Jaws leaves young Paul a cowering mess, and underlines the growing gap between him and David as well as the distance between where he stands and the world's expectations of a boy's "manliness."

And when Jaws himself becomes a kind of macho Jiminy Cricket for Paul, what is a scared and overwhelmed boy to do?

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Starred Review

An authentic and funny look at masculinity and growing pains that resonates across the decades.

Paul Gilligan
PAUL GILLIGAN writes and draws the syndicated comic strip Pooch Cafe with Andrews McMeel, which runs in over 250 newspapers around the world and has been twice nominated by the National Cartoonist Society for best strip. He is also the author-illustrator of Pluto Rocket: New in Town, King of the Mole People and its sequel, Rise of the Slugs. He also has other animated shows in development with Guru Animation and The Cartoon Network. Paul is based in Toronto, Ontario.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781774880463
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Tundra Books (NY)
Publication date
October 15, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV005000 - Juvenile Fiction | Boys & Men
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV008110 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Humorous
Library of Congress categories
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