Bluffton: My Summers with Buster

Thrilling--a spirited, poignant coming-of-age vignette and an intriguing window into a little-known chapter in vaudeville history.

Phelan's watercolors are expertly rendered and soft in focus, but pop at just the right moments, simultaneously showing the sleepiness of the town, the glamour of show business, and the energy of summer. ... Bluffton is a rich and engaging story with a lot of charm, and will be a great choice for early chapter-book readers and graphic-novel fans.

The fictional elements weave seamlessly together with the historical ones for a look into the past that will surely win Buster Keaton some twenty-first-century fans.

Gr 3-6--Henry and his hometown of Muskegon, Michigan, may be ordinary, but neighboring Bluffton is anything but. The year is 1908, and vaudevillians have come to the resort town to relax for the summer. Intrigued by the visitors, Henry heads off to Bluffton and meets a young actor named Buster Keaton. The two boys quickly become friends, but each of them yearns for what the other has-Henry wants a life of show business and fame, while Buster wants a normal life filled with baseball and fishing. Phelan does an excellent job of showing an accurate portrayal of Buster Keaton, from his dangerous physical comedy routines to his alcoholic father; the facts flow so smoothly that it does not feel like historical fiction at all. Henry is undeveloped in the beginning and simply moves along Buster's story, but the character really comes into his own later on when feuding with Buster and trying to put on a show of his own. Phelan's watercolors are expertly rendered and soft in focus, but pop at just the right moments, simultaneously showing the sleepiness of the town, the glamour of show business, and the energy of summer. An author's note and some photos explain a bit more about the real Buster Keaton. Overall, Bluffton is a rich and engaging story with a lot of charm, and will be a great choice for early chapter-book readers and graphic-novel fans.--Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Historical detail, a rich sense of place, expert pacing--Phelan (Around the World) keeps all the plates in the air in this fictionalized recreation of the boyhood summers of Buster Keaton. In lightly sketched, gently tinted watercolor panels, Phelan conveys the excitement a troupe of summering vaudeville actors brings to sleepy Bluffton, a small resort town on Lake Michigan. It's easy to understand the envy the boy narrator Henry feels for his new friend, the child star Keaton, who performs in a comic act in which he's tossed about by his father. Buster's stunts and pratfalls are polished, and his signature deadpan gaze is already perfected. Simultaneously, Phelan hints at darker truths behind Buster's poise: his father's drinking, and the charges of child abuse that dog their act. "Buster's never been hurt in his life!" his red-faced father claims. "Well, not bad, anyway." Over several summers and endless baseball games--Buster's real passion--Henry considers the meaning of his own ordinary life in the light of his friend's celebrity in a way that's believable and satisfying. An unapologetically nostalgic piece of Americana. Ages 9-12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (July)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

This graphic novel illustrates this simple story of a boy finding his true self with soft watercolor illustrations, using words only when necessary. The work has an overall charm and simplicity that goes with its time period.
—Library Media Connection

Wonderfully evocative... With a beautiful economy of phrase and image, Mr. Phelan shows Henry's happiness in the company of his glamorous friend but also the jealousy that begins to trouble him.
—The Wall Street Journal

Matt Phelan presents a beautifully illustrated, nuanced story of how the friendship between Henry and Buster stretches them both in unexpected and sometimes challenging ways. ... The evocative watercolor illustrations also are a visual treat as they underscore the impact that Buster has on Henry's life.
—Scripps Howard News Service (syndicated)

[A] gorgeous graphic novel...
—Newsday