Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
A house in on fire, engulfed in massive flames, whilst a young girl stands with a huge rifle in front of it, with a confidence that implies she might have something to do with the blaze – the cover for ‘The Girl Who Owned a City’ by O.T. Nelson sure knows how to catch the reader’s attention.
The plot follows Lisa Nelson, a 12-year-old girl looking out for herself and her six-year-old brother in a world where everyone over the age of 13 has perished due to a deadly global pandemic. This post-apocalyptic tale centers on child survivors who mostly live by scavenging around town. However, some have formed more organized gangs that often bully and steal from other kids. Smart and resourceful, Lisa rallies the support of neighboring children by promising to help them with food and supplies in exchange for their help in building a city they can govern and defend together.
I picked the graphic novel version, which is illustrated by Joëlle Jones, who has illustrated several DC, Marvel comics, including a bunch of Catwoman comics. I really like Joëlle’s artwork in the graphic novel ’12 Reasons Why I Love Her’, but not so much in the ‘The Girl Who Owned a City’, where the children seem more like animated bobbleheads, with comically large heads.
It doesn’t help that Lisa looks and sounds like she’s at least 20 years old, though, to be fair, dire circumstances can force kids to grow up fast. So while her character development may not feel entirely believable, the author still delivers an interesting moral takeaway: when push comes to shove, children can rise to the occasion and accomplish feats often believed to require adult experience.
Maybe Lisa’s character was better fleshed out in the novel version, but in this graphic novel adaptation, she often comes across as a selfish brat who keeps calling the place she built “my city,” which causes some resentment among the other kids. “Nobody wants my job” is something Lisa keeps telling herself, even though she is aided by a whole bunch of kids. The primary antagonists in the tale are a gang of boys who keep harassing and bullying others, so Lisa builds an army to protect her city.
Instead of highlighting how there is strength in numbers, the climax features Lisa defeating an entire army with an emotional lecture. So ultimately, Lisa emerges as the sole hero, and the author refuses to convey the idea of collective strength, instead relying on individual heroism. Not that the story doesn’t feature sections where Lisa has to work with others for her “city” to succeed, but ultimately, she remains a lone-wolf kind of leader.
Overall, ‘The Girl Who Owned a City‘ is an entertaining enough tale but should’ve given more space to other characters too.
Rating: 3 on 5 stars.
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