Power Play: A Graphic Guide Adventure

By Liam O'Donnell and Mike Deas

Devin and Nadia team up with Bounce, Pema and Marcus as they all travel to Northern Ontario to watch their parents present to the Summit of World Leaders. A swarm of politicians, lobbyists, corporate bosses and protestors have all converged on the summit to get their messages heard. A tragic accident just hours before their parents' presentation plunges the kids into their biggest mystery yet and sets them on the trail of a murderer bent on stopping their parents' controversial message from being heard. It's a fight against the planet's power players as the kids dive into the world of politics, uncovering how government works, the history of democracy, the influence of lobbyists and corporations on politicians and the potential of civil society to change it all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781554690701

Liam O'Donnell

Liam O'Donnell was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in Canada.  He's lived in Toronto, Canada and is the author of several graphic novels, including the Max Finder Mystery series of you-solve-it comics.  He's never met a pirate and not sure if he ever wants to.  When he's not writing stories, he loves playing video games and going camping, but not at the same time.

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Reviews for Power Play

[librarybrandy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Marcus's father is giving a talk on the importance of sharing, not selling, water at the World Leaders summit, and no sooner have they stepped off the plane than they're embroiled in controversy, vandalism, and harassment. Luckily, Marcus doesn't have to sort it all out in his own: along with his little brother, Bounce, and Bounce's best friend, Nadia and her brother Devin are attending the conference, too. With the whole gang working together, they'll get to the bottom of the conspiracy in no time.

In their sixth Graphic Guides collaboration, O'Donnell and Deas show off just how far they've come since writing informational comics about skateboard tricks and wilderness survival: Power Play gives an overview of democracy, political parties, civil disobedience, and even lobbyists. The conspiracy is a little far-fetched, but still gripping and propels the story. Upper-elementary and middle-school students will appreciate this new adventure, and might not even notice the civics lesson.

Caveat: At this point in the series it's becoming obvious that the creative team behind this series is pretty liberal and thinks conservatives are at the very least crazy. It's hard to stay impartial when your heroes ask questions like "why would anyone vote against this water accord that will give guarantee clean drinking water around the world?" and the answer is "because they would rather sell water than share it." Liberalism doesn't bother ME at all--I rather prefer it--but it's worth noting all the same.