Continental Drifter

by Kathy MacLeod

Overview

“A fantastic story about the awkward feelings of being from neither here nor there."
—Dan Santat, National Book Award winner and author of A First Time for Everything

With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most of the year in Bangkok, where she’s secretly counting the days till summer vacation. That’s when her family travels for twenty-four hours straight to finally arrive in a tiny seaside town in Maine.

Kathy loves Maine’s idyllic beauty and all the exotic delicacies she can’t get back home, like clam chowder and blueberry pie. But no matter how hard she tries, she struggles to fit in. She doesn’t look like the other kids in this rural New England town. Kathy just wants to find a place where she truly belongs, but she’s not sure if it’s in America, Thailand . . . or anywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250375858
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	75 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kathy MacLeod is an illustrator and cartoonist whose work has appeared in The Believer, Catapult, The Hairpin,
and Lucky Peach. After spending most of her life in Bangkok, Thailand (with a four-year interlude at Wesleyan University), she is currently living in Berlin, Germany. Continental Drifter is her first graphic novel.

Editorial Reviews

A Junior Library Guild selection

"The simple yet expressive art style is charming and at times poignant, showing the family dynamics and the secrets locked within people’s hearts... A heartfelt story honestly and evocatively told." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Readers will be heartened by the message that, while some families don’t always seem like they make sense, they still have a lot of love for one another." –Booklist

"Continental Drifter offers honest, sometimes painful, insight into growing up as part of two cultures and will help anyone who has ever felt lonely in their own family, or even with friends, process the emotions that come with trying to fit in." –School Library Journal

"This introspective graphic memoir explores bicultural identity and the path toward self-acceptance... Sprinkled throughout are elements of Thai culture and Thai language, depicted in Thai text with English translation, adding depth and cultural context." –Horn Book Magazine

“A fantastic story about the awkward feelings of being from neither here nor there, which will speak to all immigrant kids and their families.” —Dan Santat, National Book Award winner and author of A First Time for Everything

“Heartfelt and honest, this book will have you rooting for little Kathy in her search for belonging.”
—Remy Lai, author of Pie in the Sky and Pawcasso

From the Publisher

04/01/2024

Gr 5–8—Kathy isn't quite sure who she is. She loves parts of her life in Thailand while missing her favorite things in the United States. She loves being in America but struggles to find the right group of friends and ways to blend in with the culture. Kathy explains that sometimes, "the outside doesn't match what's inside." Watching her parents and sister navigate their two homes differently adds to her confusion, and each home's location has its benefits and drawbacks. As her sister grows up and becomes more distant, Kathy's sense of isolation increases. She turns to her diary to try to process the challenges and insecurities she faces, but even the kind kids can seem mean when they don't understand or know the real Kathy. As with all families, the dynamics in Kathy's have their ups and downs—growing apart while forming deeper understandings. The illustrations are simple and straightforward, helping readers understand Kathy's thoughts and feelings. Everyone who has been embarrassed by themselves or their family will relate to Kathy's shyness and will appreciate her tender realizations as she finds her path in both of her worlds. Educators looking for books to build empathy may find several helpful scenes throughout. It also lends itself to geography extension activities. VERDICT Continental Drifter offers honest, sometimes painful, insight into growing up as part of two cultures and will help anyone who has ever felt lonely in their own family, or even with friends, process the emotions that come with trying to fit in.—Darby Wallace

School Library Journal

★ 2024-02-03
A writer and artist navigates her Thai and American heritage.

Opening in the mid-1990s, when MacLeod was 11, this graphic memoir traces her emotional and physical journeys of searching for connection and belonging while making sense of her blended family and her bicultural luk khrueng (“half child” in Thai) identity. Despite having a Thai mother and growing up in Bangkok, Kathy, who attends an international school where you’re not allowed to speak Thai, feels like she lives in an “American bubble.” She counts down the days until her family’s annual trip to coastal Maine, where clam chowder, lighthouses, blueberries, and the relatives on her dad’s side await. Once stateside, however, Kathy’s self-conscious feelings of being different return, and she finds herself balancing hypervisibility with wanting to be “just invisible enough.” Her constant negotiations between places and perspectives will be familiar to anyone who’s experienced feelings of isolation, highlighting the story’s core lesson that the path to finding oneself is full of obstacles, and the key is to explore—even embrace—each and every element of one’s own identity. Just as both her mom’s curry and her aunt Barbie’s strawberry shortcake taste like home, Kathy learns that each dimension of her personal and cultural background offers much on its own without overshadowing other parts. The simple yet expressive art style is charming and at times poignant, showing the family dynamics and the secrets locked within people’s hearts.

A heartfelt story honestly and evocatively told. (afterword, photos) (Graphic memoir. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews