Rivera isn't one to shy away from tough topics, and the way she incorporates real-life (real tough) issues like immigration into an alternative origin story for a well-known DC superhero takes a deft hand. This adds, nicely, to the dreamy quality of certain scenes and really drives home the fact that this story is more about what Jessica's feeling inside than what's happening around her. The rest of the art, while not secondary, does take a backseat with muted tones and softer, more watercolor-like or chalk pastel-like colors. No one ever feels entirely anatomically accurate or proportional, but they're all handsome nonetheless. Steph C's art is a really brilliant complement to this story, which features examples of Mexican culture (through a US lens) and Aztec imagery, because of its angular quality and the focus on the main characters and action of each panel/page. When her father's detained, Jessica begins to lean into the fear and anger touted by Tezcatlipoca, but it's not really in her true nature to give in to defeat. Although Jessica knows that she should refile her DACA paperwork and figure out what she wants to do in college, with friends being apprehended by ICE right in front of her eyes and a neighborhood politician running on a platform filled with racism, she can't help but be concerned about bigger things. Torn between two Aztec gods (Chalchiuhtlicue, Goddess of the Jade Skirt, and Tezcatlipoca, God of the Smoking Mirror) who've taken a liking to her and are trying to lead her in two very different directions. Torn between living her life or hiding from people who could hurt her. Torn between two countries: the United States and Mexico. The melting and/or watery nature of the bottom half doesn't seem-if you were to explain the idea to someone without them seeing the combination-like it would work, but it gives the cover a magical and powerful feeling, especially because it seems like the fluid is floating upward, rather than running down. The angular nature of Jessica's face in front of the Aztec-reminiscent motif feels like something you'd see in a museum as an example of ancient beauty.
See which path Jessica ultimately follows in this timely new story written by Lilliam Rivera and illustrated by Steph C-and learn more about whether this book would be a good one for you in the breakdown below! She's stuck walking a tightrope between hope and anger. Jessica wishes she had the words to tell the people closest to her how she truly feels, but they don't understand. And she can't help but wonder if it might not be better for them to just return before someone makes them. She spends much of her life anxious and afraid that ICE will force her unprotected parents back to Mexico. Jessica Cruz, who in DC’s new YA graphic novel, Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story,is an immigrant enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, knows that better than most. Life isn't easy for undocumented immigrants in America.
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