Sunshine: A Graphic Novel (with the subtitle of How one camp taught me about life, death, and hope) is not only the follow up to Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo: A Graphic Novel, it is a must read! But have tissues ready for the laughs and especially the tears.
This time we follow young JJK (Jarrett J. Krosoczka) as he volunteers with five other classmates and two adult chaperones at a camp for children with terminal illness and their family. The main theme of what books about this kind of situation is the same: boy goes to camp as a counselor, gets his assignments (in this case working with the teen group, assisting a boy not much younger than he is one-on-one, and volunteers are assigned a family at dinner to assist. His is a single mother and three children (the one who is ill pretends to be a Power Ranger, this is 1994 after all), who will become like a second family) and learns about life and death. But it is what came before and during that is different and interesting. Jarrett is one of hundreds of students who want this assignment. But only six can go. The fair way is names are pulled out of a hat. And Jarrett is chosen. And what would come next changed his life.
This volume of based on Krosoczka’s own life (with some poetic license), is lighter than Hey, Kiddo was. It flows faster and more smoothly. And while this is a companion sequel, you can read Sunshine as a standalone story. And it is actually a 4.5, as I read via a reader copy so I’m not sure of final artwork (which is currently out, therefore, I need to find). But I do know that the author afterwards talks about the use of the color yellow.