The format for Climate Changed: A Personal Journey Through the Science, by Philippe Squarzoni, could have been improved in the storytelling aspect, but was overall an enjoyable book to read. When using images it gives the reader, especially myself, a better understanding of the scene that the author is portraying. While using images to depict a story are commonly preferred, there are both positives and negatives to using them. When the pictures are provided for you it doesn’t give your brain a chance to create the scene being read, but yet gives you the author’s vision of the scene. Personally, I like books with images, but more writing because then I can create the images in my head and it gives me a better understanding of what I am reading and comprehending. This graphic novel was in black and white and had over 450 pages of really stunning art. The story was placed in a documentary style. Having the story told in a documentary style was really helpful in understanding the key aspects the author was trying to get across. The author uses his drawings to help show the reader his personal conflict with the growing climate changes. Throughout the graphic novel it shows how climate change is being caused by recklessness, selfishness, and putting desires over one’s well-being. While the images were amazing and the way that the graphic novel was formatted was comprehensible, it was a sad and depressing read. It was a sad and depressing read due to the realization of the negative impacts on everyone and everything. Yet it brought light to the causes of these climate changes and their negative impacts that continue to hit society and our planet. Using the form of a graphic novel makes learning about complex topics more understandable. These types of books are created in a child-like manner, using images to explain and decipher words and scenes that others may not have comprehended by just reading and trying to grasp the meaning behind the words.
—Jade Merrell, CMRD101 Fall 2020