This is a gut-wrenching tale of a true story in a not so distant past. I feel like the content was almost lightened by the nature of the medium, but was still difficult to read though. Shared a perspective of history that many likely are not aware of or have personally experienced. I'll be sitting with this one for a long time.

Most of the time history feels so far away from us, for me, this history feels very close.
Reading this graphic novel with the knowledge that these things were occurring during my grandmother's lifetime, my grandmother who is still alive and well in Taiwan, my mother's home country, a country that I love, is jarring to say the least. Translated novels like this one are very important in showing parts of history that haven't been widely published in the west.

This book tells the story of Tsai Kun-lin, from his childhood through to adulthood and his decade long incarceration in a re-education camp for joining a book club at his school.
The story struggled a little in places with its pacing but was interesting and informative. The art style is wonderful and emotive, moving from bright and whimsical in the first half to a dark, jagged, linocut print style in the second half that was very effective in portraying our lead characters emotional and physical state throughout the events portrayed.

I'm grateful to have been able to read an eARC of this book through NetGalley.

This graphic novel of the true story of Khan-lim was, in my opinion gut-wrenching, touching and at times a little hard to read. It’s worth your time and beautifully formatted and illustrated. The only grievances I have is that there was no intention of explanation within the characters inner thoughts.

This is such an interesting and thought provoking story. It covers heavy topics, but didn't leave me feeling heavy and sad as the people in the story kept up positive hotel attitudes through it all.
I personally was never taught about Taiwan history in school and what I have learned outside of that is very little.
What the main character lived through was do many different changes and important moments through history. To see what Taiwan went through in the nineteen hundreds had given me a while different view of the country and its kind people. A great resource for teaching children. I would think twelve and up could handle it.
The art was not my favorite in the beginning. Oddly simple and light. But the art slowly evolves over the story. Growing up as the boy did. So by the end I really lined the art and how it was used to tell the story. Highly recommend will be adding to my own collection. As nonfiction I actually enjoy is hard to find.

This is without a doubt one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. The story was important and the art was mesmerizing. Please, please, PLEASE read this! You truly won't regret it.

This was an incredible read, and I cannot wait for the third and fourth part releasing in May of the new year. The Boy From Clearwater is a historical graphic biography of Tsai Kun-Lin who lived in Taiwan through times of political turmoil (due to fighting world powers and forms of belief).

I'm a young person from Texas, who was never taught this history in school, but this graphic novel describes it in a way that makes it easy to understand and capture the changing climate and the motivations of each movement/party. We witness this through the eyes of Tsai Kun-Lin, an activist who endured this time period, and faced political prisonership for nearly a decade.

In September of this year, the man who inspired this story passed away. I think this graphic novel is a perfect way to honor his memory, and teach a new generation across the world of his story and Taiwan. This was a 5 star read for me.

A true graphic novel story captures Tsai Kun-Lin life as Japan governed Taiwan. Growing up, we see Kun-Lin’s easy childhood and days studying during the 1930s. In the 1950s we see Kun-Lin get taken away as a political prisoner and his days working / being re-educated. This was a very eye-opening, yet somber book to part of Taiwan’s history. Overall, I’d recommend this if you’d like to learn more about these events and Taiwan.

The Boy From Clearwater is a brilliant and frustrating story about a place that isn't often covered in stories-- Taiwan. An important tale and might I argue, relevant story for young readers to experience. Although I prefer the fantastical, there's something about a true story that captures your attention and you can't put it down.

I would recommend this to the more serious young readers who may not enjoy the "whimsical-dancing-bear" stories but who prefers something more solid and realistic. I would also recommend this to educators to inspire young readers.

Thank you NetGalley for providing us with this title.

When I saw this book was going to be released soon, I was intrigued by the fact that it was a true story, in graphic novel form, about someone from Taiwan. To my knowledge, I’ve never read any books set in Taiwan, so I was naturally curious. And, as a history lover, I was especially intrigued—my knowledge of Taiwan’s history is scanty, at best!

Whew. What a story! Honestly, it’s hard to imagine people having to go through what was described here—especially when I consider that the main character was/is about the age of my grandparents. To think that other people were suffering to this extent, when my grandparents were growing up in relative comfort, is incredible to me.

Culturally speaking, this book is a rich representation of Taiwanese culture in the 1930s and 1940s. Several facets I found especially interesting were the fact that the main character came from a family of eight—but only the oldest girl and the four or five boys in the family lived at home; the other sisters lived with other friends or family members. I also enjoyed the brief glimpses of family dynamics, and the few mentions of how the family worshipped were also interesting. Then there was the description of what World War II looked like from the Japanese perspective—a “holy war”. And then there was the whole thing about the unjust imprisonment…like I said, it’s hard to imagine, but I finished the book marveling at how resilient people can be, and how important it is to support others in their struggles.

This book was well-done, engaging, and informative. I did struggle to keep the names separate in my mind (I ended up doing quite a bit of flipping back-and-forth to remind myself of who was who!), but that was really a minor issue. Of all the graphic novels I’ve read so far, I think this one had my favorite illustration style—it was clear, but not too distorted comicy, like I’ve seen some places. Overall, this was a fascinating read, and I hope I’ll get the chance to read book two in the series someday!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

Thanks, NetGalley for the ebook copy for early reading.

This is a story of Taiwan’s past. It’s filled with hardship withstood by the MC. It was very eye opening about the war in Taiwan and the back and forth ownership of the country by the Chinese and Japanese governments. It was engaging and educational. It is heartbreaking to see families being effected by war.

I recommend for anyone interested in history and true political stories.

This book shows the power of what comics can do. A visual story that is narratively impactful and well-conceived.

The Boy From Clearwater was a wonderful historical fiction graphic novel. The story and illustrations set in the 40's in Taiwan are beautiful and heartbreaking. I really appreciate how historical context is added with some panels. I loved how the style of illustration changed with the two parts, as the main character grows up and deals with his circumstances. I can't wait for Part 3 and 4, which will be published separately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The cover for The Boy From Clearwater is what drew me in initially. Both the cover and the artwork of this graphic novel are absolutely gorgeous. The muted tones really played into the melancholy feeling that this story was set in.

I learned a lot from this little book! It read very much to me like a history book in school. I wasn’t terribly invested and felt like I was reading from afar instead of being super immersed in the story. Regardless, I’m happy I read this. It was eye opening and thought provoking in the best way.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This graphic novel follows the life of Tshua Khun-lim, from early childhood through to his release from Green Island Correction Centre at the age of 30 years old.

I learnt a lot about this part of the world and its recent history from reading this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more. Equally, the stunning illustrations and brilliant use of colour, make this a great read for anyone just wishing to read about a man who, faced with relentless hardship, torture and loss, still manages to retain his high standards and respect for himself and those around him.

I was saddened to read that Tshua Khun-lim died recently but it seems like the work he has done by sharing his story is set to continue, in part, with this brilliant graphic novel.

This is a really fascinating look at a turbulent time in the history of Taiwan. As someone who spent a year living and working in Taiwan, I love the country and its culture, but didn't know much about this period of its history. I really appreciated getting to see it through the story of Tsai Kun-Lin. I loved the art style and particularly appreciated the use of different font colors to highlight the linguistic diversity of the time. This would be a very cool book to have in my classroom, and I look forward to volume 2.

A curious window into the key milestones of Taiwan’s history in 20th century, this graphic novel has a lovely visual vocabulary and way of rendering languages in colour, but it’s a bit weak at creating characters. It feels distant, despite some pretty horrid things happening on page, with the main character observing the changes or being pulled into them against his will, and you as a reading observe him observing that. The book does whet an appetite to learn more about Taiwanese history, though.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This graphic novel based on a true story was both more and less than what I was expecting. It follows Khun-lim, a Taiwanese boy born in the 1930s who lived through major political upheaval in Taiwan during his lifetime as multiple countries claimed and fought over this country over the century.

If you're looking at this graphic novel solely as a medium through which to teach Taiwanese history in a palatable manner, I think this book excelled. But if you are looking for a book that is more of a character study and will have you emotionally invested in its characters, then this is not the book.

The mistreatment and torture that Khun-lim and his family endure are devastating, clearly. However, I felt the book did more "telling" instead of "showing". This is why this felt more like a history textbook told through an individual narrative than a memoir. That's not to say I hated it, it just wasn't what I expected.

I did love the artwork and the color key for the spoken languages in the book "(Hoklo Taiwanese, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese.)

An incredible true story in graphic novel form that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought over by many countries, through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times.

Beautifully illustrated and written. Lovely.

This one was hard for me. While I loved the historical context provided consistently thought out the book and the use of color to denote linguistic shifts, the writing felt stilted and I wanted more. It may be because I am not the intended audience for this book tho!!

When I saw the cover of The Boy From Clearwater, I got immediately curious about the books' premise. The story sounded quite intriguing as well. However, I ended up with mixed feelings.

The art style is rather simplistic without any vibrant colours. This fit the overall mood of the story, which is undeniably depressing, and enhanced the gloomy atmosphere.

What let me down was the characters. Despite the horrible situation the main character was in, I could not connect with him or even the side characters. The characters all seemed to lack personality and depth, so it was hard for me to truly get invested in their lives and emotions.

Another aspect that bothered me was the length of the novel. At times, the story felt too long and too repetitive and I was looking forward to the end of the story.

I do believe that The Boy From Clearwater had great potential due to its premise, but the novel failed to deliver.

In conclusion, this could have been a great story, but due to the repetitive and dragged out plot and the bland characters I didn't end up enjoying the book as much as I had hoped I would.