Status
Checked out
Publication
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2010.
Description
Tara is forced to move in with her cousins after her house burns down. She faces a difficult adjustment while her mother is away trying to earn money. Interwoven with this story is that of Tara's ancestors, who in 1859 were convinced by a mysterious stranger to put all their money into searching their property for gold.
User reviews
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
One thing I really appreciate about Maritimers is that they take you to their place and show you around. Like, there's this endless vista of North American sameness, and it doesn't matter whether your story's set in Texas or Vancouver or Ontario or Anytown USA, and while there are dispensations for
Phew, I've got this big cosmopolomonkey on my back, evidently. Sorry. Anyway, nobody cares about knowing where they're from. I care a little, hence the ranting and the devotion to wool sweaters and Docs and beards and that whole aesthetic (really needs a better name than "Vanshitty"). but I'm not gonna start using words like "skookum". Whereas in Larson's charming stories, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance and a twenty-first-century teen romp, everybody calls kilometres "kims" and greets each other in Gaelic and talks about the "Sight" and it feels so real and friendly and just like every other Maritimer you ever meet and talk to. A low-profile, economically depressed, yet beautiful and fascinating and warm part of the globe, I ween, and I'd really like to visit and talk about all the places I've gone and be a West Coast snotbag. I think they'd roll their eyes, but forgive.
The art is generic in a Jen Van Meter sort of mould, but there is much spot-on dialogue, and the teenagery stuff takes me back like not much else. It's hard to write smart kids. And then at the end it gets all magically real and you're like "totally", because who knows what wonders lurk and delights creep in Acadie's haunted coves, and because you just really like everybody in tihs book and the Victoria storyline has already come to grief, so the law demands a happy ending in the rpesent day. Come home from Fort McMurray, mum!
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prestige locations--New York, California--and for some of the obvious irreducibles--Quebec, the North--overall it gets me down how little time we, and our artists, spend inhabiting and thinking about the particularities of the places we're in. Cosmopolitan globalism is old news, but after a while it just gets old--something my roommate Derek and I talk a lot about in the context of academic careers, where everybody's jetting off to Philadelphia and Oslo and ruining the icecaps in order to swan around in person and peacock their chosen exotic field of endeavour--alveolar allophones in Pirahã? Indian diasporic literatures in South Africa, Southeast Asia and Fiji? Suntan management? Cocktailonomics?Phew, I've got this big cosmopolomonkey on my back, evidently. Sorry. Anyway, nobody cares about knowing where they're from. I care a little, hence the ranting and the devotion to wool sweaters and Docs and beards and that whole aesthetic (really needs a better name than "Vanshitty"). but I'm not gonna start using words like "skookum". Whereas in Larson's charming stories, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance and a twenty-first-century teen romp, everybody calls kilometres "kims" and greets each other in Gaelic and talks about the "Sight" and it feels so real and friendly and just like every other Maritimer you ever meet and talk to. A low-profile, economically depressed, yet beautiful and fascinating and warm part of the globe, I ween, and I'd really like to visit and talk about all the places I've gone and be a West Coast snotbag. I think they'd roll their eyes, but forgive.
The art is generic in a Jen Van Meter sort of mould, but there is much spot-on dialogue, and the teenagery stuff takes me back like not much else. It's hard to write smart kids. And then at the end it gets all magically real and you're like "totally", because who knows what wonders lurk and delights creep in Acadie's haunted coves, and because you just really like everybody in tihs book and the Victoria storyline has already come to grief, so the law demands a happy ending in the rpesent day. Come home from Fort McMurray, mum!
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LibraryThing member Girl_Detective
I picked up Mercury as soon as I saw it in the comic shop last week. I’ve liked all three of Larson’s previous books, Grey Horses, Salamander Dream,and Chiggers. As do those books, Mercury has sympathetic and emotionally complex young girls, struggling with friendship and identity with a dash
In modern day Nova Scotia, Tara Fraser moves back the the town she and her family used to live in, before her parents split up and their house burnt down. She stays with her aunt and cousins and is returning to 10th grade, a few years after she left. The town, her burned-down home, and the school, are all both familiar and yet new to her.
Tara’s story alternates with that of her lookalike ancestor, Josey Fraser. Josey’s family lived in 1859 on the same farm, in the same house that burned down in Tara’s life. She’s a young teen when a handsome stranger named Asa Curry comes to their farm, claiming he’s looking for gold. Asa grows close to Josey, then he and Josey’s father find gold, all under the suspicious eyes of Josey’s mother. When things go bad, a series of events unfolds that echo mystically through the years to Tara’s time.
I really enjoyed seeing the parallels and contrasts in Josey and Tara’s life, as well as learning about some of the Scottish-Canadian historical myths of the region. Larson’s story and art easily capture the wide range of emotion in a teen’s life, from joy to anxiety, and it’s easy to sympathize with her characters as they try to make peace with their mothers and find love on their own. I enjoyed the magical realism, but could see how some might argue it’s not necessary. I think it gives an additional layer and a distinction to the story that made it stand out from other young-adult coming-of-age tales.
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of magical realism thrown in.In modern day Nova Scotia, Tara Fraser moves back the the town she and her family used to live in, before her parents split up and their house burnt down. She stays with her aunt and cousins and is returning to 10th grade, a few years after she left. The town, her burned-down home, and the school, are all both familiar and yet new to her.
Tara’s story alternates with that of her lookalike ancestor, Josey Fraser. Josey’s family lived in 1859 on the same farm, in the same house that burned down in Tara’s life. She’s a young teen when a handsome stranger named Asa Curry comes to their farm, claiming he’s looking for gold. Asa grows close to Josey, then he and Josey’s father find gold, all under the suspicious eyes of Josey’s mother. When things go bad, a series of events unfolds that echo mystically through the years to Tara’s time.
I really enjoyed seeing the parallels and contrasts in Josey and Tara’s life, as well as learning about some of the Scottish-Canadian historical myths of the region. Larson’s story and art easily capture the wide range of emotion in a teen’s life, from joy to anxiety, and it’s easy to sympathize with her characters as they try to make peace with their mothers and find love on their own. I enjoyed the magical realism, but could see how some might argue it’s not necessary. I think it gives an additional layer and a distinction to the story that made it stand out from other young-adult coming-of-age tales.
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LibraryThing member GrazianoRonca
Mercury is one of the elements that was used to refine gold in old times.
Hope Larson (born 17 September 1982) is an American cartoonist, mainly graphic novels.
The graphic novel ‘Mercury’ tells the story of two girls in different times.
In 1859 Josey Fraser meets a mysterious man with the
Larson tells Josey and Tara’s stories in parallel, so you know what happens at the same time; a ploy that bonds readers and book.
A novel for teenager.
Hope Larson (born 17 September 1982) is an American cartoonist, mainly graphic novels.
The graphic novel ‘Mercury’ tells the story of two girls in different times.
In 1859 Josey Fraser meets a mysterious man with the
Show More
ability to find gold. Tara Fraser, 150 years later, finds a pendant that leads to buried gold. Josey and Tara’s lives are almost identical: a bit of romance, teenage troubles, but a different ‘the end’.Larson tells Josey and Tara’s stories in parallel, so you know what happens at the same time; a ploy that bonds readers and book.
A novel for teenager.
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LibraryThing member JaneBanks
Hope Larson’s Mercury is a really enjoyable teen graphic novel. It is set in a small town in Nova Scotia, and switches back and forth between the year 1859 and the year 2009, showing the separate lives of two related girls, Josey and Tara. In 1859, history is being created with Josey’s family,
This is a wonderfully realistic story with a bit of magic thrown in. I loved how the background colour of the pages changed if it was in 1859 or 2009, black or white. The drawings were big and wonderful and the entire book is very visually appealing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. Being Canadian, I got super excited at the references to Canadian culture (Yay, Tim Horton’s cup!). It was wonderful to see the connections between Josey’s and Tara’s separate lives, and how your decisions affect the lives of your family 150 years later. It’s nice to see a romance die and another bloom in the same story. Tara’s life and thoughts in 2009, especially, were so truly how teenagers are and think; the realism in that aspect really stood out to me. Mercury is a lovely magical tale of relationships, connections and promise.
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and in 2009, Tara is discovering the mysteries of her heritage. What really happened at her now burnt down house, all those generations ago?This is a wonderfully realistic story with a bit of magic thrown in. I loved how the background colour of the pages changed if it was in 1859 or 2009, black or white. The drawings were big and wonderful and the entire book is very visually appealing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. Being Canadian, I got super excited at the references to Canadian culture (Yay, Tim Horton’s cup!). It was wonderful to see the connections between Josey’s and Tara’s separate lives, and how your decisions affect the lives of your family 150 years later. It’s nice to see a romance die and another bloom in the same story. Tara’s life and thoughts in 2009, especially, were so truly how teenagers are and think; the realism in that aspect really stood out to me. Mercury is a lovely magical tale of relationships, connections and promise.
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LibraryThing member kivarson
Hope Larson weaves the sad stories of two teens, separated by almost a century, in the same Nova Scotia family.
Josey Fraser longs for romance and adventure, which arrives at her door in the form of Asa Curry, a sketchy young prospector who's mysterious necklace has led him to gold on the Fraser
Larson's stunning black and white drawings alternate from black on white to white on black.
Josey Fraser longs for romance and adventure, which arrives at her door in the form of Asa Curry, a sketchy young prospector who's mysterious necklace has led him to gold on the Fraser
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farm in 1859. Tara Fraser is left with naught but ashes and some trinkets of her mother's after the Fraser family farm falls to fire. Could a mysterious necklace among these trinkets lead her to family secrets?Larson's stunning black and white drawings alternate from black on white to white on black.
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LibraryThing member sylliu
Mercury is a moody YA book that mixes history, romance, family secrets, and magical realism, Mercury tells the parallel stories of two teenage girls in Nova Scotia, one in the 1850s and one in the present. Josey Fraser, the girl in the past, falls in love with a mysterious stranger who has found
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gold on her dad’s property, but her premonitions of tragedy soon come true. Tara Fraser, one of Josey’s descendants, is a runner who finds a mysterious locket and unravels her family’s history, while also falling for a boy at school. The story is starkly drawn in black and white, and I loved the near-wordless climax that involves a man-faced crow and a contracting spiral pit with hundreds of snakes. Show Less
LibraryThing member zzshupinga
Josey and Tara are both the same sage, both live in the same town in Nova Scotia, both have families that are struggling to survive...the only thing they don't share in common is the year they live in. Josey, living in 1859, has just met a charming, suave young man who claims that her family's farm
Hope Larson has created a fantastic story that successfully blends together the past and the present. The characters are rich and well developed, and it's hard not to get wrapped up in the story as you can imagine meeting Tara and Josey in the real world. They feel like old friends and that you're listening to them tell the story of their life and I can almost picture them sitting together grinning and smirking at the right places, and showing fear and sadness in others as they talk to us. The artwork is done in Larson's normal illustration style, which works quite well with this story and create an evocative world for the reader to explore.
Even though this story maybe called a coming of age tale for young women, it has something for everyone and is easy for any reader to enjoy. I highly recommend this story, regardless of age or gender.
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has gold on it and has convinced her dad to dig for it. Tara, Josey's descendant living in 2009, is living with her Aunt and Uncle as the farm has recently burned down and is waiting for her mother to find work. The worlds start blending together when Tara goes hunting for gold on the farm and events in Josey's life reveal some mysteries about the gold and the family.Hope Larson has created a fantastic story that successfully blends together the past and the present. The characters are rich and well developed, and it's hard not to get wrapped up in the story as you can imagine meeting Tara and Josey in the real world. They feel like old friends and that you're listening to them tell the story of their life and I can almost picture them sitting together grinning and smirking at the right places, and showing fear and sadness in others as they talk to us. The artwork is done in Larson's normal illustration style, which works quite well with this story and create an evocative world for the reader to explore.
Even though this story maybe called a coming of age tale for young women, it has something for everyone and is easy for any reader to enjoy. I highly recommend this story, regardless of age or gender.
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LibraryThing member KatPruce
The drawing is so expressive...I think that's one of the aspects I liked most about this novel. Larson's expert illustrations really allowed me to connect with the characters and I happily rooted for Josey and Tara. I became so attached to the characters that I was quite sad when the book ended...I
There's an element of ghosts or spirits in the book and mystical occurrences which I always find to be lots of fun. I also loved the interplay between the past and the present. The author flipped back and forth between the two stories very frequently, which normally annoys me, but worked perfectly for this book. Overall, I'd recommend this to those who like graphic novels, elements of the supernatural, and historical fiction - a quick fun read!
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wanted to know more about what happened to these two young girls.There's an element of ghosts or spirits in the book and mystical occurrences which I always find to be lots of fun. I also loved the interplay between the past and the present. The author flipped back and forth between the two stories very frequently, which normally annoys me, but worked perfectly for this book. Overall, I'd recommend this to those who like graphic novels, elements of the supernatural, and historical fiction - a quick fun read!
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LibraryThing member librarianbryan
Distance running, spirit crows, Celtic languages, psychic mothers... what's not to love. The denouement felt a little rushed.
LibraryThing member kayceel
A mediocre story, with what others tell me is great art, but that doesn't appeal to me at all.
Tara is adjusting to high school after several years of home-schooling and then a fire that burned down her family home. Many years earlier, one of Tara's relatives is falling in love for the first time
I didn't really feel that the stories tied together well, nor did I feel that the stories really went *anywhere*. Overall, a disappointing read, with, for me, off-putting art.
Tara is adjusting to high school after several years of home-schooling and then a fire that burned down her family home. Many years earlier, one of Tara's relatives is falling in love for the first time
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with a man that may not be the best of men. Both girl's adjust to new circumstances, and their fates are tied up in possible gold mine on the property.I didn't really feel that the stories tied together well, nor did I feel that the stories really went *anywhere*. Overall, a disappointing read, with, for me, off-putting art.
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LibraryThing member jessicaschmidt917
In Nova Scotia in the 1850's, Josey Fraser's life is turned upside down by the arrival of Asa Curry, a prospector who convinces her father to jump into the gold rush and steals her heart. Meanwhile in 2009, her future relative Tara Fraser returns to her hometown high school after three years away,
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now living at her aunt's since the old family farmhouse burned down. A metal-seeking pendant connects the two stories, though the discovery of gold tears Josey's family apart while it concurrently gives hope to Tara's future. There are no formal chapter divisions in this pen-and-ink graphic novel; instead, readers follow each storyline by the background color of the pages-- white for Tara, black for Josey. This contrast especially illustrates the darkness and uncertainty of life for Josey, who faces death, heartache, and betrayal, while Tara's journey is comparably lighter fare. Readers may be more interested in Tara's storyline, though it is dependent on Josey's for depth and complexity. Recommended for grades 6-9. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
I got this book through the Amazon Vine program. It sounded like an interesting premise and I love graphic novels. Overall it was an interesting read with great illustration.
This book follows the stories of two young girls. Tara is a young girl in current times whose house has burnt down. She is
I liked the illustrations a lot. Larson does an excellent job clearly picturing the actions of the characters, the frames are easy to follow and there is never any doubt about what she is trying to portray. To make the two stories easier to follow the frames telling Tara's story have a white background behind them and the frames telling Josey's story has a black background. Also any Canadian slang is clarified with asterisks below the frames. So overall very easy to follow and clear illustrating. The style of illustration is fairly minimalist with pictures done in black and white, no shades of gray. The drawings are not intricate but they are detailed enough to portray the landscape and background of the settings.
The story was intriguing. Josey's story is the more intriguing of the two as it focuses on Josey's relationship with a young man, Asa, and her family's quest to find gold. This story has more urgency to it and was more engaging than Tara's story. Tara's story was boring at points. The first portion of the story mainly follows Tara running and hanging out with her friends. When Tara finds her mom's old necklace the story gets more interesting (last third of the story or so).
I wish that more time had been spent with Tara exploring the origin and capabilities of the necklace. It took too long to set up Tara's story. On the other hand I really enjoyed Josey's story.
Overall this graphic novel was well illustrated, very well organized, and had a somewhat engaging story. It was a unique subject for a graphic novel and was presented well. The only thing I would have changed would be to get into Tara's portion of the story faster. I will be keeping my eye out for future works from Hope Larson.
This book follows the stories of two young girls. Tara is a young girl in current times whose house has burnt down. She is
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struggling with starting at her new school and finds a pendant in her mom's old jewelry that is intriguing. Alternating with Tara's story is the story of Josey. Josey lived in the same area as Tara but in 1859. Josey has meet a handsome young man that promises to find gold on Josie's parents' farm and make the farm rich. As things progress the two stories become somewhat tied together.I liked the illustrations a lot. Larson does an excellent job clearly picturing the actions of the characters, the frames are easy to follow and there is never any doubt about what she is trying to portray. To make the two stories easier to follow the frames telling Tara's story have a white background behind them and the frames telling Josey's story has a black background. Also any Canadian slang is clarified with asterisks below the frames. So overall very easy to follow and clear illustrating. The style of illustration is fairly minimalist with pictures done in black and white, no shades of gray. The drawings are not intricate but they are detailed enough to portray the landscape and background of the settings.
The story was intriguing. Josey's story is the more intriguing of the two as it focuses on Josey's relationship with a young man, Asa, and her family's quest to find gold. This story has more urgency to it and was more engaging than Tara's story. Tara's story was boring at points. The first portion of the story mainly follows Tara running and hanging out with her friends. When Tara finds her mom's old necklace the story gets more interesting (last third of the story or so).
I wish that more time had been spent with Tara exploring the origin and capabilities of the necklace. It took too long to set up Tara's story. On the other hand I really enjoyed Josey's story.
Overall this graphic novel was well illustrated, very well organized, and had a somewhat engaging story. It was a unique subject for a graphic novel and was presented well. The only thing I would have changed would be to get into Tara's portion of the story faster. I will be keeping my eye out for future works from Hope Larson.
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LibraryThing member akmargie
This weren't no Chiggers. More sophistcated story but a bit choppy at times. Maybe she was already gearing up for Winkle in Time? Mercury makes me very excited to see what she does with L'Engle.
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Love, revenge, history and a touch of fantasy. Well-done and richly layered but hard to imagine many teen readers being drawn to this story.
LibraryThing member librarybrandy
Eh. Didn't love it. It's pretty, but the story just didn't grab me.
LibraryThing member scote23
I think I like it...
I found the ending to be a little difficult for me. I didn't have any issues with the magical realism in the book, but it was building, building, building and then it seemed to just end. Maybe I need to reread it to understand the ending more clearly.
I found the ending to be a little difficult for me. I didn't have any issues with the magical realism in the book, but it was building, building, building and then it seemed to just end. Maybe I need to reread it to understand the ending more clearly.
LibraryThing member mirikayla
The first thirteen pages of this are very cool. (I liked the rest, too.)
LibraryThing member Erika.D
Graphic novel in full black and white illustrations. I wanted the story to be in color with a little more distinction between the story from the 1800s and the 2001 story. It was interesting to see a family's history trace between two different time frames but a little confusing at times as well.
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One family was dealing with a tragedy while the other was able to discover a miracle. All of the characters were enjoyable and this was a fast read. The story is centered in Canada which was interesting as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
This is a strange story. Not bad-strange, just different, and it's really nice to read something completely different. I like the juxtaposition of historical Nova Scotia and modern day, the threads of gold through both narratives, the small and strange powers. It's a pretty dark tale, though, with
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no definitive answers in the end, and in that it is true to many family histories. Show Less
LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts
This is great - sophisticated story-telling, good characters, nice atmosphere. There should be hundreds or thousands more comics this good - this should be the mainstream. That said, its worth noting that it is a YA book, and the characters are mostly teens - people who are allergic to that kind of
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thing may want to steer clear. But if they do, they're missing a very fine comic, streets ahead of most 'mature' comics currently out there. If I had one slight criticism it's that some of the characters can look a touch too similar (although the characters that are meant to look alike I had no trouble telling apart, despite their similarity). Otherwise, this is excellent stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member melancholycat
I did not terribly enjoy this - with the focus being on pictures and action, the story felt under-developed and I did not feel any great connection with the protagonist. I suppose such a problem could be beneficial for a reluctant reader who needs the action of a movie to keep his/her interest. The
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hint of magical mystery was intriguing. Show Less
LibraryThing member raschneid
Really nice art. This is the second book I've read by Larson (not counting her adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time) and I don't connect to her storytelling very well. Her plotting and pacing always feel a little off-kilter, her characters slightly opaque. She's a clever and thoughtful writer, just not
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my thing. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Physical description
234 p.; 21 cm
ISBN
9781416935889
Local notes
graphic novels