Mama Came Callin’

People who don't think reading graphic novels "counts" need to read something like Mama Came Callin' by Ezra Claytan Daniels and illustrated by Camilla Sucre.

Kirah is a young biracial woman living in the Florida bayou where racism is alive and well, and a local urban legend claims the "Gatorman" is a monster with the body of a man and the head of an alligator which likes to eat black children.

When she is attacked by the Gatorman at five years old, the police identified her father as the culprit, and now, twenty years later, she's forced to confront him and the impact it's had on her life since.

Mama Came Callin' is about family and the legacy they leave even when we don't know it, the grip that racism can hold over a community, and how the choices we make can create hope for the future. It's also an engaging story and effective thriller with characters that feel real and whose outcomes we care about.

Camilla Sucre's illustrations are beautiful and set the tone for the story perfectly.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the review copy.