Synopses & Reviews
Yo, Miss and#150; A Graphic Look at High School takes the reader inside Wildcat Academy, a second chance high school in New York City where all the students are considered at-risk. Through strong and revealing black and white images, the book tells the story of eight students who are trying to get that ticket to the middle class and#150; a high school diploma. Whether they succeed or not has as much to do with what happens outside the classroom as in, and the value of perseverance is matched by the power of a second chance. It is a story that shows these teens in all their beauty, intelligence, suffering, humor, and humanity (and also when they are really pains in the behind.) A view from the trenches of public education, Yo, Miss challenges preconceptions about who these kids are, and what is needed to help them graduate.
Review
and#147;I just looked at a bunch of Yo, Miss, and it's riveting!...This is such an amazing project--I'm not sure how you have the energy to teach all day and do all this writing and drawing, but keep it up!and#8221;
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home, Are You My Mother?
and#147;Iand#8217;ve read and been incredibly moved by your chapters and#150; thank you. The story re. Oedipus is so powerful that Iand#8217;ve been telling it to others.and#8221;
Deborah Meier, The Power of Their Ideas
and#147;and#133;Lends a sense of realism too often lacking in Hollywood portraits of inner-city high schoolsand#133; a brave and fascinating look at Wildeand#8217;s workplace realities.and#8221;
Comics Rack: Decemberand#8217;s Best Comic Books
Brian Heater and#151; Boing Boing
and#147;She succeeds at revealing the anxiety and the hope underlying her work at the school without soliciting cheap empathy for her or her students fighting against the oddsand#133;Iand#8217;d recommend this zine on its merits as a comic and as a snapshot of inner city American education.and#8221;
Zine review of the month, April 2014
Joshua Barton and#151; Broken Pencil
"For anyone who has ever had demanding experiences working in education Yo, Miss might trigger violent flashbacks... Oh, the humanity. Get it and get educated."
Sean Arenas and#150; Razorcake
and#147;Lisa Wildeand#8217;s black and white drawings explode with complexity, layered metaphors and gorgeous perspectiveand#133;and#8221;
Joanna Clapps Herman
Author of The Anarchist Bastard and No Longer and Not Yet
and#147;Reading your graphic novel was a transformative experience for meand#133;It was at once completely true - a realistic portrayal of the challenges and day-today experiences of teaching, and also a work of art, in that it took the truth and made it universal and beautiful and painful and somehow more true than the day-to-day ever could beand#133;and#8221;
Alexis Goldberg, Achievement Coach, The Urban Assembly; Fellow, Academy for Teachers
"Inspiring and heartbreaking"
Martha Cornog and#151; Library Journal
About the Author
Lisa Wilde: Lisa Wilde has taught at Wildcat Academy, a second-chance high school in New York City, for the past 16 years. Her work has appeared in Alive With Vigor, Kugelmas, Show and Tell, and WritingDisorder.