W. Ross Macdonald School Library

The Outside Circle /

LaBoucane-Benson, Patti, 1969- , author.

The Outside Circle / by Patti Laboucane-Benson ; illustrated by Kelly Mellings. - Toronto : House of Anansi Press, 2015. - 1 volume (unpaged) : illustrations ; 26 cm

In this important graphic novel, two Aboriginal brothers surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence, try to overcome centuries of historic trauma in very different ways to bring about positive change in their lives.
Pete, a young Aboriginal man wrapped up in gang violence, lives with his younger brother, Joey, and his mother who is a heroin addict. One night, Pete and his mother’s boyfriend, Dennis, get into a big fight, which sends Dennis to the morgue and Pete to jail. Initially, Pete keeps up ties to his crew, until a jail brawl forces him to realize the negative influence he has become on Joey, which encourages him to begin a process of rehabilitation that includes traditional Aboriginal healing circles and ceremonies.
Powerful, courageous, and deeply moving, The Outside Circle is drawn from the author’s twenty years of work and research on healing and reconciliation of gang-affiliated or incarcerated Aboriginal men.

Teen / young adult.



White Pine Award official selection, 2016.

9781770899377

20149061161


Ex-gang members--Graphic novels.
Indigenous peoples--Alberta--Canada--Graphic novels.
Healing circles--Graphic novels.
Prisons--Graphic novels.
Reconciliation--Graphic novels.


COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS / Indigenous.

GN LAB