An Introduction to “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh
Snapdragon is a 2020 graphic novel by Kat Leyh for First Second Books. It tells the story of a young girl named Snapdragon (“Snap” for short) who befriends an elderly woman that lives on the outskirts of town, identified as a witch by the local community. #Snapdragon 1/6
As the story unfolds amidst a series of hard swerves and (delightful) subversions of expectations, Leyh explores a number of key themes surrounding familial and social expectations and the delicate balance between individuality and community-integration. 2/6
These themes are universal but run in parallel to a rare and important representation of queer youth, with a protagonist navigating identity within a formative time. Leyh explores this navigation in both literal and symbolic (magic-realist) spaces. 3/6
The book has been much heralded, earning an Eisner nomination for best publication for kids and a listing on the American Library Association’s “Great Graphic Novels for Teens” list, whilst garnering much discussion amongst the comics scholars community. 4/6
Because of its portrayal of queer characters and themes, however, Snapdragon has also been extensively banned throughout the United States and elsewhere, and thus the book exists at the centre of a key cultural battleground in contemporary times. 5/6
In the week or so to come, Sequential Scholars will dig into “Snapdragon” from the varied perspective of form, history, and representation, in the aim of providing a parallax perspective on a YA graphic narrative with a potentially emerging literary legacy. 6/6