Review: Boy vs. Shark

By Paul Gilligan

Toronto, CA: Tundra Books, 2024. Comic. 234 pages.

In 1975, 10-year-old Paul is enjoying a perfect summer with his best friend David Chu. David and Paul could hardly be more different -- David is a risk taker and Paul would rather stay at home and read comics -- but they still find ways to make their friendship work. Their comfortable harmony is thrown for a loop with the arrival of two looming villains -- Swain, the meanest kid in the neighborhood, and the movie Jaws. Swain starts hanging out with David, which makes Paul start to worry about his perceived wimpiness. In an effort to prove his bravery, he asks his dad to take him to see Jaws, the summer blockbuster horror movie that everyone is talking about, and it terrifies him. Suddenly, Paul is seeing the shark everywhere, and it starts bullying him into being more "macho" to fit in with Swain and David. Will he ever "man up"?

As a reader who was not alive in the summer of 1975, I was captivated by the setting that Paul Gilligan created and all of the specific details that make the era come to life. Beyond the incredible setting, Paul, David, and all their friends were realistic characters in this coming of age memoir. This story, mostly about friendship, growing up, and confronting toxic masculinity, will be popular with readers who like other graphic novel memoirs.

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