Visions of the Crow

Damon Quinn is in his senior year of high school and life is pretty chaotic. His mom is an alcoholic and rarely gives him any support. At school, he is constantly bullied by Marcus and a group of his friends. Journey is a new girl in his class, and she is determined to chat with him and try to be friendly despite Damon’s lack of interest in her. As well, Damon is dealing with some weird happenings, like a crow which seems to go everywhere with him and strange dreams that somehow are all mixed up with reality.

In the story, readers learn that Damon is part Métis and part Cree and that his mother left her dysfunctional family behind when she was 17 and pregnant. These facts help Damon understand his background a little and give him more empathy with his mother and with the generation which came before her and had to deal with residential schools. Only by getting to know his personal history and becoming comfortable with himself can Damon begin to deal with the problems around him at home and at school.

The dreams or visions Damon experiences take him to the spirit realm and let him meet his ancestors and elders in order to better cope with life. He moves backwards in order to move forwards. His relationships with his mom and with Journey will only become positive if Damon understands himself by understanding his indigenous culture and heritage.

The crow is a symbol of wisdom and is said to bring messages from the spirit world. One source also stated that crows often symbolize change or transformation in indigenous storytelling. Thus, the crow seems an appropriate spirit animal as Damon finds out more and more about his indigenous identity.

This graphic novel will appeal to a large group of young adult readers who enjoy the visual experience along with the written words. Indigenous teens searching for their roots and wanting to learn more about their culture will connect with the character of Damon. Non-indigenous readers will gain understanding of what life is like for a modern indigenous teen in an urban setting. Those who want to dig deeper may want to investigate some of the indigenous symbols used in the novel, such as the drum and the vision quest. Spirit animals, such as the crow and the black bear mentioned in the text, would also make an interesting topic for research.

Visions of the Crow feels rather incomplete, and the characters and setting are not described in depth. However, this is only the first novel of a series, and author Wanda John-Kehewin and illustrators Nicole Marie Burton and Kielamel Sibal will have future opportunities to fill in details and add to this intriguing coming-of-age story.