Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knigh

Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight is the story of Lucia who dreams of being a valiant knight just like her grandfather. The only problem is that her grandfather may not have been an actual knight; according to her mother, he may have just been a crazy old man who disgraced the family name by repeatedly causing commotion in their town. Lucia refuses to accept this characterization, especially once she finds his old helmet in the attic and finds herself able to see all sorts of mythical creatures when she puts it on. After becoming suspicious that the town mayor is up to no good, she dons her grandfather’s helmet to help figure out what he’s up to. She soon learns that her instincts about the mayor were right, and she sets out to stop the evil spirits that threaten her town.

Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight is by the same author as Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and Four Eyes, both of which are hugely popular in my intermediate school library. I really appreciate finding graphic novel authors whose work is reliably engaging and age-appropriate. So many fun titles are aimed at younger audiences, and, while Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight will certainly appeal to younger readers as well, there is plenty to discuss with older readers. I have already passed this book on to a handful of grade 8 students and have received some excellent feedback. Many reminded me of their pop-culture reference point: Disney/Pixar’s 2017 film Coco. Many of the Mexican cultural references made in the book are ones these readers already know.

According to the author notes, Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight is illustrator Magaña’s first graphic novel, and I sincerely hope it’s not the last. Her character’s faces are expressive and detailed, and I particularly loved the pages where various Mexican spirits are present. With stunning colours and layers of interesting elements, she manages to create a three-dimensional feeling on the pages.

Aside from Lucia’s main storyline, Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight also focuses on friendship. In particular, it illustrates the bond between Lucia and her friend Sandro who faithfully stands by her even when her family doesn’t. Sandro, himself, has a significant hurdle to overcome as a male ballet dancer whose family doesn’t approve of the pastime. He’s a nicely developed secondary character, one with a personality, wisdom, and motivations of his own. I appreciate the challenge it must be to give distinct personalities to characters in a graphic novel, as the authors have fewer words with which to do so. Between Sandro and Lucia’s Abuela, Terciero has done a great job of giving Lucia a strong foundation of friends and family to lean on when she needs to—although the coolest thing about her is that much of what she needs comes from within.