Jane, The Fox & Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault

I hardly know where to begin with this exceptional graphic novel about bullying, which is set in Quebec and has been translated from the original French. I’d like to frame its cover and put it on my bedroom wall. Does it make sense to describe the style as both elegant and crude? That’s how it appears to me; the plain sadness in the eyes of the main character is immediately affecting.

Hélène, who is permanently ostracised and cannot confide in anyone, finds herself in every bullied child’s nightmare: school camp. Things pan out as she expects them to – she’s alone, finds solace only in the pages of her current read, Jane Eyre, and is the object of derision – until a glimmer of hope that she’s not in fact repellent turns up in the form of a beautiful red fox. Although the fox doesn’t stay, it signals a positive change for Hélène.

Bookworms and loners of all ages will identify with Hélène. Readers of 9+ will love her idiosyncratic voice, thanks to a very sympathetic translation, but this is a book not just for children.