Week 18 Reading

         "Laika" By Nick Abadzis
         This is the first graphic novel I've read in a while, (the others being the Adventures of Tintin) and I have come to enjoy graphic novels a lot. It is the true story of a dog in Russia originally named Kudryavka, who was born into a family, and was immediately know as a different kind of dog than the rest. She has a long story with many different owners in her life, and different well told sub-stories, but she eventually came into the hands of the Russian version of NASA (the IMPB) by the time she was an adult dog. After the launch of Sputnik 1, the Premier of Russia finds the propaganda importance of spacecrafts in the orbit of Earth. He then looks to the IMPB to get another object into into space in just a month, but this time with a dog in it. They find Laika as the best fit for the position, and quickly start training her for things she will endure in space. She makes many friendships with the workers at IMPB, and they soon come to realize that they can't afford to be so affectionate with the little dog.
         Laika is widely known as the first living organism out of Earth's atmosphere and to orbit the planet. The story is told in an interesting way, and it brings out a lot of emotions that are naturally between humans and dogs. From the standpoint of a graphic novel, the drawings aren't the prettiest, but it probably works better as a graphic novel than it would as a normal book. I highly recommend this book for anyone, no matter if you like graphic novels or have trouble reading them.
         Next week I will read "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger.