Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich

Imagine a world where there are two realities--a real and virtual one. And in these two worlds characters have the option, better yet the privilege to take on different lives by simply placing a pair of specially made goggles over their eyes. In Aaron Alexovich's comic, Kimme66, this is how the protagonist 14-year old Telly Kade lives her life in the 23rd century. With these virtual reality goggles, she escapes her reality-world where no one pays her any attention; not even her family to become someone else in the viral-world where she's important, liked, and loved. Here, Alexovich creates this alter-world (referred to as lairs in the text) in which Telly can be anyone she wants to be with ease. In her lair she has two friends who knows of her existence Nekokat and Kimmie66. They have been friends for years and know of each others deepest and darkest secrets, or so Telly thought.

In this comic book, Alexovich creates a narrative full of suspense that is unrelenting in combination with the vivid images that communicates more than words to readers. A plot with such twists and turns benefits from this type of mixed media with words and images. When Telly receives a suicide note from Kimmie66 she doesn't know what to believe, and the illustrations accompanied with the prose visually shows her agony. How can she research Kimmie's death any further if she only knows her by her screen name in their alter-world? Telly wants to believe that Kimmie (given her sketchy personality) is simply pulling another one of her famous pranks, but when a girl in the real world commits suicide matching Kimmie's identity, Telly only knows one world where she can travel to learn the truth.

After some researching, Telly discovers that the history of the virtual world and the goggles have a direct link to Kimmie's family, but she needs her mysterious friend to figure out the relation. But where does she begin? Will Telly follow the avatars resembling Kimmie that continues to appear in various lairs? But how could Kimmie's avatar be alive if she's dead? It's questions like these that keeps readers engaged and wanting more of the story and characters, page after page.

Aaron Alexovich takes his readers on a visual ride as Telly searches for the truth behind her friend's life that she thought she knew so well. What could possibly make Kimmie take her own life? Or did she? This is the mystery that Telly's determined to solve in this science-fiction tale of worlds colliding and friendships being stretched to the limit.

As far as educational appeal goes, this novel can be integrated into a high school curriculum very easily because of the fresh material and subject matter that speaks to this age group. Kimmie66 offers what other novels leave up to readers to create in their imaginations--images of characters and settings. For students who are visual learners, this novel would enhance their reading experience and compliment their learning style. Overall, the author thematically integrates topics that should be addressed in high school such as: searching for identity, sense of belonging, and suicide. Too often, these topics are overlooked and left out of the traditional high school curriculum. Like Gene Yang coming of age novel, American Born Chinese, this book serves as a means to address these very important social issues.