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Cecil Castellucci

Jose Pimienta

Soupy Leaves Home Paperback – May 2, 2017

by Cecil Castellucci (Author), Jose Pimienta (Illustrator)

24 ratings

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Set in 1932, this is the story of two misfits with no place to call home, who build a relationship during a train hopping journey from the cold heartbreak of their eastern homes toward the sunny promise of California.

Pearl "Soupy" Plankette ran away from her abusive father, but has nowhere to go until she stumbles upon a disguise that gives her the key to a new identity. Reborn as a boy named Soupy, she hitches her star to Remy "Ramshackle" Smith, a hobo who takes her under his wing. Ramshackle's kindness and protection go a long way to help Soupy heal from her difficult past. But Ramshackle has his own demons to wrestle with, and he'll need Soupy just as much as she needs him.

“A compelling graphic offering that explores relevant gender roles and self-identity through a historical lens.” – from the Kirkus Starred Review

"VERDICT A well-researched and richly illustrated runaway tale that will appeal to fans of escapist fiction and thoughtful readers."–Anna Murphy, ¬Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, From the School Library Journal review, March 2017

“Soupy Leaves Home tells the story of a time no longer familiar to us—a time of living the rails and simmering Mulligan Soup, a time of chosen names and secret languages—yet a tale that anyone with a longing heart and a restless spirit can relate to. It transports you magically to a place long gone, but its tale of poverty and survival are still as relevant as they ever were—the characters may be penniless, but they are so emotionally wealthy that this book leaves you filled with warmth, hope, and love.”—Gerard Way

“Castellucci’s heartfelt odyssey is a reckoning with death and identity on the tracks, brought to life by Pimienta’s patient, ever-evolving use of color. Soupy Leaves Home is for all restless souls hungry to start again.”—Nate Powell (March, Swallow Me Whole)

“A charming and optimistic slice of Americana.”—Hope Larson (Wrinkle in Time, Batgirl)

"I love Cecil Castellucci, she is crazy and cool and full of energy and heart, and so is all of her work. And Soupy Leaves Home may be one of her finest and most effecting works yet!”—Jeff Lemire

Reading age

8 - 12 years
Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Grade level

3 - 7
Dimensions

6 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches
Publisher

Dark Horse Books
Publication date

May 2, 2017
ISBN-10

1616554312
ISBN-13

978-1616554316
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cecil Castellucci is the author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, First Day on Earth, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, Stone in the Sky and the Eisner nominated Odd Duck. Her picture book, Grandma's Gloves, won the California Book Award Gold Medal. Her short stories have been published in Strange Horizons, YARN, Tor.com, and various anthologies including, Teeth, After, and Interfictions 2. She is the Children's Correspondence Coordinator for The Rumpus, a two time Macdowell Fellow and the founding YA Editor at The LA Review of Books.
In addition to writing books, she writes plays, makes movies, does performance pieces, and still occasionally rocks out. Born in New York City to French Canadian parents, she is a citizen of both America and Canada. Currently, she lives in Los Angeles. The author lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dark Horse Books (May 2, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1616554312
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1616554316
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,545,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,703 in Dark Horse Comics & Graphic Novels
- #9,148 in Children's Historical Fiction (Books)
- #10,742 in Children's Comics & Graphic Novels (Books)

Customer Reviews:
24 ratings

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Melissa

Graphic novel about finding community & yourself

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Soupy Leaves Home is a beautiful and moving story about a young girl named Pearl, who leaves an abusive home, cuts off her hair, and cross dresses as a boy known as Soupy, so she can ride the rails as a hobo safely during the Great Depression era. I picked this book up at Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) where the author and illustrator signed my copy, and having read the book, the things they included mean so much more. This story made me cry when Pearl emerges as someone "formed and steady and [she] truly [is]," but I was moved at other times too by the Ramshackle's magic, the gratitude him and Soupy displayed for the smallest of kindnesses, and their code of helping / sharing (with) others to the best of their ability. I especially loved the way Jose illustrated the magical way Ramshackle saw the world and the future, those pages and panels were bursting with life in a time when people had so very little. As with all of Cecil Castellucci's work, this story involves themes of learning who you are, becoming comfortable in that knowledge, and finding people who respect, love, and know you for who you are, even when you aren't confident with living openly with your true self. Pearl finds her community, and by doing so she helps others and becomes someone who can ask for what she wants / needs to her live a full life. This book also deals with some harder subjects like abuse and loss, but is ultimately hopeful. Highly recommended!

2 people found this helpful

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Matt Labarge

Beautifully told, beautifully illustrated.

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

A very original story, well worth reading.

Helpful

Lovely Self Contained Story

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2017

There have been some great graphic novels in the past five years set in the American Great Depression period of history. With Soupy leaves home, Cecil Castellucci explores the surprisingly close and self-regulated society of 1930s hobos and how they traveled the US via rail cars. There is quite a bit of pathos here with some magical realism mixed in. If the subject is perhaps highly over idealized, we still have a lovely story of finding oneself amidst hardship and loss to enjoy.

Young Pearl runs away from home, sporting a black eye from her abusive father. When she befriends a hobo, she is ushered into the world of the itinerant; those who seek freedom, are running from a disappointing or disturbing past, or have many other reasons for the nomadic existence. It's a life of jumping from car to car, making secret sign language to know which houses will give charity, and scrounging in trash cans for food. But for Pearl, renamed Soupy and dressed as a boy, it's a place where she finally finds a 'home'. But time is merciless and her beloved companion, old "ramshackle", is sick and she knows that her time with him is short. Will she find the courage to reveal her true self to Ram, or will she hide behind the clothes and pageboy cap of a boy forever?

Because this is a story with a healthy dose of magical realism, Ram will be exceedingly wise and true. He will find beauty in every part of the world and teach Pearl how to dream and be happy with the smallest of things. She will grow to love Ram even as she knows that he is dying. At the same time, she will become embroiled in hobo politics - one of them is betraying the group and a few near captures by the police are spelling disaster for the hobos. Pearl believes the rumors about who was behind the recent stabbings and unrest - but does she truly know the guilty party?

After picking the book to read, I was surprised to see that the author was Cecil Castellucci. I had greatly enjoyed her Tin Star YA science fiction novel and recognized the same deep pathos that she brings to her works in Soupy Leaves Home. Loneliness, outcasts, the desire to belong and be loved, and finding oneself are the hallmarks I've found in her work.

The artwork here is clean and very appropriate to the story. Simple but nuanced black and white lines are evocative of 1930s artwork without being slavish. A monochromatic color wash adds interest without overwhelming the illustration work. The text is sparing and doesn't overwhelm.

In all, this is a lovely self contained story that was highly researched by the author. At the end of the book is a nice explanation of hobo conventions, the society hierarchy, and some of the travails they faced in 1930s America. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Sad, but Hopeful....

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2017

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

I thought this was a lovely story. It's sad at times, but hopeful, overall. It's pretty much about a girl that runs away from home, because of abuse. She pretends to be a boy, in order to make it on the run. She meets many new people, some friends, some not, but one becomes a special friend.

Part of the ending bothered me a bit. I felt it was unrealistic for most young ladies in her position, and not something I'd overly recommend. I don't think things would turn out so well for most. This is Soupy's story, though, and it happened that way for her, so I won't complain too much. Not all of the ending bothered me, though. Part of it was wonderful.

As far as the illustrations go, I greatly enjoyed them. I loved the use of color. Most of the scenes are done in various shades of one color, but some are done in multiple colors, making those scenes especially whimsical. The color also gets cheerier as the story goes along.

While I love to occasionally add a graphic novel or two into my reading pile, I find most of them horrific and disappointing. This is one worth keeping around. I liked it, and I'm now curious to try out more of the graphic novels from Dark Horse.

Helpful

Graphic novel about homeless during the Great Depression

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2018

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

My kids are fans of graphic novels and they enjoyed this one. The story is about Soupy, a girl who gets away from a bad family situation and reinvents herself as a boy. She travels the rails with a homeless man who helps her and they both look for a brighter future.
The story is set during the Great Depression and definitely touches on the hardships people faced. It has a lot of information on how hobos traveled by train and survived during such a tough time in our history. I always enjoy a story that has some historical elements to it, allowing my kids and me to learn. The story is illustrated well and the panels do a good job of telling the story when the text can’t tell it all. Overall, the story is interesting and inspiring as Soupy manages to turn her fortunes around. It’s one that my kids will probably go back and read again and I’m glad we have it on our bookshelf.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Soupy Leaves Home

Reviewed in Canada on April 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

Graphic novel, sensitively done, beautifully told, of a girl who ran away as a teen from an abusive home, and who joined the hobos riding the rails in the 1930's, disguised as a boy. (I'm not sure I would actually give this book to a young girl in case she got the idea that she could do the same, and meet the same kinds of people! At least not without a very good conversation about the subject!)

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