In their lauded Banned Book Club, Korean creative team Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, with illustrator Ko Hyung-Ju, used the graphic novel format to tell Kim's gripping story of book club rebellion under martial law. Kim and Estrada inspiringly continue Kim's autobiographical journey in No Rules Tonight, this time illustrated by Estrada himself.
During Hyun Sook's 1983 college freshman year, Korean President Chun Doo-hwan's military dictatorship (1979-1988) made her literary quests life-threatening. No Rules Tonight opens in 1984, after the banned book club was disbanded. Although the government's draconian curfews have been lifted, "saying, thinking, watching, writing, or reading anything that the regime didn't approve of could still get me and my friends arrested, beaten, or even killed."
Hyun Sook feeds her curiosity and finds companionship through her involvement with the Masked Folk Dance Team: "I studied Talchum, a thousand-year-old art form that was like band, musical theater, dance, history, and activism all rolled up into one." As winter break approaches, the team prepares for their annual hiking trip, departing on Christmas Eve. The team's director, Hoon, gets arrested for not standing at attention--mandatory for everybody--during the daily 5 p.m. playing of the national anthem. Though Hoon's mistake was unintentional, his anti-authoritarian spirit won't be contained: just the day before, he shared Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving with Hyun Sook, complete with how-tos and contacts for reviving another banned book club. The team still heads to the mountains without their fearless leader, determined to have their remote adventures: "No parents, no teachers, hours from the nearest police station... what would you do with one night of freedom?" Trusting each other is still a challenge--what's with that creepy new kid?--but that trip "ended up changing everything."
Kim and Estrada highlight a sobering history: "The challenges we faced back then are just as relevant today," Kim's author's note insists. Kim is an inclusive storyteller who expands her own experiences through detailed examinations of her family, friends, acquaintances, and school. Her memories of team practices and performances are particularly resonant as she underscores the lifesaving power of art. Estrada displays that energy through full-color pages and comic panels that move, bend, and break, allowing the illustrations--and emotions--to spill out into uncontained full-page bleeds. He adroitly balances the all-too-real fear with humor, connection, and pure joy. --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada continue creatively collaborating to reveal Kim's inspiring experiences in 1980s Korea during a dangerous, totalitarian regime.