The Leak

by Saily Marrero

The Leak is a middle grade school graphic novel about journalism and water pollution. With Kate Reed Petty’s writing and Andrea Bell’s lively, colorful, expressive, and engaging illustrations, the story is easy to follow for younger audiences.

At its core, it is a story about journalistic integrity, ethics, and the fight against misinformation. However, it is unclear if the authors were successful in demonstrating the consequences of spreading misinformation. In chapter 1 the audience is introduced to the rules of journalism: “Objectivity … accuracy … check your biases … check your facts …transparency … honesty. If you make a mistake, issue a retraction…, and always keep your eye out for a story” (p.20-22). While Ruth begins with good intentions and reports solely on the facts she investigates, her journalistic integrity wavers halfway through, and it becomes unclear if her stories have sufficient valid evidence to back it up. While we see her find credible sources about the country club’s role in polluting the lake, the same cannot be said about the spa and the other businesses in town. Despite this, she gets rewarded by the adults in her life. The only real consequence she receives are from lying about having a boyfriend. She’s also grounded for “trespassing” the country club, but not for her lack of ethics. To this end, I think the topic of journalism and misinformation could have been handled better with a clearer storyline.

Along with Ruth’s journalistic endeavors, the book explores water pollution and the negative effects on the town’s residents. There are mentions of real-life example like toxic waste affecting residents in West Virginia and Flint, Michigan’s water crisis. On page 110-113, there is a very brief explanation of what happened in Flint, Michigan but offers no further details. The same occurs when Ruth’s teacher discovers the town’s tap water had unsafe levels of chromium, lead, and barium. Although this explains Ruth’s previously unexplained cavities and the higher incidence of cancer among adults, the book does not explain which specific chemical is responsible for the cavities or cancer, nor does it explain how else these chemicals can affect people in the community.

In the end, The Leak is a sanitized story for middle grade audiences about water pollution. However, if the audience is ready to read about gossip about kissing and “penis” jokes (p. 26-27), then they are also ready to learn about the very real extent of water pollution.

Reviewer’s Suggested Further Reading

Denchak, M. (2024). Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know. Natural Resources Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know#update

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022). Lead poisoning: Spot symptoms and limit exposure-lead poisoning. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717

Chemical Safety Board. (2016). CSB Releases Final Report into 2014 Freedom Industries Mass Contamination of Charleston, West Virginia Drinking Water; Final Report notes Shortcomings in Communicating Risks to Public, and Lack of Chemical Tank Maintenance Requirements – General News – News | CSB. Chemical Safety Board. https://www.csb.gov/csb-releases-final-report-into-2014-freedom-industries-mass-contamination-of-charleston-west-virginia-drinking-water-final-report-notes-shortcomings-in-communicating-risks-to-public-and-lack-of-chemical-tank-maintenance-requirements-/

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Saily Marrero, M.S.I. is the Nursing & Health Studies, Psychology, and Biology Librarian at the University of Miami. In her free time, she enjoys reading graphic novels and practicing yoga.