Hidden Systems

An unnamed narrator marvels at “how little I know about everyday things” in the initial chapter of this illuminating graphic novel debut. According to the narrator, a hidden system is “something we don’t notice until it breaks”; when commonplace amenities such as water, electricity, and the internet are working the way they should, “we take for granted the benefits they provide some of us, and disregard the harm they cause others.” In subsequent chapters, Nott breaks down the origins, basic functioning, and cultural impact of each aforementioned industry into easily digestible graphs and panels, rendered in cyan lines reminiscent of technological and architectural blueprints. While these systems act as the foundation of society, however, the text posits that they can also be harbingers of “inequality and environmental harm.” A chapter on electricity, for example, touches on how hydropower, while not requiring carbon fuel, still causes “drastic disruption to the environment, local and Indigenous communities, and wildlife.” A necessary introductory approach to everyday systems that briefly interrogates the bias and inequalities imbedded within them. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)