Exit Wounds - Rutu Modan

Koby Franco is a taxi driver in Tel Aviv. Numi is an awkward rich girl who's just finishing up her military service. Together they embark on a search for Koby's estranged father, the suspected victim of a suicide bombing. In this full-colour graphic novel, mysteries are not entirely solved, the plot is not predictable, and more than one unlikely romance emerges. Palestine is never mentioned – as Modan explained in an interview: "People close themselves off from the political situation in order to cope." Instead it's the depoliticisation of her snapshots of Israeli life that reveal the political tensions underneath. Woven through this are interpersonal tensions: Koby's faded relationship with his dad following his mother's death; Numi's insecurities wrapped up in her failure to resemble a pretty blonde caricature - like her mother and sister. Modan's artwork is bold yet retains an engaging subtlety, and her text often gives us hints rather than direct statements, which make the story much more enjoyable to piece together.

Koby is not a terribly sympathetic protagonist, and his developing relationship with Numi seems somewhat unnecessary and uncomfortable. All the same, though, the plot is unusual enough to engage the reader, and its conclusion encourages us to fill in the blanks ourselves.