Intense but uneven.
An 1880s traveling circus star wishes to be more than a monster on display.
Born with feathers, a beak, and solid black eyes, Avita is the apple of her father’s eye and his circus’s most profitable act, biting the heads off live chickens for crowds. The book’s opening lavishly sets the stage, including the circus’s garish delights—such as star stripper Luna, Avita’s beautiful, icy older sister, described as being “sex itself” even at 14 and working the “kootchie tent” since before her first period. Her brother—“born with dwarfism” but too many physical ailments to perform—is the circus’s brainy manager and their father’s punching bag. Avita’s first-person, past-tense narration vacillates wildly between being a true believer in her ringmaster father’s vision and a more jaded view; the end result is jarring. Other characters’ viewpoints include both the past and present tenses. Most interesting about Avita’s characterization is how she views her “hideous” face as a blessing even as she wishes people would look past it; less interesting is her leaning into self-objectification. Avita’s first crush kick-starts her quest to be seen as more than a monster as her family travels to a portentous city—and a showdown with their greatest rival. Surprisingly humanizing at heart is the unraveling family’s dynamic, set amid a coarse, exploitative environment run by a charismatic, tyrannical showman. Unfortunately, Avita’s eventual triumphant ending rings hollow and pat. Central characters are cued White; there is diversity in the supporting cast.
Intense but uneven. (Fabulism. 17-adult)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9235-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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