A thought-provoking, heart-rending science fiction/romance mashup.
Young love across the multiverse.
In mid-1990s Texas, Ludo Carre, the son of a mechanic father and military police mother, meets Arlo Quinones at a barbecue. The chemistry is immediate, and the two young teens bond over a video game. As they get older, they begin dating until Ludo’s family is transferred to another base a few hours away. Like many relationships, theirs does not stand the challenge of distance. Years later, Ludo’s family returns to Arlo’s base, and he learns that she is missing. Desperate, he begins to search for her. Ludo learns that Arlo has become unmoored from time and can exist simultaneously within different timelines. As he struggles to understand, he discovers that maybe the only way to be with her is to let her go. With cinematically styled, full-color illustrations, this offering deftly captures the angst of adolescent love and the force and volatility of teenage emotions. While readers may easily develop a visceral connection to Arlo and Ludo, certain details are conspicuously absent, such as why Arlo can time-hop (although a possible military connection is hinted). As the narrative jumps among timelines, sometimes there are explicit cues of a temporal shift, other times not, demanding a close reading. Quibbles aside, this is a fun, fast-paced ride that should leave its audience ruminating about time, coincidence, and love. Ludo presents white; Arlo is cued as Latinx.
A thought-provoking, heart-rending science fiction/romance mashup. (Graphic science fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62010-731-7
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A captivating read for teens, especially those who enjoy e-sports.
A talented gamer hides her identity and competes in an e-sports tournament.
Sixteen-year-old Vicky Tan lives in the shadow of her older brother, Virgil, an e-sports champion and her legal guardian. Virgil always speaks for her, believes she hates video games, and chooses food she doesn’t like, making it hard to communicate with him. Little does he know, Vicky has a secret: She not only loves playing Xenith Orion, the game he also plays, she’s extremely talented and dreams of one day playing on stage and winning a tournament. Between her brother’s unpredictability and the harassment and scrutiny women face in the male-dominated field, Vicky prefers playing as Aegis, her powerful alter ego. When the game developers announce an open tournament, Vicky and some new friends have the chance to realize their dreams. This is an emotion-filled story of family, friendship, growth, and identity based on a popular webcomic. Even readers unfamiliar with gaming will be able to enjoy it, as it includes enough explanation and background information. As the story develops, the misogynistic tendencies of the e-sports world are exposed, bringing awareness to the issue. Virgil and Vicky’s sibling relationship also portrays the fine line between being protective and overbearingly toxic. Vicky and Virgil are cued Chinese American; there is a diverse cast of secondary characters.
A captivating read for teens, especially those who enjoy e-sports. (Graphic fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5248-7649-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material.
An illustrated reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most memorable tragedies.
From the very beginning of this clever adaptation, effort is made to prioritize accessibility of both the manga form and the classic Shakespearean play: The frontmatter briefly highlights the reading direction of the panels, and characters are labeled when introduced, coming to life via a striking combination of early modern Venetian dress; quintessential manga hairdos and facial expressions; and pronounced linework. Like the rest of the series, this account of Othello remains faithful to the original. The black-and-white illustrations allow for Iago’s conniving manipulations to manifest visually as well as animating characters’ bigotry in impactful, distressing ways. However, there are shortcomings: Where the original text may use parentheticals and asides to progress the story, the occasional appearance of parentheses in speech bubbles are a distracting reminder that comics utilize storytelling tools that haven’t been fully adopted here. Likewise, panel after panel of Othello’s turn to violence and his enraged face obscured by shadow provide a poignant dramatic effect but seem to exacerbate prejudices inherent to both the play and medium. Not only is the titular character visually distinguished from other characters by his shading, hair, lips, and overall size, unfortunately neither Shakespeare nor the illustrator seem wholly prepared for a contemporary conversation regarding racial representation in one of literature’s most infamous depictions of othering.
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material. (adapter’s notes, character designs) (Graphic fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-947808-13-3
Page Count: 420
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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