Coming-of-age meets cosmic horror; unforgettably striking, both visually and emotionally.
An inquisitive girl encounters strange and monstrous phenomena while exploring a decaying shopping center.
When Hailey, an Australian tween, is dropped off by her mum at a low-budget holiday childcare program in a shuttered mall, she isn’t enthused. Plucky and adaptable (and one of the oldest kids in attendance), she easily evades adult supervision and meets Jen, an enigmatic teen who promises to show her more interesting things amid the urban decay. Eager to prove herself to someone older, Hailey follows Jen deeper into the expansive, crumbling complex. Meanwhile, the other children make a disturbing discovery: The building is infested with grotesque organisms that defy scientific explanation. Soon it becomes clear that something otherworldly is due to awaken, and Hailey and Jen lean on their tentative new friendship as they face the impending calamity. Gooch’s distinctive cinematic style of visual storytelling is both sweeping enough to convey the incomprehensible scale of the skin-crawling horrors the characters face and also intimate enough to deliver poignant moments with impact. Color is inventively used as a storytelling device—shades of muted blues and reds alternate across and within layouts to denote shifts in perspective and create palpable tension. Hailey and Jen have light complexions with black hair and read Asian; there is racial diversity among the supporting and background characters.
Coming-of-age meets cosmic horror; unforgettably striking, both visually and emotionally. (Graphic horror. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781603095341
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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