Blood and gore, sure—but also a lot of emotional substance.
Realities of Indigenous life delivered via ghastly campfire stories.
Author and illustrator Twin, a member of the Swan River First Nation, a Cree community in Alberta, plays with light, shadow, and genre in his debut graphic novel. With the flick of a lighter, readers are transported to a dark riverside where a group of Cree teens, illuminated only by the flames of a campfire, start telling stories. There are the usual suspects—mischievous spirits, a ghost, shapeshifters, and demons. By paying special attention to water and the weather, Twin ensures that readers are reminded of the vastness of nature and the consequences of disrespecting it. Drawing from Cree folklore, he helps readers recognize that the monsters of the Indigenous world are often rooted in reality. With enough ghastly supernatural images to appease true horror fans, the book also takes a journey into the real-life issues haunting Indigenous people, with its nods to breaking the cycles of intergenerational trauma and highlighting the underrepresentation of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in public awareness. This graphic novel is the rare sort of work that can be read and digested easily but that also provides the cautionary tales and allegory that elevate horror to something that remains long after one has finished reading. The visually appealing and atmospheric artwork sustains the narrative through many spreads that feature little or no text.
Blood and gore, sure—but also a lot of emotional substance. (Graphic horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781772620870
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Emanata
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointingly uneven.
A group of teenagers sets out to find answers surrounding their sleepy town’s haunted past.
When high school golden couple Brad and Shelley are found dead at the abandoned Carrington Manor, the residents of the quiet California town of Sanera are panicked. Quarterback Brad was at the old house hoping to film the Carrington Ghoul for his show, Truly Haunted. Seniors Cam, Jonesy, and Amber, along with new girl Buffy, decide to solve the murders themselves, leading them to a series of terrifying discoveries. After an explosive beginning, the plot tapers off into an overly repetitive narrative that contains more telling than showing. Debut author Wood creates characters with thoughtfully imagined backgrounds, such as Jonesy’s mom’s alcoholism, that unfortunately aren’t integrated into the plot or explored beyond giving the teens reasons to be away from home. Similarly, many characters have traumatic pasts that will intrigue readers, but those backstories remain underdeveloped. Still, the action scenes and detailed descriptions of Carrington Manor are engaging. The story contains positive queer representation: Amber is bisexual, and Cam and Jonesy begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another in a growing relationship containing touching moments. The accessible writing alternates among several points of view. Most characters present white, and a mention of Amber’s braids may be intended to cue that she’s Black.
Disappointingly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798225006143
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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