In a densely populated teen-lit landscape of werewolves, vamps and unrequited love, this doesn’t stand out, but it will...
A graphic adaptation of Leitich Smith’s werewolf-vampire-culinary thriller from a new point of view.
In this retelling, illustrated by the capable Doyle, readers are privy to teenage werewolf Kieren’s viewpoint, whereas the original novel was told through the eyes of his love interest, Quincie. In a somewhat alternative Austin, Texas, werepeople and vampires mingle in everyday society. Kieren, a werewolf-human hybrid, is at a crossroads in his adolescent life: He must leave human society to join a wolf pack, though he is in love with his best friend, Quincie, a tragically beautiful human orphan. When a rash of murders and disappearances hits too close to home, Kieren is suspected, who resolves he will try to unearth the real killer and save Quincie from whatever evil lurks in their midst. Though fans of the original might enjoy hearing the tale from Kieren’s perspective, readers unfamiliar with the novel may feel a bit left out; the segues between scenes can be abrupt and confusing, and some details are quickly glossed over, giving this adaptation the feel of a book-to-movie type of condensation, in which previous knowledge of the prose is an utter necessity.
In a densely populated teen-lit landscape of werewolves, vamps and unrequited love, this doesn’t stand out, but it will likely find its readership. (Graphic supernatural romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4114-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Inviting enough to make readers seek out the novel—which means Heuet has done his job.
This comic-book version of Proust’s masterpiece caused quite a stir when it first appeared in France, but the hoopla is undeserved. Heuet’s adaptation is neither a disgrace nor a work of genius; it’s simply a respectable (and respectful) graphic narrative much in the vein of the old Classics Illustrated titles: heavy on text and somewhat generically drawn. This slim book adapts only the first two sections of Swann’s Way, the “overture” and “Combray”; a dozen or so more volumes are promised. The artist and his American publisher have made some odd choices. With so many fine English translations to chose from, NBM instead commissioned a new one from Joe Johnson, who begins by ignoring the now more accepted (and more accurate) overall title, In Search of Lost Time. This is especially odd because the translation is in general quite literal. The artist’s main error is more serious: he chooses a visual style totally unsuited to his characters and their creator’s prose. Everyone here has little dot eyes and dash mouths, a visual homage to Herge’s Tintin that makes no sense, shatters our feel for the period, and cheapens the intensity of Proust’s internalized narrative. Nonetheless, Heuet’s version succeeds quite well as a beginner’s guide to Proust: we get the famous magic lantern of the narrator’s spoiled childhood, the equally famous madeleine, and an introduction to the two “ways” of Combray. Heuet captures Proust’s strong sense of social order and also his delight in the eccentricities of those around him, from his hypochondriacal aunt to the unsuitably married Swann. Some of the landscapes are kitschy, but the city scenes are well studied. The only real visual challenge here is distinguishing among the characters.
Inviting enough to make readers seek out the novel—which means Heuet has done his job.Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56163-278-3
Page Count: 72
Publisher: NBM
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
Hammond (stories: Breathe Something Nice, 1997, not reviewed) definitely goes for the baroque here. Overwrought and crammed...
Incest, suicide, and a dead baby—who could ask for anything more in a first novel?
Theodora Mapes writes copy for the kind of children’s catalogues that feature perfect velvet dresses and wooden toys. She’s not amused by the irony when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant: any child of hers will have more than its share of psychological baggage. Her own mother, Marian, committed suicide when Theo was eight. Her cold, remote father denies it still, though he does admit his dead wife had a drinking problem. Theo can relate to that: she’s separated from husband Jackson, a phlegmatic midwesterner with an unquenchable thirst for beer. Living in southern California after leaving their Colorado home, Theo seeks the truth about the deaths of her mother and her baby sister Charlotte. The family is less than forthcoming: Dad says only that babies died more often in those days; older brother Corb is closemouthed to the extreme; even Evan, their garrulous former housekeeper, has nothing to add. Theo consoles herself with former boyfriend Gregg, churns out precious, adjective-laden copy, and continues her search for any concrete information about her mother’s demise. She happens upon a cache of medical and psychological evaluations and learns that Marian had attempted suicide several times, undergoing electroshock treatment and a stint in a mental hospital before succeeding. Then Theo finds her mother’s letters and discovers that not only had her grandfather raped Marian and younger sister Lyla, he’d done the same to four-year-old Theo. But wait There’s worse to come, as Marian’s correspondence continues with confessions of her own lurid misdeeds. Nothing daunted, Theo gives birth in due time to a daughter and showers her with healthy mother love and . . . milk.
Hammond (stories: Breathe Something Nice, 1997, not reviewed) definitely goes for the baroque here. Overwrought and crammed with often revolting detail.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57962-034-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Permanent Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
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