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
Widely published illustrator and comic-strip artist Kuper does more than merely provide pictures for nine of Kafka's narratives. He edits the text sharply, and concentrates various descriptions into his singular scratchboard drawings. The result is unevensome pieces nicely capture Kafka's cityscapes in angular designs reminiscent of ``The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.'' Others update the time and place, an idea that works particularly well in ``The Trees,'' a striking tale of indifference to the homeless, with menacing images of police brutality. The project, on the whole, seems a bit hastily conceived; each story begins with a powerful splash page that defies conventional graphic panel design, but then the stories often peter out, with images less and less fully imagined. Hand-lettering would also have improved the visual impact of these black and white texts. Nevertheless, a worthy companion volume to R. Crumb's recent Introducing Kafka.
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-56163-125-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: NBM
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A prominent critic of Chicano literature tries his hand at a novela conventional romance that tarts itself up as a postmodern study in obsession and perspective. Bruce-Novoa's debut has the makings of a modest, sociologically interesting coming-of-age narrative: the story of an assimilated Mexican-American boy in Los Angeles during the '50s and '60s. Instead, the author overreaches and turns his protagonist's first love into a goddess of mythic proportions. She's the ``American Dream,'' the blond ideal, a madonna too good to defile. Later, when Paul Valencia becomes Paul Valence, a successful screenwriter, he even claims to have inspired George Lucas's unattainable blond driving a convertible in American Graffiti. And that's just a small indication of where this ambitious novel goes wrong. The first half of the story nicely recounts the innocence and frustrations of Catholic schoolboysthe sports, the psycho nuns and the nurturing ones, and, of course, the early awareness of girls. Paul's great love is one Ann Marisse, a blond Italian- American from a large and friendly family. Despite some furtive kisses and gropings, Paul saves his pent-up sexuality for a series of less perfect girls until Ann Marisse finally gets wind of his other life and they eventually split. The novel abruptly shifts to many years later, with Paul realizing that all his film work derives from the same primal scene: his first look at Ann Marisse. Though married to a famous European actress, Paul still swoons for his ideal woman, now married to a childhood enemy. He finally returns from his long European exile to create his dreamscape in Carmel, though it's not clear whom he's enjoying it with at the self-consciously poetic end. A meta-level overlaycomplete with footnotes and commentaryweighs too heavily on an otherwise amiable and nostalgic narrative.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-55885-078-3
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Arte Público
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
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