A stirring fable about fighting and surviving the horrors of depression, both literal and figurative.
A teenage girl suffering from depression and tormented by ghostly visions confronts a looming supernatural threat.
Japanese American Cleo Newman’s severe depression and anxiety make even simple existence hard: She struggles with panic attacks and is plagued by suicidal thoughts. On top of that, she’s been seeing things—terrifying monsters and spirits—and no matter how much progress she makes with her psychiatrist, Dr. Davis, who’s Black, they never seem to leave her alone. At the encouragement of her white adoptive father, Cleo attempts to reintegrate into her prestigious magnet high school in Westchester, New York. But as her visions intensify, her life falls apart further, and she starts to fear she’s truly lost her mind. Meanwhile, her father is desperate to rescue Cleo from her anguish but struggles with how he can help. Cryptic phone calls with a figure from the family’s past in Kagoshima, Japan, about the origins of Cleo’s visions only serve to confuse him further. When her visions breach the physical world, Cleo must draw on every strength to neutralize a world-ending threat. The expressive panel layouts highlight the action sequences, and the full-color illustrations paint the spectrum of emotions from washed-out depression to cold, sharp panic to vivid and triumphant victory.
A stirring fable about fighting and surviving the horrors of depression, both literal and figurative. (content note, cover gallery, psychiatrist’s note, resources) (Graphic paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781534397774
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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
A fun, twisty mystery with deep undertones.
At a school for both human and paranormal teens, a human starts displaying clairvoyant abilities.
Cam and his best friend, Al, are finally at the same school again for sophomore year. Despite his mom’s disapproval of Cam’s interest in all things paranormal, Cam’s loyalty to Al, who’s a brown-skinned nonbinary witch, is steadfast. Cam also has a crush on werewolf Mateo, who’s cued Latine. But when Cam, who presents white, has a terrifying vision of a stabbed woman, he’s no longer a human on the periphery of paranormal society—he’s the first clairvoyant in the area in a century. Suddenly, a local psychic guild and a coven are courting him like he’s a star athlete choosing a college. As Cam explores the possibilities, he befriends members of each organization in a sweet chosen family arc. But can his friends help him figure out the details from his first vision and prevent a murder? In this universe, queerness is accepted without question. Instead, anti-paranormality acts as a metaphor for homophobia, manifesting as forced outing, systemic oppression of paranormal people, and even conversion therapy. The novel also explores the problematic nature of stereotyping by humans, who label werewolves aggressive, sprites mean-spirited, psychics detached, and witches immoral.
A fun, twisty mystery with deep undertones. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781665950947
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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