A girl and a witch go on a quest to reunite the witch with her missing powers.
Lelek is a witch who travels through the land cheating townsfolk to survive. Sanja witnesses her conflict with a disgruntled customer and the magical fight that ensues. Lelek, after seeing how expertly Sanja wields a sword, kidnaps Sanja so that she can learn from her how to fight. Sanja insists that Lelek stop cheating people. The girls decide to move from town to town challenging witches to battles and charging spectators for tickets as they seek to restore Lelek’s missing magic. Along the way, they make friends and enemies, fall in love, and learn to trust. As Sanja’s past catches up to them, the girls’ journey takes a turn for the worse, and Sanja must save Lelek’s life. Zabarsky’s (contributor: Tim'rous Beastie, 2017) illustrations give texture to the abundant, fantastical natural setting. A mix of bright pastels and dark panels set the tone for this eccentric story. Dream sequences and flashbacks provide in-depth insights into Sanja and Lelek, furthering their characterizations and their relationship to one another. The minimal text will occasionally force readers to pay close attention to the visual cues and the meandering plot. Lelek is brown skinned and Sanja is white and fat; secondary characters are diverse in skin tone.
A charmingly illustrated story with a strolling pace. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11999-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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BOOK REVIEW
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
The timeless tale of the young and disaffected Danish prince who is pushed to avenge his father’s untimely murder at the hands of his brother unfolds with straightforward briskness. Shakespeare’s text has been liberally but judiciously cut, staying true to the thematic meaning while dispensing with longer speeches (with the notable exception of the renowned “to be or not to be” soliloquy) and intermediary dialogues. Some of the more obscure language has been modernized, with a glossary of terms provided at the end; despite these efforts, readers wholly unfamiliar with the story might struggle with independent interpretation. Where this adaptation mainly excels is in its art, especially as the play builds to its tensely wrought final act. Illustrator Kumar (World War Two, 2015, etc.) pairs richly detailed interiors and exteriors with painstakingly rendered characters, each easily distinguished from their fellows through costume, hairstyle, and bearing. Human figures are generally depicted in bust or three-quarter shots, making the larger panels of full figures all the more striking. Heavily scored lines of ink form shadows, lending the otherwise bright pages a gritty air. All characters are white.
A solid introduction for budding lovers of the Bard. (biography of Shakespeare, dramatis personae, glossary) (Graphic novel. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-93-81182-51-2
Page Count: 90
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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