Part mystery, part horror, this sly, psuedo-Victorian graphic novel is heavy on style but light on plot. Mundane Laundromat owner Salem Brownstone receives a telegram announcing the death of his estranged father, Jedediah, and a taxi brings him to his father’s home, an eerie, Gothic mansion with a circus encampment nearby. Upstairs, Salem encounters circus performer Cassandra Contortionist, who implores him to protect Jed’s “scrying ball,” an artifact preventing evil spirits of the Midnight City from entering our world. The rest of the book is a tour through Singh’s realization of the lush and grotesque scenery of the mansion, the circus and the Midnight City itself, as the opposing forces battle for the scrying ball. Occasional visual jokes, like Cassandra’s series of plot-related T-shirts and a label on the mansion’s doorbell reading “Antiquated Doorbell Mechanism,” bring an undercurrent of irony to the story’s moody atmosphere. Readers who, like Salem, “love the rum and unusual, the uncanny, the macabre” will find much to appreciate in the artwork; those looking for a plot of similar depth will be disappointed. (Graphic novel. 14 & up)
Pub Date: July 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4735-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
A heartfelt and emotional queer romance with a fresh paranormal twist.
Not even death can stop the love between two 16-year-old girls in Brighton, England, when one becomes a grim reaper.
Ashana Persaud, an Indo-Guyanese British girl, attends Whitehawk, a state school with a bad reputation. White redhead Poppy Morgan goes to posh Roedean. They meet when both are on school trips and hit it off right away, falling in love and planning their future. But when Ash dies on New Year’s Eve, she transforms into a grim reaper, working alongside two other teenage grim reapers to lead newly departed souls to Charon and his boat. They must avoid anyone they knew when they were alive, and they can only be seen in their previous, living forms by people who are about to die. Ash desperately wants to see Poppy again, but when she finally does, Poppy recognizes her. Ash’s new goal becomes to save Poppy from her impending fate even as the pair relish this second chance. The novel is split into two main sections, “Before” and “After.” Both are compelling, although they feel disjointed as readers meet several new characters in the latter half while Ash’s friends and family from the first part are sidelined. Still, it’s the romance that drives the story, and Ash and Poppy are so full of heart. Their feelings for each other are big and overwhelming, and this is an endearing and realistic representation of first love.
A heartfelt and emotional queer romance with a fresh paranormal twist. (Paranormal romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-86561-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games.
The game knows her darkest secret—and it might be trying to kill her.
Wracked with guilt over her little sister’s recent death, 17-year-old Vivian Reynolds leaps at the opportunity to play an online escape room horror game called Locked In that was anonymously emailed to her. In hopes that her return to streaming will help financially support her parents, Viv starts a practice playthrough by herself to test the waters. When the game asks her to confess a secret, Viv admits that she killed her sister. Uncanny events follow in the aftermath of her surreptitious confession, resulting in her parents and peers losing trust in her. With the help of Ash, a fellow social outcast, Viv becomes sure that a demonic clone is trying to ruin her life by committing heinous acts in her name. Told in Viv’s first-person perspective, the story has an eeriness that’s complemented by quippy jokes and gaming references. The plot twists are numerous and satisfying, helping to build suspense as readers try to figure out the mystery. Classic horror imagery is paired with a flawed protagonist who reckons with the guilt and grief caused by her habit of lying and her obsession with streaming. Viv’s mom is white, and her dad is Japanese American; Ash reads white.
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games. (content warning) (Horror. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9798890030764
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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