SIDEQUESTED

When people battle one another, it summons magic, and the power is trapped by the Weavers—but 18-year-old librarian-in-training Charlie prefers to avoid conflict.

Charlie’s teal hair, the result of a fight gone wrong, is a constant reminder of why. But everything changes when she’s reclaimed by her birth father, the King’s Blade, from her humble life as a carpenter’s daughter. She’s whisked off to the royal court, where the sheltered Prince Leopold develops a crush on her. Trouble is, he’s already betrothed to someone else—but he’s too naïve to realize he might start a war if he doesn’t honor the marriage contract. Resourceful Charlie goes to rescue Leopold’s fiancée, physically strong, pink-haired Princess Robin, from a tower, but it turns out that Robin’s witch-queen mother only put her there for tradition’s sake. Robin’s mother gives the three young people a quest: Discover the source of magic. Two talking animal companions—a vulture and a dragon—round out their party. The medievalesque setting feels original while evoking classic genre elements, and readers will appreciate the plentiful humor, crackling dialogue, and budding romance. This series opener leaves open elements in the narrative to be explored in subsequent entries. Presser’s paneling work is inventive, and the characters’ faces and body language are highly expressive, although the visual style is inconsistent. Charlie’s mother has dark brown skin, and her father reads white; her skin tone is medium brown. Robin and Leopold present white.

A hoot of an adventure.