An original, genre-blending graphic novel for patient readers.
A girl’s ability to predict crime embroils her in a troubling experiment.
Rowan, who works on her family’s worm farm, is still mourning the violent murder of her mother 12 years ago. She has long since dropped the habit—instilled in her by her supposedly germophobic mom—of wearing red gloves out in the world. But now Rowan’s in her senior year of high school, and she discovers that the briefest contact of her hand against another person results in her having terrifying visions of death. Rowan is quickly whisked off to Rosewood, a boarding school, where she learns that she’s a Harrow, or a person gifted with the ability to see crimes before they occur. In this graphic novel that blends Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace with “Minority Report,” Rowan slowly learns that protection and rehabilitation are not Rosewood’s only goals, and that her mother’s fate might be connected to secrets she uncovered. The story is paced on the slower side, but the action builds up as Rowan realizes that the boy she has a crush on might soon be implicated in her secretive new world, and that her own family might be hiding something in plain sight. The muted grayscale art makes the touches of red pop, but some jerky transitions between action scenes can make it hard to follow the plot. Rowan reads white; Lucas has brown skin and curly black hair.
An original, genre-blending graphic novel for patient readers. (Graphic horror. 14-18)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781419760846
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 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
Bloody brilliant!
A girl who can see ghosts takes on a deadly challenge.
Everyone knows the tale: Wealthy Count Bastien Saphir, aka Monsieur Le Bleu, married and murdered three unsuspecting women before the fourth got away. They say Le Bleu was still laughing as his last wife’s brothers cut off his head. A century later, Mallory Fontaine gives tours of House Saphir and knows more than anyone about the family and their history. Count Armand Saphir, heir to the estate, seeks out Mallory and her elder sister, Anaïs, to assist at the family’s country estate, where Le Bleu’s ghost has returned to threaten the inhabitants. Armand hopes that the Fontaine family’s reputation as gifted witches means they can aid in this exorcism. Unfortunately, the sisters aren’t entirely truthful about their magical talents; their mother was renowned for her elixirs and talismans, but Mallory and Anaïs don’t possess her powers and make a living selling fake charms and spells. Still, Mallory agrees, betting on her legitimate ability to talk to ghosts and her affinity with the macabre. But as the gory sacrifices add up, it seems there may be more than a ghost that’s haunting the estate. Meyer takes the classic French folktale “Bluebeard” and expertly sprinkles in ghosts and otherworldly creatures to create an eerie tale with a side of steamy romance. The characters are full-bodied, possessing either winsome or terrifying auras, while the setting beautifully conveys a bewitching ambiance. Mallory and Armand present white.
Bloody brilliant! (guide to monsters) (Supernatural mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250320957
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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