A timely and darkly funny political fable.
In Henley’s graphic novel, familiar nursery-rhyme characters confront a rising authoritarian dictator.
Set in a fairy-tale world caught in a ruthless ruler’s grip, the story opens with the community under strain as a Crooked Man—the ruler—creates widespread fear for the white sheep who are worried they’ll soon be “fleeced.” Bo Peep becomes the unlikely reporter of injustice, chronicling societal collapse and documenting a regime fueled by vanity, cruelty, and propaganda. The ruler’s cartoonish rages—“How could they protest ME?!”—shift into menace as the Crooked Man orders dissenting TV news anchors removed (“Get rid of this liar, too”) and a reporter disappears live on air. The ruler’s reckless retaliation escalates into a chemical disaster wiping out half the world (the Crooked Man denies it) and sparks a broader resistance and a mission to liberate the lambs. Parallel to this, Mary, having fled with her Little Lamb after dyeing its coat to conceal its true identity, confronts her guilt over running from the problem as revelations of Bo Peep’s arrest and torture expose the regime’s true brutality. The question becomes whether to fight or to run away, leading readers to consider how they would respond to this situation. The author’s color illustrations are surreal and exaggerated, which compliments the story’s menacing theme of authoritarianism; text-free pages allow the visuals to give readers space to absorb the plot and its connections to the real world. Though references to the current political landscape are occasionally too on-the-nose—like the golden statue of the Crooked Man mirroring his “gaudy” golden tower, or his fixation on “liars” and enemies—the story works extremely well. The blend of fairy-tale tropes and satirical exaggeration gives the narrative a playful bite and a distinctly contemporary political edge.
A timely and darkly funny political fable.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2025
ISBN: 9798267706612
Page Count: 170
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
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. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Immensely enjoyable.
The debut graphic novel from Mohamed presents a modern Egypt full of magical realism where wishes have been industrialized and heavily regulated.
The story opens with a televised public service announcement from the General Committee of Wish Supervision and Licensing about the dangers of “third-class wishes”—wishes that come in soda cans and tend to backfire on wishers who aren’t specific enough (like a wish to lose weight resulting in limbs falling from the wisher’s body). Thus begins a brilliant play among magic, the mundane, and bureaucracy that centers around a newsstand kiosk where a devout Muslim is trying to unload the three “first-class wishes” (contained in elegant glass bottles and properly licensed by the government) that have come into his possession, since he believes his religion forbids him to use them. As he gradually unloads the first-class wishes on a poor, regretful widow (who then runs afoul of authorities determined to manipulate her out of her valuable commodity) and a university student who seeks a possibly magical solution to their mental health crisis (but struggles with whether a wish to always be happy might have unintended consequences), interstitials give infographic histories of wishes, showing how the Western wish-industrial complex has exploited the countries where wishes are mined (largely in the Middle East). The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle. Charts and graphs nicely break up the reading experience while also concisely building this larger world of everyday wishes. Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout.
Immensely enjoyable.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-524-74841-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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PERSPECTIVES
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