Sumptuous visuals and intriguing ideas will leave readers hungry for more time in the Snowlands.
A young wolf strikes out on her own in this first installment of a graphic-novel series.
Meroz’s work opens with the line, “The Snowlands are a dangerous place for little creatures,” and at its story’s center is a young wolf cub named Feba, who’s unquestionably in danger herself. She’s orphaned soon after her birth and ostracized by most of her pack for her white fur, which wolves see as a bad omen. The harsh winter has resulted in a severe shortage of sheep in the area, which has left the pack hungry and desperate for a scapegoat. Despite appeals to reason from her late mother’s allies, Feba finds herself on the run, cast out of the only home she’s ever known; soon, she’s caught in a double-crossing lynx’s trap alongside a moody snow leopard called Usha and a comical wild cat named Batu (which is also the only word he ever utters). The trio narrowly escapes several harrowing incidents together, largely thanks to Feba’s courage. Despite the fact that Usha insists that “leopards are always alone,” she reluctantly allows Feba and Batu to tag along with her on her personal mission: to find the all-knowing and mysterious Seeress, who she hopes will help her to find her own lost cub. As the unlikely trio make their way through the wintry, mountainous terrain, they encounter bears, pandas, crocodiles, monkeys, and badgers, some of whom are more deadly than others. Meanwhile, Feba’s pack continues to face misfortune as a mysterious force kidnaps their cubs and endangers their best warriors. The two plotlines dovetail in a surprising final conflict in which Feba must prove her worth.
Meroz’s background as an animator shines through in this graphic novel’s page-turning action sequences, and artist Fogel and colorist Comodo use their considerable skills to turn desolate landscapes into rich, engrossing images. The numerous adversaries that the main trio of characters encounter are truly sinister, and they’re just the right amount of scary for middle-grade readers. That said, the youngest of those readers may be frightened by some of the work’s more intense and bloody imagery. As an outsider with outsized courage, Feba is a classic, lovable protagonist, and it’s easy to root for her from the start. In the end, though, it’s Usha, the snow leopard, who has the most moving character arc, as her quest to find her lost son becomes a bittersweet story of accepting the world’s natural order. In the second half of the book, Meroz introduces an element of mysticism and a surprising twist on the order of the food chain, but he may have bitten off more than these critters can chew over the course of a single story. His ideas are extremely clever, but their ingenuity gets a bit lost in the final act’s rush of reveals, incantations, and explained motivations. Still, Meroz successfully delivers intriguing characters and necessary worldbuilding for a series that promises to be as likable as its lead character.
Sumptuous visuals and intriguing ideas will leave readers hungry for more time in the Snowlands.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 210
Publisher: manuscript
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story.
Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she’ll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.
While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school’s preoccupation with swimming—from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can’t swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel’s bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree’s deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor—a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans’ relationship with swimming—who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school’s swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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