Stylishly spooky and outrageously fun.
A novice witch invites the supernatural to her sleepy suburban town.
Trapped among “normies” most of the year, teenage Gwen rejoices when Halloween nears. After 11 months, the pink-haired witch’s skater besties can finally cross back over from the Hallowlands. The pair—vampire Miles and werewolf Sloane—come bearing enchanted objects, including a grimoire that will take Gwen’s “patchwork DIY magic” to the next level. When the trio prank a group of scaredy jocks, a “Helsing Jr” named Hiro seeks to expose them for his blog. “Spooky season’s about to go off!” as both spells and shenanigans fly. The playful turns dangerous, though, when Gwen’s magic goes haywire. Lawton flexes their skills as a storyboard artist to create a spooky but sweet story about the importance of relying on your friends, especially when you feel alone; Gwen’s frustration at having to conceal her magic from “normies” is palpable, but Miles and Sloane are supportive and encouraging. Though the tale is set in California, certain details—especially in the mall scenes—will feel delightfully familiar to mall rats and skate punks in many places. Dialogue grounds the story in the present and adds a touch of humor. Gwen has tan skin, Sloane is light-skinned (when in human form), Hiro has brown skin, and Miles has blue-tinged skin. The ending introduces a new character, teasing a sequel.
Stylishly spooky and outrageously fun. (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9780593524299
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze
Summer adventures begin when Bina accidentally locks herself out of her house in Larson’s newest middle-grade graphic novel.
The summer before eighth grade is a season of self-discovery for many 13-year-olds, including Bina, when her best friend heads off to soccer camp and leaves her alone to navigate a SoCal summer. Without athletic Austin around to steer the ship, Bina must pursue her own passions, such as discovering new bands and rocking out on her electric guitar. Unexpected friendships bloom, and new members are welcomed into her family. Though her sphere grows over the summer, friendship with Austin is strained when he returns, and Bina must learn to embrace the proverb to make new friends but keep the old. As her mother wisely observes, “you’re more you every day,” and by the end of summer Bina is more comfortable in her own skin and ready to rock eighth grade. Larson’s panels are superb at revealing emotional conflict, subtext, and humor within the deceptively simple third-person limited plot, allowing characters to grow and develop emotionally over only a few spreads. She also does a laudable job of depicting a diverse community for Bina to call home. Though Bina’s ethnicity is never overtly identified, her racial ambiguity lends greater universality to her story. (In the two-toned apricot, black, and white panels, Bina and her mother have the same black hair and gold skin, while her dad is white, as is Austin.)
A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze . (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30485-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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