A stirring, eye-catching portrayal of growth.
A girl discovers she comes from a family of werewolves, starting her on a path to discovering her own abilities and history.
Black eighth grader Artemis “Artie” Irvin doesn’t really fit in with the kids at her mostly White school, where she is mocked and bullied. She devotes her time to developing photos she takes on her deceased father’s old film camera, which helps her feel closer to him. All that changes after she sneaks out for a nighttime photo shoot during a full moon and runs into a wolf. Calling her mom for help, she instead sees her mother transform from wolf to human before her eyes. Soon after, her powers show themselves, and her own wolf training begins. Artie’s mother reaches out to a community of Black werewolves who are old friends for help. As Artie trains with them, she develops ties to those like her—and something more with her friend and crush, Maya. She also learns about the origins and culture of werewolves and the history of her parents’ relationship. But danger lurks nearby, and Artie must stay alert. Stephens’ art leaps off the page, from the beautiful scenery to the celebration of characters’ Black features. Throughout, the panels are expertly used to create tension in dramatic moments and excitement that showcases the joyous ones. Readers looking for a story of discovery and healing wrapped in the paranormal will hit the jackpot.
A stirring, eye-catching portrayal of growth. (Graphic paranormal. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4248-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway.
Stephanie and her family move into an old mansion rumored to have been put under a curse after a turn-of-the-20th-century rich boy meddled with an Egyptian mummy.
After her young sister complains about strange events, high school student Stephanie befriends Lucas, a geeky, good-looking boy, and meets the other members of SPOoKy, the Scientific Paranormal Organization of Kentucky: Charlotte, Wes, and Patrick. Stephanie learns the history of her new home from Lucas, who attracts her romantic attention, but the usually levelheaded girl is soon drawn to Erik, the handsome phantom who first comes to her in dreams. The story is told in chapters narrated by Stephanie, Lucas, and Zedok, whose identity is initially a source of confusion to Stephanie. Zedok appears wearing different masks, “personified slivers” of his soul, representing states of mind such as Wrath, Madness, and Valor. Meanwhile, until gifted singer Stephanie came along and he could write songs for her, Erik’s dreams were thwarted; he wanted to be a composer but his family expected him to become a doctor. In the gothic horror tradition, Erik’s full background and connection with Zedok are slowly revealed. Romantic dream sequences are lush and swoon-y, but the long, drawn-out battle to end the curse, aided by a celebrity clairvoyant, is tedious, and the constant introduction of Erik’s different personae is confusing. Most characters default to White; Patrick is Black.
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11604-3
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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