A good thriller for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Fantastic Four.
Teens discover they have elemental powers and are being hunted by their creator.
Foster Stewart has been on the run with her adoptive mother, Cora, for the last year, ever since Cora sold her supposedly deceased husband’s clinic. While attending a high school football game, she has a run-in with Tate “Nighthawk” Taylor, one of the players, only to find out he’s the reason they are in Missouri. Tate has always been special as the star quarterback in a small town—but his ability to see in the dark doesn’t hurt. Just before taking the field, a tornado hits, leaving the teens alone and on the run from the Core Four, the original, genetically modified group designed to control the elements in the fight against climate change. Now at a safe house set up by Cora, they are tasked with finding six other teens with elemental powers before Dr. Rick Stewart and the Core Four can get to them. The Casts, a mother-and-daughter writing team (Forgotten, 2019, etc.), craft a page-turning superhero origin story with a touch of romance. Bifulco’s (Three Sisters, 2018, etc.) black-and-white illustrations are expressive and intense, giving depth to each character’s emotions, although when elements are being manipulated the background is difficult to distinguish. Foster and Tate are white, and there is some diversity in secondary characters.
A good thriller for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Fantastic Four. (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26877-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A welcome hit into the outfield of books about queer athletes.
A closeted teen steps up to the plate for a cute boy—and himself.
After jocks ridicule and knock over his history class presentation, freshman Jonah picks up the pieces. Cute classmate Elliot helps. That small act of kindness makes sparks fly, cuing confusing feelings. Jonah decides to join the baseball team to get closer to Elliot—even if it means enduring more bullying from the other teammates. But Coach Jackson sees Jonah’s athletic potential and takes him under his wing. As the plot follows the four baseball seasons until Jonah’s graduation, Jonah slowly goes from laughingstock to star. But does he ever truly fit in? Cartoonist and editor Newman’s semiautobiographical graphic novel debut is a heartfelt tale of self-discovery. Consolidating all four years of high school into one book makes for a quick pace. Clever paneling and nearly wordless sequences effectively pump the brakes for key moments—and show glimpses of Jonah’s wild imagination. Despite the rampant bro culture and homophobia of the aughts setting, multiple queer characters of all ages at various stages of coming out add an important sense of community and possibility. A subplot about a female teammate briefly touches on sexism. Though the ensemble cast is diverse in skin tone, the majority of the main cast present white; Coach Jackson is Black.
A welcome hit into the outfield of books about queer athletes. (author’s note, process notes, resources) (Graphic fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781524884826
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar.
A 17-year-old struggles to navigate friendship and finding herself while navigating a toxic relationship.
Biracial (East Asian and white) high schooler Freddy is in love with white Laura Dean. She can’t help it—Laura oozes cool. But while Freddy’s friends are always supportive of her, they can’t understand why she stays with Laura. Laura cheats on Freddy, gaslights and emotionally manipulates her, and fetishizes her. After Laura breaks up with her for a third time, Freddy writes to an advice columnist and, at the recommendation of her best friend Doodle, (reluctantly) sees a psychic who advises her that in order to break out of the cycle of her “non-monogamous swing-your-partner wormhole,” Freddy needs to do the breaking up herself. As she struggles to fall out of love and figure out how to “break up with someone who’s broken up with me,” Freddy slowly begins to be drawn back into Laura’s orbit, challenging her relationships with her friends as she searches for happiness. Tamaki (Supergirl, 2018, etc.) explores the nuances of both romantic and platonic relationships with raw tenderness and honesty. Valero-O’Connell’s (Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks, 2018, etc.) art is realistic and expressive, bringing the characters to life through dynamic grayscale illustrations featuring highlights of millennial pink. Freddy and her friends live in Berkeley, California, and have a diversity of body shapes, gender expressions, sexualities, and skin tones.
A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar. (Graphic novel. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-259-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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