Despite pacing issues, rich worldbuilding and an appealing found-family theme make for a compelling read.
The town of St. Muckle’s is a “peasants’ paradise”: Anyone who stays for a year and a day gains freedom from serfdom.
Six-year-old Charl’s father, an earl, torments his family and slaughters pagans. Escaping from his cruelty, Charl and his mother, Eileen, flee to St. Muckle’s with two companions, Sister Agnes and ex-knight Aris, who help raise Charl. Seven years later, Eileen, who’s working as an innkeeper, has earned the townspeople’s respect. But the family’s peace is shattered when an infiltrator spreads a deadly beetle-borne plague, and suspicion falls on Eileen. As illness grips the town, disaster strikes again—a dragon attacks St. Muckle’s, separating Charl from his mother. Forced to flee, he takes shelter in a ruined abbey with a suspicious nun, only to find it haunted by ghostly girls and the spirit of a murderous bishop. To reunite with his mother and escape his father’s grasp, Charl will need help from both the living and the dead. Charl is a thoughtful, kindhearted protagonist who struggles against the limitations placed on him for his own safety. The setting and backstory are richly developed, and though the novel is set in the world of Hartman’s Seraphina series, no knowledge of those works is needed. However, the narrative transition from St. Muckle’s to the abbey feels disjointed, and the rushed ending leaves some character arcs unresolved. Most major characters present white; Aris has brown skin.
Despite pacing issues, rich worldbuilding and an appealing found-family theme make for a compelling read. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780593813720
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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