This colorful continuation of the Frozen franchise will delight fans of the films.
In Cleary’s middle-grade graphic novel, the beloved film character goes on an adventure to save her people.
While enjoying an early spring day in Arendelle, Queen Anna, her true love Kristoff, and snowman Olaf witness rocks falling from the nearby mountains and the townspeople running for cover. As the queen, Anna knows it is her responsibility to keep her people safe from harm—even if that means taking a perilous journey into the mountains to discover the cause of the crisis. Aided by a local mountaineer named Nils, Anna and a small team ascend the nearby mountains, searching for answers. It’s not just falling debris that’s an issue—villagers living in the mountains lament to Anna that animals and local flora are disappearing, too. Anna may be separated from her sister, Elsa, but the siblings have magical ways of communicating; Elsa’s encouragement—she assures Anna that she has always had the power and drive to “move mountains”—gives Anna just the confidence boost and spark she needs to keep going. She resolves to discover the source of the falling rocks and boulders and to find some potential solutions that will benefit the people living in Arendelle, along with the flora and fauna that live in the mountains. In this rousing adventure featuring well-loved characters, Cleary delivers a story celebrating resilience, drive, and conservation efforts. The illustrations are bright and clear, retaining the classic style fans of the movies adore. (Mixed into the story are entries from Anna’s journal, text-heavy pages with just one or two illustrations.) The story’s messages (we don’t always understand the future consequences of our actions; we must keep conservation and nature in mind when making decisions) are clear, but they’re not emphasized too heavy-handedly. Young readers are sure to enjoy Anna’s tale as she learns to take responsibility seriously and discovers that she can achieve whatever she puts her mind to. Includes a glossary.
This colorful continuation of the Frozen franchise will delight fans of the films.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781545824658
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios/Papercutz
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample...
A home-schooled squireling sallies forth to public school, where the woods turn out to be treacherous and dragons lie in wait.
Imogene Vega has grown up among “faire-mily”; her brown-skinned dad is the resident evil knight at a seasonal Renaissance faire, her lighter-skinned mom is in charge of a gift shop, and other adult friends play various costumed roles. As a freshly minted “squire,” she happily charges into new weekend duties helping at jousts, practicing Elizabethan invective (“Thou lumpish reeling-ripe jolt-head!” “Thou loggerheaded rump-fed giglet!”), and keeping younger visitors entertained. But she loses her way when cast among crowds of strangers in sixth grade. Along with getting off on the wrong foot academically, she not only becomes a target of mockery after clumsy efforts to join a clique go humiliatingly awry, but alienates potential friends (and, later, loving parents and adoring little brother too). Amid stabs of regret she wonders whether she’s more dragon than knight. In her neatly drawn sequential panels, Newbery honoree Jamieson (Roller Girl, 2015) portrays a diverse cast of expressive, naturally posed figures occupying two equally immersive worlds. In the end Imogene wins the day in both, proving the mettle of her brave, decent heart in finding ways to make better choices and chivalric amends for her misdeeds.
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample the wares and fun. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-525-42998-2
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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