A delightfully spirited adventure.
A girl gets sucked into a doomed, gothic-themed universe.
Obsessed with gothic romances like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, bookworm Haley sees her moment to shine when, while on her way home from school, she spots a mysterious man drowning. Her heroic efforts to rescue him transport her to a gothic manor straight out of the novels she holds dear. She awakens in Willowweep Manor, where she meets foreboding housekeeper Wilhelmina, young lords Laurence and Cuthbert, and resident ghost Cecily. It emerges that middle brother Montague, whom she saved earlier, is missing. The brothers recruit Haley to help them save their gasket universe—a small universe that acts as a safeguard to protect the larger ones in the multiverse—from the Bile, manifested here as a sinister friar, that threatens to take over. She must repair the Infernal Device that keeps their universe safe. Though each individual has prescribed roles according to various literary conventions, they must decide to act differently if they wish to save their worlds from evil. The dark color palette fits perfectly with the mystery and many gothic tropes; Baldwin effectively uses varied perspectives to create dramatic visuals. This well-paced and humorous graphic novel will appeal to readers looking for a triumphant story about being in charge of your own narrative. Haley is Black; the inhabitants of Willowweep read as White.
A delightfully spirited adventure. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6087-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Pairing art from an earlier, self-published edition to a newly adapted text, Hinds retells the old tale as a series of dark, bloody, chaotic clashes. Here Grendel is a glaring, black monster with huge teeth, corded muscles and a tendency to smash or bite off adversaries’ heads; the dragon is all sinuous viciousness; and Beowulf, mighty of thew, towers over his fellow Geats. The narrative, boxed off from the illustrations rather than incorporated into them, runs to lines like, “Bid my brave warriors O Wiglaf, to build a lofty cairn for me upon the sea-cliffs . . . ” and tends to disappear when the fighting starts. Because the panels are jumbled together on the page, the action is sometimes hard to follow, but this makes a strongly atmospheric alternative to the semi-abstract Beowulf, the Legend, by Stephen L. Antczak and James C. Bassett, illus by Andy Lee (2006), or the more conventionally formatted version of Michael Morpurgo, with pictures by Michael Foreman (2006). (Graphic fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3022-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
A refreshingly disability-positive superhero origin story.
Nijkamp (contributor: His Hideous Heart, 2019, etc.) reimagines the backstory of Oracle, computer genius and ally to Batman.
When skilled hacker Barbara “Babs” Gordon and her best friend, Benjamin, attempt to intervene in a robbery, Babs is shot. Six weeks later, the newly paralyzed Babs reluctantly rolls into the Arkham Center for Independence, where teens with disabilities undergo physical and emotional rehabilitation. Despite her father’s well-meaning advice, Babs resents being there. Even the mysterious cries within the mansion’s walls can’t lift the teen’s despondence—until Jena, a burn survivor full of haunting tales, disappears. Aided by supportive patients Yeong and Issy, whom she gradually befriends, Babs must accept her new reality in order to find Jena and escape a sinister plot. The author sensitively portrays Babs’ frustration and trauma and realistically addresses her challenges, such as mastering wheelchair ramps and negotiating stairs. Babs’ increasing self-confidence is heartening, and the message that people with disabilities don’t need to be “fixed” in order to thrive is empowering (albeit slightly heavy-handed). Balancing bright and dark colors, Preitano’s (contributor: Puerto Rico Strong, 2018, etc.) illustrations vividly convey Babs’ anger and determination, and a jigsaw-puzzle motif reflects Babs’ quest to piece together her new identity as well as the institution’s secret. Most characters present white. Yeong, who walks with forearm crutches, is cued through her name as Korean; Issy, who uses a wheelchair, presents black.
A refreshingly disability-positive superhero origin story. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9066-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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