An unsettling, thought-provoking coming of age.
A boy’s unhappy visit with his grandparents in the French countryside turns very dark in this translated graphic-novel import.
When Antoine’s mother leaves their home, his father unceremoniously drops him off with his grandparents while he sorts things out. Antoine’s fussbudget grandmother tries to engage with Antoine, but his grandfather, an avid hunter whose trophies festoon the home’s interior, is openly, sometimes terrifyingly hostile. One day, while reluctantly foraging with his grandfather, Antoine picks a mysterious white mushroom and finds himself transformed into a white deer. Bournel-Bosson’s precise, realistic linework captures Antoine’s loneliness with panel compositions that isolate him or emphasize his diminutive stature. The palette rotates among two-color combinations: Yellow and blue give way to mauve and yellow, then green and yellow, and so on. These color shifts combine with closeups that approach the grotesque to give the tale an air of the weird even before Antoine’s transformation. This metamorphosis brings Antoine moments of fear and of tremendous beauty before a resolution that’s both just and profoundly unsettling. Readers will note that the mushroom that triggers Antoine’s change is not the edible trompette de la mort (commonly known in English as the black trumpet or black chanterelle). The literal translation of the original title gives the English-language edition an appropriately sinister feel its French readers might not experience. Antoine and his family present white; his behavior and build mark him a preteen.
An unsettling, thought-provoking coming of age. (Graphic fantasy. 12-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9798765644324
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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