An exuberant and thoughtful tale of adventure.
Three teenagers embark on a daring quest in Florida where they use their ingenuity to find hidden treasure in this YA graphic novel.
Josh Friedman and his best friends, Hope Aguilar and Hunter Betancourt, leave suburban Virginia for a summer in the Florida Keys with Josh’s grandfathers. They plan to search for a treasure horde connected with a sunken Spanish galleon, and Josh believes that three trinkets, deemed worthless by experts, provide clues that the treasure is buried under three nearby forts. Along the way, the friends have to contend with the Apex, a secret cadre of millionaires—classic villains who often wear shark masks to hide their identities. The Apex offer to team up with the kids for the treasure hunt, although the kids suspect that accepting high-tech gear from these devious adults could come at a cost. The camaraderie is infectious as Josh, Hope, and Hunter evade guards and find secret doors leading to caverns full of unexpected contents. Of the unexplained, fantastic wonders they discover, Josh simply says, “Everything here—it’s all just north of possible.” Orlando’s treasure-hunting scenes fly by at a fast pace, while sections where Josh interacts with his grandfathers sometimes drag. Vecchio’s visual style is clean, bright, and bold, and reminiscent of illustrations in classic series such as The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix but with a smooth, contemporary sheen. Relationships, gender identity, and sexual orientation are all prominent themes, as Hope is figuring out how to define herself and Hunter hopes that his crush on Josh might develop into a romance. Josh’s grandfather, Matt, and his husband, Ivan, reflect on their own challenges as a same-sex couple.
An exuberant and thoughtful tale of adventure.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781952303586
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Maverick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Flipping awesome.
After a wish goes wrong, a girl and her crush must figure out how to break a body-switching curse.
Chi-Chi Ekeh feels invisible. Like her previous crushes, hot varsity swimmer Flip Henderson—yet another rich white boy at her Texas boarding school—seems unaware of her existence. With only weeks until graduation, Nigerian American Chi-Chi’s friends Esther and Yesenia dare her to ask Flip to Senior Festival. But Flip accidentally shows her promposal video to the whole class—and immediately turns her down. Embarrassed, Chi-Chi flees, but her innocent remark—“I just wish Flip Henderson liked me”—has unexpected consequences. After falling and hitting her head, Chi-Chi wakes up in Flip’s body, and he in hers. Freaked out beyond belief and regularly switching bodies, Chi-Chi and Flip work with Esther and Yesenia to break the curse. Meanwhile, forced to see herself through someone else’s eyes, Chi-Chi must confront uncomfortable feelings. There’s much to love about this book. The fully realized and sympathetic characters, sincere and humorous development of friendships, and protagonist’s relatable and bittersweet emotional journey will keep readers engaged, eager to reach the resolution. Ukazu carefully balances tough topics like self-hatred, depression, and suicidal ideation with funny feel-good moments, deftly rendered in her characteristically expressive style. The dynamic and engaging illustrations bring to life a heartwarming story of self-love, acceptance, and true connection.
Flipping awesome. (author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250179517
Page Count: 320
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material.
An illustrated reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most memorable tragedies.
From the very beginning of this clever adaptation, effort is made to prioritize accessibility of both the manga form and the classic Shakespearean play: The frontmatter briefly highlights the reading direction of the panels, and characters are labeled when introduced, coming to life via a striking combination of early modern Venetian dress; quintessential manga hairdos and facial expressions; and pronounced linework. Like the rest of the series, this account of Othello remains faithful to the original. The black-and-white illustrations allow for Iago’s conniving manipulations to manifest visually as well as animating characters’ bigotry in impactful, distressing ways. However, there are shortcomings: Where the original text may use parentheticals and asides to progress the story, the occasional appearance of parentheses in speech bubbles are a distracting reminder that comics utilize storytelling tools that haven’t been fully adopted here. Likewise, panel after panel of Othello’s turn to violence and his enraged face obscured by shadow provide a poignant dramatic effect but seem to exacerbate prejudices inherent to both the play and medium. Not only is the titular character visually distinguished from other characters by his shading, hair, lips, and overall size, unfortunately neither Shakespeare nor the illustrator seem wholly prepared for a contemporary conversation regarding racial representation in one of literature’s most infamous depictions of othering.
Will appeal to manga fans but raises questions around depictions of racialized material. (adapter’s notes, character designs) (Graphic fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-947808-13-3
Page Count: 420
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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