Boilerplate apocalyptic fodder. With kissing.
An unusual plague sweeps across Scotland in this trilogy opener.
In the opening pages, 12-year-old Callie Tanzer is being experimented on by scientists in biohazard suits in an underground bunker. She dies after being consumed by fire. Now she’s a ghost witnessing the spread of a sickness that is soon let loose into the wider population of Scotland and beyond. Being a ghost is frustrating, but Callie’s determined to find her family, including her half brother, Kai, who has been obsessed with locating her after she disappeared a year ago. Enter Sharona “Shay” McAllister, who contacts Kai with information about Callie’s disappearance (Shay conveniently has a photographic memory—it’s been a year, after all). It’s insta-sparks for Kai and Shay, but there’s no time for character development, because the epidemic, dubbed the Aberdeen flu, starts killing off friends and neighbors. Luckily, Kai and his mother, an epidemiological researcher, are immune. Shay gets sick and survives, but survival comes with creepy abilities. Survivors are now being hunted, and Callie is consumed by the need for revenge. Shay and Kai fall in love laughably quickly, and the plague’s origins take a back seat to navel-gazing and improbable plot twists. All main characters seem to be white. Fans of the genre deserve better than this.
Boilerplate apocalyptic fodder. With kissing. (Dystopia. 12-18)Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-58089-989-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Charlesbridge Teen
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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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