A bittersweet, hope-tinged conclusion to a stirring trilogy.
Clementine and her friends find a true sanctuary from the zombie wasteland—but is it too good to be true?
Clem, Ricca, Olivia, and Fen, survivors from the second series entry, have started a new life in Nuuk, where the community is living in relative peace. Nuuk has real leadership: A council assigns jobs and distributes resources. The walls are guarded by a squadron of girls who patrol the perimeter, led by a figure called the Gardener. But stability feels strange to this group after the harrowing experiences they’ve endured. Clem struggles to feel at ease, even with her girlfriend, Ricca, there to ground her. Olivia, a new mother, is floundering. Fen is acting suspiciously distant. Amid this uncertainty, something unthinkable happens, leaving Clem crushed. Seeing her vulnerable state, the Gardener offers her a new path forward—but it comes with a price. When she learns that the Gardener may not have the community’s best interests at heart, Clementine must gather her determination to protect those she cares about. The citizens of Nuuk speak Greenlandic and Danish, and Clementine has medium-toned skin and wavy black hair. Walden’s hand-drawn style feels both elaborate and effortless, playing with light and shadow to enhance her storytelling. Like the other volumes, this series finale crafts an allegory from the horrors of the post-apocalyptic world, exploring themes of power, trauma, survivor’s guilt, and love in times of darkness.
A bittersweet, hope-tinged conclusion to a stirring trilogy. (Graphic horror. 14-18)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781534397378
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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