Endearing, magically infused, romantic comedy hijinks.
Vi Messaline has always done everything with her twin brother, Sebastian.
So she’s shocked when he decides he’d rather stay at their private boarding school instead of attending public school alongside her. And Arden High is not your average public school: Fairies run the social scene, glittery magic permeates the woods, and oddball students and their shenanigans rule the day. Taciturn and sensitive Vi is set to go solo in an overwhelming and strange environment. Adopted by a new, quirky friend group, she’s then swept up in Shakespeare’s familiar love quadrangle. This retelling closely follows the beats of the original Twelfth Night, and it’s solidly grounded as it tackles the often retold tale. The surprises lie mostly in the effervescent and goofy tone. Although Vi grapples with real issues—trying out a less feminine gender presentation, grieving the loss of her father, and navigating her changing relationship with Sebastian—the focus is on fun. Green’s buoyant art effectively augments this tone, with extremely appealing and expressive character designs and settings full of lush detail. Clever updates to the source material include the cliques to which the characters belong and the use of social media to facilitate mistaken identities. This playing to strengths helps readers overlook a breakneck timeline and less emotional complexity in some storylines. The cast is heavily queer and racially diverse; Vi reads White.
Endearing, magically infused, romantic comedy hijinks. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-06239-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An action-packed, magic-filled exploration of natural resource abuse.
A coven of problem-solving witches takes on a mission that tests their friendship and bonds.
Witches Anadil, Hester, and Dot are summoned to Red Isle when the animals of the Dark Lands are found starving after sludge kills all the vegetation. Mother Sorastra, the leader of the Dark Lands, confronts Prince Lexius of the neighboring Light Lands, arguing that he’s abusing nature’s gift of raaka, a resource used to power clever inventions. But Prince Lexius blames Mother Sorastra for breaking a truce and causing the pollution. The conflict escalates when citizens of the Light Lands are murdered, and their facial features are erased. Pale, white-haired Anadil, brown-skinned, black-haired Hester, and Dot, who has brown skin and Afro-textured hair, arrive in time to stop the outbreak of war and attempt to solve the mystery of the face-stealing killer. When a coven of witches impersonating the trio appears, Anadil, Hester, and Dot must overcome their bickering and work through hurt feelings in order to band together and bring peace and balance to Red Isle. This graphic novel features cleverly realized characters: Anadil with her team of magical rats, Hester with her pet demon, and Dot with her ability to summon confectionary are memorable leads. The relationship between Anadil and Hester adds a hint of romance to the story, and the environmental themes add real-world relevance. Vivid illustrations with saturated colors create a fantastical backdrop for the fast-paced storyline.
An action-packed, magic-filled exploration of natural resource abuse. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780062979681
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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