BURNOUT

Novelist Donner tries her hand at graphic novels in this new offering in the Minx line. Relocated to the Pacific Northwest by her mother, Danni is thrust into a new household with her mother’s temperamental alcoholic boyfriend, Hank, and his enigmatic son Haskell. Strangely assigned to room together by Hank, Danni falls for her brooding almost-stepbrother and shockingly discovers that he is an eco-terrorist. Both Danni’s and her mother’s destructive relationships compellingly demonstrate how smart girls’ bad choices can land them in troubling situations. Danni is a likable character, and her flaws and missteps should resonate with any teen girl who has ever fallen for the wrong boy. Miranda’s art, sweeping and cinematic in scope, greatly complements Donner’s writing, which takes some convenient plot liberties that lead to an unsettling—albeit understandable—ending. Written in a familiar, teen-novel voice, this should appeal to fans of such other Minx titles as Cecil Castelucci’s The P.L.A.I.N. Janes, who are looking for a darker, less sassy read. (Graphic novel. YA)