Atmospheric and otherworldly; evokes a sense of mystery and unease and will leave readers wanting more.
A graphic novel adaptation of Johnston’s short story “Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard,” which first appeared in the anthology Taaqtumi (2019).
Inu, an Inuit seventh grader living in the Canadian north, is at school when an announcement alerts students to an impending blizzard. Excited by the early release, she and her friends Nita and Ulii start walking home together through the thickly falling snowflakes. They first pass Ulii’s house and then Nita’s. Inu declines Nita’s grandma’s invitation to come inside, despite her warning that “the storm is full of bad things.” On her way home, Inu spots a frightening skeletal figure emerging from the shadows. With both her parents stuck at work, Inu is alone; her mother calls and reassures Inu that her overactive imagination is likely responsible for her fear of whatever she saw outside. A candle and memorial photo of a boy who seems to be Inu’s brother sit on a table, offering insight into her family history. Inu tries to drown out mysterious creaks and bangs with the TV, but finally, telling herself she shouldn’t be so afraid, she sets off to investigate. This short work features Gubbe’s haunting, striking illustrations that utilize creative visual angles and framing and fill in the gaps left by the minimal text. The dark, dramatic backgrounds contrast with pops of color, and the surprise ending leaves room for readers’ imaginations.
Atmospheric and otherworldly; evokes a sense of mystery and unease and will leave readers wanting more. (Graphic horror. 12-18)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9781772275605
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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
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