THE INVISIBLE PARADE

In this collaboration between bestselling YA fantasy novelist Bardugo and Hugo Award–winning illustrator Picacio, a grief-stricken girl meets four horsemen on Día de los Muertos.

Though her family is busy preparing for tonight’s party, dark-eyed, tan-skinned Cala can’t stop thinking of her recently departed grandfather. She and her family head to the cemetery; amid the graves, altars, and candles, people sing, whisper, and laugh to greet deceased loved ones. Wrapped up in the festivities, Cala loses sight of her family and soon encounters three skeletal horsemen: one sickly, one famished, one sullen-faced with a wide-brimmed hat of storm clouds. The riders argue, and Cala decides to find her family alone until a fourth rider appears: Death. With encouragement from all the horsemen—in particular, Death, who shows her the “invisible parade” of departed loved ones who are always with us—Cala discovers the courage to face her sorrow and join the party. With aplomb, Bardugo and Picacio confront the specter of death, weaving small moments of catharsis and humor into a languidly paced narrative that gives readers the time and space they need to process the complex emotions on display. In the first half, Picacio’s gorgeous graphite artwork favors lush, golden-hued movement in contrast to Cala’s stoic profile before introducing subdued yet lush purples, blues, greens, and reds right around the first rider’s appearance. The illustrator deftly introduces each rider in striking, individual double-page portraits.

Simply wondrous.