A dazzling and heartfelt supernatural coming-of-age story.
A teen discovers a magical, sometimes-frightening nighttime world in Smith’s YA graphic novel.
As a little girl, Autumn Ackerman believed in fairies, magic, and her imaginary friend, Barnaby. Now, life for the 18-year-old has been reduced to school and shifts at the local coffee shop. One evening, Barnaby, a Gollum-like being, shows up to warn Autumn that she’s in danger. He’s the first of a host of eccentric people and mythical creatures (like Fred, the giant troll) that she encounters; they’re the Night Folk, once legendary beings that the world no longer believes in. While Barnaby and bookstore owner Evan Fade are benevolent, others are sinister, most notably the mysterious Mr. Balloon, who is oddly fixated on Autumn. As the teen quickly learns, she has ties to the Night Folk and even wields a power that she has yet to tap into—controlling it is another issue altogether. Smith’s well-paced novel builds on a slowly developing backstory (Evan’s late father, who once ran the bookstore, spent years helping Night Folk). As the narrative progresses, it’s clear that this hidden world has long existed and that many seemingly innocuous people, like an old man collecting cans at a park, may be much more interesting than they appear. Autumn, a lonely young woman who generally avoids conflict, makes for a curious but relatable protagonist (“My whole life has turned upside down and all you’ve got is, ‘it’s complicated’?!”). Any number of terrific characters could return in the planned sequel(s), including the irresistible Barnaby and the enigmatic October King. The author, who also illustrates, works in a simplified style and includes plenty of detail. As the many nighttime scenes hew to darker tones, Autumn’s chic red scarf is impossible to miss—it’s constantly flowing in the wind and so long she practically steps on it.
A dazzling and heartfelt supernatural coming-of-age story.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781960578594
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios/Maverick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people’s Canadian history.
Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother’s old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals’ meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo’s own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette’s (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo’s eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. “Are you…proud to be Métis?” Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: “I don’t really know much about it.” With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.Pub Date: March 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-55379-678-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HighWater Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Flipping awesome.
After a wish goes wrong, a girl and her crush must figure out how to break a body-switching curse.
Chi-Chi Ekeh feels invisible. Like her previous crushes, hot varsity swimmer Flip Henderson—yet another rich white boy at her Texas boarding school—seems unaware of her existence. With only weeks until graduation, Nigerian American Chi-Chi’s friends Esther and Yesenia dare her to ask Flip to Senior Festival. But Flip accidentally shows her promposal video to the whole class—and immediately turns her down. Embarrassed, Chi-Chi flees, but her innocent remark—“I just wish Flip Henderson liked me”—has unexpected consequences. After falling and hitting her head, Chi-Chi wakes up in Flip’s body, and he in hers. Freaked out beyond belief and regularly switching bodies, Chi-Chi and Flip work with Esther and Yesenia to break the curse. Meanwhile, forced to see herself through someone else’s eyes, Chi-Chi must confront uncomfortable feelings. There’s much to love about this book. The fully realized and sympathetic characters, sincere and humorous development of friendships, and protagonist’s relatable and bittersweet emotional journey will keep readers engaged, eager to reach the resolution. Ukazu carefully balances tough topics like self-hatred, depression, and suicidal ideation with funny feel-good moments, deftly rendered in her characteristically expressive style. The dynamic and engaging illustrations bring to life a heartwarming story of self-love, acceptance, and true connection.
Flipping awesome. (author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250179517
Page Count: 320
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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