Left parentless by her mother’s death, Unnur grew up under painful circumstances. At age 11, she’s dumped at a coastal work farm by her mother’s intolerant identical twin sister. Unnur gets over her initial shock and dismay thanks to the presence of Freyja, a playful but elusive girl her age who’s made a playground of […]
Pedrito explains to younger sister Pipay that they’re going to celebrate Undas, “when families visit the cemetery and gather around their dead loved ones’ tombs.” This is typically celebrated on the first and second day of November during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Pipay innocently asks if they’re still a family without their […]
Sixteen-year-old Georgie is less than thrilled to be shipped off with her older brother, Hamish, to star in their stepmother’s latest bid for fame: a survival reality TV show designed to monetize teen dysfunction. The show’s premise is that a group of high school delinquents will be dropped off in the middle of the woods […]
In Vilest Things (2024), Calla Tuoleimi, accompanied by Anton Makusa, managed a coup, dethroning the prince August Shenzhi and forcing him out of his beloved capital, San-Er. While August lurks in the provinces, waiting and scheming to gain back his birthright, Calla holds the crown, with the promise of power and complete rule over Talin. […]
There are bodies everywhere in Araki’s lively fiction debut: bodies in the trunks of cars, on the side of the road and, most significantly for university student Haru, hanging from the ceiling at home. As an asteroid hurtles steadily toward Earth—the planet’s destruction is inevitable—it triggers a gamut of reactions. Haru’s mother has left the […]
In this world, there are the magicless and those who are part of magical society, which is itself divided into privileged, powerful Mages, discriminated-against Laborers, and violent, outcast Lawless. Hardworking Eloise Belrose hopes to become the first in her Laboring family to be admitted to the prestigious University of Magical Arts, while handsome, talented Grayson […]
This graphic novel presents within its very title an intriguing provocation, reflected powerfully in the book’s cover. A woman lingers in a pose somewhere between spiritual possession and magazine pin-up, her eyes an empty white, a dragon reflected in a hand mirror that she holds. It’s beyond compelling before the spine is even cracked. Jac’s […]
Vernon’s brother had told him about the witch, but he’s surprised by how much the witch knows about him. Reluctant to talk about his own life, he settles in instead to hear “the scariest story ever told.” In it, a sixth grade Lipan Apache boy named Sean leaves Texas to stay with his cousin, Zeke, […]
A skinless Boo Hag and many other truly terrifying creepy creatures, depicted in garishly lit detail, lunge and grimace directly at viewers in this unusually wide-ranging set of supernatural horrors. Organizing his entries into eight alliterative general categories—beginning with nine “Heinous Hags” and ending with assorted “Dark Divinities”—Forst pairs each full-page, and occasionally full-spread, portrait […]
“’Twas the night before shinny and all through the woods, / not a maple leaf fluttered, so all was still good.” While several pale-skinned human youngsters are “nestled and snug in their beds,” the animal hockey players gather on the ice, readying themselves for a game of shinny. A blue jay serves as referee, while […]