Pashmina
By Nidhi Chanani
Published by First Second
Pashmina stars Priyanka, a young woman who's struggling to find where she belongs in the world and how she feels about her family. When she finds a magic shawl that can show her the future, she tries to find more of its secrets, thus slowly seeing the dense weaving that makes up her family, and how it has been shaped over the years.
This is a good book, nothing spectacular. The main character is fine, but sometimes acts immaturely in a way that seems out of character. The rest of the cast is fine, without anything spectacular, all fading into the background unless information needs to be dumped. The art is okay. It's simple lines and monochrome color pallets, which helps give the scenes with magic more flair, adding color and much brighter lights. The real life myths from Hindu folklore give the book a unique thing that makes it stand out, but that's the only thing that stands out. I've seen similar plots, characters, and art styles. It's still good, but it needs something more if it wants to be better.
7/10
Home Time
By Campbell Whyte
Published by Top Shelf
Home Time stars 5 friends who just got out of school, and are looking forward to spending the off days with each other. Unfortunately due to an accident, they all fall into a river and are transported to a magical land, where they are believed to be spirits send to save the world. Over the course of the book, they try to get accustomed to this new society, while arguing about weather they should stay there or try to find a way to get back home.
I love this book. The art switches styles throughout the book with each character's chapter having its own art. All of them are great! The world is incredibly rich with detail and very fleshed out. The characters have good chemistry and mostly act in ways that make sense. Over all, this is a great book and I highly recommend it!
TL;DR: 9/10
The Dam Keeper
By Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
Published by First Second
The Dam Keeper is set in a world where most of the land has been covered by a deadly fog that kills all it touches. To keep civilization standing, a series of dams have been built with large fans to blow the fog away, but every 12 hours they must be rewound. Pig, our main character, is in charge of one such dam after his father killed himself in the fog. During the summer, the fog begins to act erratically, and Pig and his friends get swept into the fog when part of the dam breaks. When they wake up, they find themselves in a dead zone where the fog had killed everything, and have to get back to the safety of a dam before the next wave hits. During this quest, they begin to learn more about the insidious fog.
I love this book. The art is fantastic, with beautiful watercolors and amazing colors. The palettes highlight the characters very well, and each of them has a design that complements their personality. The characters all have good chemistry and interact like real kids. The story is great. There are a few things that I would have liked to see more of, but this book leaves itself open ended and it needs to be. I'm exited to see where the series goes.
TL;DR: 9/10
Graveyard Shakes
By Laura Terry
Published by Graphix
Graveyard Shakes is the story of two sisters Katia and Victoria, who have moved to a new boarding school and are having trouble fitting in with everyone else. After a while, they find the ghost of a young boy, and the group of ghosts that don't take too kindly to them. They all seem to be tied to a man named Nikola, and his bizarre rituals to keep his son alive. Katia and Victoria have to decide who they really are, and fight for survival.
The Main problem I have is the characters. The two sisters are okay, if a bit hyperbolic. The ghosts and Nikola are somewhat interesting if flat. The main problem is the other students at the boarding school. They go beyond the normal bully role and are way meaner and harsher then anyone I've met, refusing to see any good in the main character, and it just isn't believable. The art is decent, bus uses color in an interesting way for the backgrounds with nice contrasts. I enjoyed this book, but it didn't sit well with me.
5/10
