A vividly rendered sequel.
Book 2 of The Raven Cycle receives a dreamy, full-color graphic adaptation.
Readers return to Henrietta, where Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah are dealing with the fallout of awakening the ley line beneath which, legend holds, the mystical king Glendower lies buried. This installment primarily follows Ronan (who’s capable of conjuring objects from his dreams) as he faces a volatile rival who tempts and goads him toward dangerous uses of his power. Other characters walk their own complicated pathways: Adam, who awakened the ley line, grapples with newly developing psychic abilities. Gansey, still focused on finding Glendower, must also clumsily navigate the widening class divide between himself and Adam. Blue, prophesied to mark her true love for death with a kiss, struggles to untangle her feelings for both Adam and Gansey. Noah, revealed to be a ghost in the first book, is losing his connection to the physical world. Meanwhile, a mysterious older man arrives in town searching for something called the Greywaren, with Ronan firmly in his sights. Full-color illustrations bring the story’s settings to life, from the witchy warmth of the Sargent house to Henrietta’s pastoral beauty. But the adaptation has more difficulty capturing the characters’ inner lives and portraying more abstract plot elements, which mutes some key emotional beats from the original novel. Most principal characters appear white, other than Blue, who has dark brown skin.
A vividly rendered sequel. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9780593621226
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention.
A duology opener that revisits the world of Divergent (2011).
Beatrice “Tris” Prior is Divergent. But before she can select Dauntless, her Choosing Ceremony is interrupted by a group of factionless rebels, and her good friend is killed. Amid the chaos, Tris sees Evelyn, the wife of Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton—but Evelyn supposedly died years ago. And, shockingly, she’s an Amity woman who’s holding a gun. Tris doesn’t tell anyone, even her father, when he later questions her. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite—the faction that’s most critical toward the Abnegation and their practices—and Tris feels pressured to stay in Abnegation. But when her father tries to erase her memories, she knows she’s unsafe. Tris’ mother helps her escape to the factionless, where Tris meets Four, a Dauntless boy. Their relationship shows her that she was right to leave Abnegation—and that maybe the rebels are correct to want the death of the faction system. As Tris becomes friends with the other “faction failures,” she realizes that no faction is as it seems, and that power is a corrupting influence they can’t escape. This exciting work revisits beloved characters, offering a new understanding of them and of what happens when we stand up and ask questions. Returning fans and those new to this world will appreciate the witty banter, slow-burn romance, and heartache stemming from betrayal and complicated familial love. The leads are cued white.
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention. (Dystopian. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063462595
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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