Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
Published by Roaring Brook Press on February 12th 2019
ISBN: 1626723648
Pages: 340
Goodreads

Best known for her graphic novels, this YA novel is Hicks’s first foray into prose and though it is a bit uneven, it is an engaging read. The story is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet retelling  set in rural Canada and steeped in comic-book lore and lingo, which will appeal to readers who geek out at the thought of the newest superhero movie. The warring parties were the two grandfathers of the Kendrick and the Warrick families, co-creators of the Tomorrow Men comics. After a long legal battle, the Warricks now control the franchise, which has brought them fame and fortune and is about to launch a new movie. The Kendricks live in sleepy Sandford and scrape by.  High school junior Mir Kendrick wants out of Sandford and wishes that her grandfather had not lost his legal battle and that her mother had not taken a paltry monetary settlement after the death of her father to walk away from the Tomorrow Men. Handsome bad boy Weldon Warrick has been sent from Los Angeles to Sandford to live with his aunt and uncle while his father pours all of his attention and energy into the upcoming movie. The teens meet in a comic book shop, of course, and Mir saves Weldon from a beating at the hands of some local bullies.  The two feel an attraction and, in awkward teen fashion, wend their way toward one another. The romance is palpable, but only ever manifests in hand-holding and a flirtatious swimming scene thereby making this book suitable for an older middle school audience that enjoys some romance in their realistic fiction. The parents in the book are supportive and sage and unlike the Montagues and Capulets do not forbid the romance, only Weldon’s aunt warns him to stay away from the Kendricks for fear that they will hold him accountable for his grandfather’s actions. This worry is never keenly felt by the reader. In fact, the ending bends all rules of realism to give the reader a sweet, heartwarming ending. Not a must-buy but with some possible name recognition of a favorite graphic novel author, a catchy cover, and a known literary tie-in, this book is sure to circulate.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth