Lost Soul, Be At Peace

Lost Soul, Be At PeaceLost Soul, Be at Peace by Maggie Thrash
Published by Candlewick Press (MA) on October 9th 2018
ISBN: 0763694193
Pages: 192
Goodreads
five-stars

I am always surprised when a follow-up work is as good as the first. So I am pleased to report that Maggie Thrash’s follow up to Honor Girl is just as good. Again Trash tackles her past with brutal honesty in images and words. Set a year and a half after Honor Girl, Maggie is depressed and failing most of her classes. She wants her parents to notice her troubles, but her mother avoids the signs and her father remains distant and absorbed in his work. Maggie is haunted by a ghost, Tommy, who she is able to open up to. Coincidentally, Maggie is studying Hamlet and there are many connections between the Shakespearean tragedy and Maggie’s story. Thrash tackles the turbulence of growing up and leaving things behind, the dangers of the world, and complicated family relationships into a haunting graphic novel.
Recommended For grades 9-12
Elizabeth Andersen
Librarian
Westbrook High School

five-stars

Time Shifters

Time ShiftersTime Shifters by Chris Grine
Published by Graphix on May 30th 2017
ISBN: 0545926599
Pages: 272
Goodreads
five-stars

An odd-ball adventure across time and alternate dimensions will that will leave readers laughing and wanting more.

Luke and his brother Kyle run into a gang of bullies one afternoon while playing in the woods. The encounter causes an accident in which Kyle dies. A year after Kyle’s death, Luke sees a mysterious light coming from the forest behind his house. He suddenly finds himself in possession of a strange device and is chased by a mummy, vampire Napoleon, and a skeleton astronaut. However, Luke is saved by a time-traversing group comprised of a ghost, dinosaur, robotic Abraham Lincoln, and the scientist who invented the multiverse shifting device. In order to get the device off Luke’s arm (which is locked on unless you know the code), the groups hides out in an alternate dimension of giant spiders in the Wild West. Pursued by the henchmen and dodgy spiders, Luke and the gang must keep the device away while also saving a kidnapped robotic Abraham Lincoln.

Luke is a great protagonist, and the eclectic bunch of characters are all interesting and well rounded. The slapstick humor is fitting, and is genuinely funny. The art is bright and effective, and conveys the story well. A great title for readers who loved Ben Hatke’s “Mighty Jack” series.

Reviewed by Cidney Mayes, Memorial Middle School Library, South Portland

five-stars