Holly Black

Ted Naifeh

When her mother goes missing and her father is blamed for her disappearance, Rue Silver delves into her family's secret past and learns something incredible that changes her entire understanding of the world in which she lives. 30,000 first printing.

Sarah Sammis

Kin (The Good Neighbors Book 1) by Holly Black was a Cybils finalist in the graphic novel category. It's an urban fantasy similar in tone to the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but done with faeries instead of vampires.

At the start of the book Rue Silver's mother is missing and her father has been accused of killing her and hiding the body. Rue doesn't believe the official version and feels the answer to her disappearance is out there if she if she just looks hard enough.

In the process of hunting for the truth Rue discovers her mother was a faerie and she is therefore one as well. This new knowledge opens her eyes to a new way of seeing the world which both frightens and amazes Rue.

For such a potentially colorful and magical world the illustrations were a let down for me. They are done with dark thick lines creating an overwhelming gloom in all scenes.

Of course there are dark themes. The fae are dangerous and mistrusting of humans. There is animosity on both sides but it's more a mystery with fantasy elements than it is a Gothic horror. The style of the illustrations though try to buttonhole into Gothic horror when it's not.

Elizabeth Garza

I feel really sad I did not enjoy this book more. The story was interesting though at times choppy (like it would move from scene to another without and warning and I had to basically make up/assume the segway to the new scene). The artwork ... was not my favorite. Everybody, not just the faeries, had super angular faces, weirdly large lips, and all their faces were disproportionately wide. And what is with Rue wearing the same dress all the time? Anyways, I was only 1/4 of the way through with this book and had to put it down because the story and the art were just all over the place. But I kept at it and a few pages from the end things started to make more sense and flow better. And the story just got more interesting in general. 

I love Holly Black and will read the next one in the series because now I am intrigued by the premise of the book but damn. It's gonna be a bit of a struggle.

Kin

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