“In this swoony and spooky teen summer romance graphic novel set on a Texas ranch, sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz finds himself falling for the ranch owner’s mysterious and handsome son, only to discover that he may be harboring a dangerous secret.
Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary–but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas–real life can be way scarier.
When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there–in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.
But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get…complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it’s scary.
THE FACTS
📕 moving and authentic plot
📘 great characters, diverse
📙 difficult to read in parts yet so worth it
📗 beautiful art
THE GOOD BITS
I’m new to this author and illustrator but I have already ordered my copy of this graphic novel. This is a retelling of Northanger Abbey… now, despite the fact that I was an English major in University I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never read it. This story made me want to read the original though, so there’s that!
This is a story that lots of people will be able to relate to. It’s about many things: figuring out who you are, coming out to family, and all the stresses and challenges of living in our world.
Cade goes to a ranch owned by the Tyler family to make some extra money. Things are tight at home and he accompanies his step-father to get his own money to help out. When he gets there he finds he has arrived in a very different world. The bright light in this world is Henry but as they get to know one another, Cade finds that there is mystery surrounding Henry and maybe… danger.
As Cade spends more time on the ranch and gets to know the Tyler family he gets mixed messages. He feels welcome by Henry and his sister and is taken aback by “the General”. He can tell that a lot has gone on in the family, but Henry is reluctant to speak about the past or the things he acknowledges he is trying to work through.
The characters in this story are complex and interesting. In combination with the artwork, the creators have produced well rounded characters, an intriguing plot and enough mystery to keep me on the edge of my seat.
This story is a pretzel twist of gothic and contemporary mystery. Cade’s love of horror movies was something I could relate to and I loved the way he described feeling less alone when watching them. However, this love of the macabre may be influencing Cade’s judgement when it comes to what is going on in the house… or it may not. The mystery is there to be solved!
Bre Indigo’s art is amazing. The characters are well-drawn and reflect all the emotions they’re dealing with. There’s a scene with fireflies that is absolutely stunning … and artwork and the words work so well together. This is a beautiful experience!
I would recommend this to anyone and I’m going to put in a request for it to be part of our collection at the library.
THE LINKS
🖊 Author
THE DISCLAIMERS
Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) racism, bigotry, toxic masculinity, substance abuse, death of a parent, mentions of cancer, frightening scenes, homophobia.
I received an ARC of Northranger by Rey Terciero from Harper Alley via Edelweiss in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 