Rey Terciero and illustrator Bre Indigo, the team behind Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, reimagine Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey in graphic novel form, portraying a closeted gay Latinx teen falling for a white boy whose secrets might explain why his lake house seems haunted.
Sixteen-year-old Texan Cade Muñoz is stuck working on a ranch all summer to help his broke family. It's at least fun flirting with Henry, the ranch owner's son, who shares Cade's love of horror movies. When they all go to the Northranger, a maybe-haunted lake house built in 1887 with a forbidden west wing and flickering lights, Cade catches Henry and his dad arguing: " 'Keeping this secret is eating us alive.'... 'We need to protect this family.'... 'Like we protected Momma?' " Cade wants to trust Henry, but another worker's cryptic warnings--"Death follows that boy"--has Cade worried he's becoming a horror movie trope.
Northranger demonstrates the heavy burden of isolation and fear, and how it can warp reality. In between depictions of homophobia and self-doubt are buoying supportive scenes, hilarious moments (Cade scaring himself with a Ouija board), and romantic gestures ("Is it corny to say I wanna be Prince Charming for you? Or Cowboy Charming?"). Indigo incorporates clever visuals; the page behind panels is white during the day and black at night, inviting readers into both the trepidation and intimacy of the darkness. A black background is also used when characters go to difficult places mentally. Manga-style iconography adds levity, and the pink-tinted, two-color format allows copious character blushing. Readers be warned: only pick up this book if there is time to finish it in one sitting. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer