Published by Limehouse Books Review by Lesley Finlay
I am not a comic book person, never read Tintin or really got into a graphic novels for adults but when this beautiful book popped onto my desk it looked like it more than deserved to be opened.
The brainchild of sisters Penelope and Ginny Skinner (who come with impressive CVs by the way) it tells the story of the dumpy Briony who prefers the world of the Starling Black Adventures novels to her world of reality wracked by teenage angst (no real mates, no boyfriend and no confidence) and her parents’ divorce. We meet Briony at a momentous time of change – she and her mum move house to her late Aunt and Uncle’s house, and she is about to embark on reading the last ever story in the Starling Black series.
This gets her in all sorts of trouble at home and at school. Desperate to stay in her fantasy world, she tries to shape-shift. She finds herself face to face with her late Auntie Hope, who cannot ‘pass over’ until the new ‘psychic exorcist’ intervenes.
Its quirky story apart, the Skinner sisters capture the thoughts and feelings of a teenager with an accuracy that is sure to hit home with readers from the relationship with mum (love, hate) to the desperate need to fit in (putting up with the awful, shallow and self-obsessed Julia).
A delightful, quick read for older teens. Looking Review by forward to part two.