Junkwraith

by Ellinor Richey

Overview

What she once possessed... now threatens to possess her. This vibrant Swedish debut graphic novel is an epic quest for the things left behind, with icy-cool artwork and astonishing sci-fi settings.

What happens when our most precious belongings... no longer belong? When something we loved suddenly becomes junk, a powerful energy is unleashed. One night, ice-skating prodigy Florence Sato is overwhelmed by pressure and throws away her skates. This fateful moment accidentally summons a "junkwraith," a terrifying ghost which seeks revenge for its abandonment by attacking the memories of its former owner. Before she forgets who she is, and to find out who she really wants to be, Florence must set off (with her trusty digital assistant Frank) on a long journey into the Wastelands to put to rest the monster she created.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603095006
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Publication date:	01/18/2022
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	1,082,120
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Ellinor Richey loves bringing imaginary things to life, whether this be through game concepts, comic art or ink illustrations. When not thinking about comics, she loves thinking about animation, playing the clarinet and pine trees in sunsets. She lives with her plants in a small studio apartment overlooking the Gothenburg harbor in Sweden.

Editorial Reviews

10/25/2021

Frustrated with high parental expectations and locker room bullying around ice skating, pink-skinned, gray-haired only child Florence Sato decides she is through with the sport. But discarding her brand-new skates against recycling laws spawns a Junkwraith—a spirit comprising negative feelings and abandoned items—and a cursemark on Flo’s arm. Researching ways to dispel the spirit, Flo meets a librarian who explains that the Junkwraith’s cursemark will cause Flo to lose her memories and further spread the curse. With the librarian’s map as a guide and Frank, her trusty, seemingly sentient electronic personal assistant, beside her, Flo heads into the wastelands seeking the Cave of Recovery, her only hope for a cure. Stylishly snappy art features loose, jagged linework and a fresh palette, creating a vibrant world whose tiny details reward close viewing. Though loose storytelling forces the reader to reach for connections, an anti-consumerist message of sustainable waste management comes through clearly in Richey’s graphic novel debut, based on her webcomic of the same name. Ages 13–up. (Dec.)■

Publishers Weekly

"A story of memory, belonging, patience, and oddly enough, recycling... Richey’s delightfully odd characters and increasingly strange landscapes cultivate a rich sense of atmosphere. Highly recommended for teens and adults who want to learn how to be brave." — Booklist (starred review)

"Visually enticing and creative... the concept is fascinating and fresh." — Kirkus Reviews

"The book’s distinctive art style is a detailed, appealing visual feast... a bizarre and imaginative graphic novel about growing up." — Foreword Reviews

"This Swedish graphic novel uses color in brilliant ways... Give this genre-fluid tale to horror, science fiction, and fantasy buffs, or even realistic fiction readers who don’t mind their family explorations or coming-of-age stories souped up with some supernatural elements." — Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

2021-09-15
When discarded objects transform into vengeful ghosts, no one is safe from their wrath.

Ice skater Florence Sato is a perfectionist, but she is still ranked “mediocre”—in contrast to her teammate and frenemy, Zoe Kit, the top skater on the team. Frustrated by her inability to rise in the ranks and by her teammates’ mocking attitudes toward her drive and her family’s wealth, Flo throws away her ice skates in a passing moment of fury. In this world, though, a moment is enough for a once-cherished discarded object to become a titular junkwraith, or ghostlike creature who holds the discarded object in its belly and whose very touch causes a person to lose their memories. Touched by one of these creatures when she returns to collect her discarded skates, Flo is cursed, and she sets out on a quest to find her skates and missing memories. The concept is fascinating and fresh, but the sparse text and layers of implied fantasy-world developments may leave readers feeling a little wobbly on the ice. The attractively colored doodlelike illustrations are expressive, but they can’t save the story’s convoluted tale of Flo’s multilayered angst. Flo has a Japanese surname but there are no cues as to her ethnicity; the world she lives in looks European, and she and other characters have light skin and pastel-toned hair and eyes.

Visually enticing and creative but shaky in execution. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews