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A review by rebecca_oneil
Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery by Jeff Zornow, Jen Wang, Jason Ho, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier
4.0
I ordered this from OhioLink after seeing it on a recommended list (now I can't recall where!). I'd probably recommend it to teen girls with a dark sense of humor who like Emily the Strange and Rachel Cohn (not for the supernatural aspect, but the spunky girl aspect).
Agnes Quill is a 16-year-old orphan who lives in the strange city of Legerdemain ("sleight of hand") in a curiosity shop that she inherited from her grandfather. As she tries to figure out who she is and where she fits in the world, she discovers that she's inherited something else from her grandfather: the ability to see and communicate with the dead. Just as she's wondering how she'll pay the electric bill when she can't even stand going to school, a ghost shows up and requests her help retrieving a necklace from a tomb. The ghost can see and travel through walls, but only Agnes (the living) can touch things and open doors. Could it be that Agnes has found her calling?
This book is, indeed, an anthology, with four stories illustrated by different artists. I found myself torn between how interesting it is to see different visual interpretations of the same character and city, and how disjointed it is to lose consistency. With the exception of "Lost and Found," illustrated by Raina Telgemeier (The Babysitters' Club graphic novels) in a simple, Herge-like style, I found the artwork's high contrast and dense details to be somewhat difficult to "read."
The final part of the book is a prose Field Guide and journal excerpts that provide further insight into the identity of Agnes. These were some of my favorite parts of the book; they hint at a backstory, more mystery, and some of the lore surrounding Legerdemain. Reading these parts made me hope for more on Agnes and her world.
Favorite quotes:
"Because really, some people just deserve to get eaten by zombies."
"See if I help THEM out when they're dead."
"He doesn't say much, but just knowing he's downstairs in the store is comforting. His is the good kind of quiet."
"It's as if there are layers or levels to the afterlife somehow. I often imagine I can sense the walls between our worlds opening and closing with the shifting of the earth."
Agnes Quill is a 16-year-old orphan who lives in the strange city of Legerdemain ("sleight of hand") in a curiosity shop that she inherited from her grandfather. As she tries to figure out who she is and where she fits in the world, she discovers that she's inherited something else from her grandfather: the ability to see and communicate with the dead. Just as she's wondering how she'll pay the electric bill when she can't even stand going to school, a ghost shows up and requests her help retrieving a necklace from a tomb. The ghost can see and travel through walls, but only Agnes (the living) can touch things and open doors. Could it be that Agnes has found her calling?
This book is, indeed, an anthology, with four stories illustrated by different artists. I found myself torn between how interesting it is to see different visual interpretations of the same character and city, and how disjointed it is to lose consistency. With the exception of "Lost and Found," illustrated by Raina Telgemeier (The Babysitters' Club graphic novels) in a simple, Herge-like style, I found the artwork's high contrast and dense details to be somewhat difficult to "read."
The final part of the book is a prose Field Guide and journal excerpts that provide further insight into the identity of Agnes. These were some of my favorite parts of the book; they hint at a backstory, more mystery, and some of the lore surrounding Legerdemain. Reading these parts made me hope for more on Agnes and her world.
Favorite quotes:
"Because really, some people just deserve to get eaten by zombies."
"See if I help THEM out when they're dead."
"He doesn't say much, but just knowing he's downstairs in the store is comforting. His is the good kind of quiet."
"It's as if there are layers or levels to the afterlife somehow. I often imagine I can sense the walls between our worlds opening and closing with the shifting of the earth."