I received this book for free from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld
Published by First Second on May 2, 2017
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Supernatural, YA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
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Nobody's ever really explained the Spill. Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world? Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night, and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world.
This was a creepy, weird book, interesting graphic novel. I don’t tend to read a lot of them, but I do enjoy them on occasion. This one has beautiful artwork and a pretty crazy storyline. I thought that the illustrations really brought the story to life and added a creepy factor to it. The characters were great too and though we don’t learn too much about them yet, it really makes the anticipation for a sequel almost unbearable.
Addie is the main character. She takes care of her little sister now that her parents are dead. Thanks to The Spill. No one is allowed in the Spill Zone, but Addie sneaks in and takes gorgeous, haunting, and chilling photos of it. It’s super dangerous, but that is the only way for her to make enough money to help her sister. She has some collectors who will pay big bucks for the art.
Lexa is Addie’s little sister. One of the few survivors from The Spill. She also doesn’t talk. None of the survivors do. She does have a doll, Vespertine who she communicates through. It’s no normal doll though. It’s living. It just needs to recharge in the Spill Zone sometimes. Vespertine travels with Addie on occasion and keeps Lexa company other times.
This book gave me the creeps at times. The creatures in the Spill Zone, the atmosphere there, and mostly Vespertine. There’s always that presence of danger, not just in the Spill Zone, but everywhere. In the Spill Zone though, any trip there could be your last. I thought this was a great graphic novel and can’t wait to see what comes next. You need to see and read this for yourself. Get a physical copy if you can because an eraser would not do this beauty justice.
I was also sent a gorgeous photo that was one of the ones taken to use for illustrations. Unfortunately, my iPad thinks the file is too big and won’t insert for me so I will have to add it later when I’m on my computer.
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