Lizard-like creatures play in a cave and awaken something terrible... and the story begins. Bea and her cat Nimm live a happy and peaceful life with their adopted grandfather, the Pig Wizard. But then Bea meets Cad, member of the long-lost race of Galdurians, and her adopted grandfather disappears. Strange signs and creatures are seen, and they begin a dangerous and seemingly hopeless journey to find the Pig Wizard and save the last of the lights that keep their world from being plunged into darkness and overtaken by the evil shadows that threaten it.
Bea is scared and worried, Cad seemingly indifferent to the dangers that surround them. They struggle to understand each other and to face the many dangers in their journeys through increasingly unstable lands. The story ends on a note of tragedy, but with hope for the future and a repayment of kindness from a mysterious creature.
This has lovely, otherworldly illustrations. Soft, glowing lights show strange creatures, from humans to anthropomorphic animals, that populate a world with no natural light. Readers will be drawn in by the excellent world-building, the growing camaraderie between the mismatched characters, and the exciting plot.
Verdict: This isn't particularly ground-breaking, but it's excellently done, both in text and art, and if you have readers desperate for the next Kazu Kibuishi (which, by the way, has no projected pub date as of now) they will devour this new series. And then, of course, be desperate for the sequel to this one! So it's a self-defeating cycle really.
ISBN: 9780062990464; Published September 2020 by HarperAlley; Purchased for the library
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