This book is like a mash-up of Shakespeare and an alternate history young adult dystopia. It features elements of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, tragedy and comedy, all wrapped up in cute art. Ru Xu tells a story set in a fantasy world that resembles our own society from the 1920s and 1930s. “Blue” is a young girl who is posing as a “newsboy” — the all-male cadre of youths who are delivering one of two competing local newspapers. She lives in a country that has been at war with its neighboring country for 10 years. Women are contributing to the war effort on the home front, but are expected to give up the jobs they’ve been competently doing when the men (soldiers) return home from the war. On the run from a gang of newsboys for the competitor, Blue hides out in a large warehouse building, which turns out to be inhabited by a mysterious inventor, who befriends her and agrees to serve as her tutor/mentor, unbeknownst to her adoptive family.
Blue befriends an odd outcast youth, called Crow, and finds herself and her friends drawn into political intrigue — both the inventor and Crow are hiding secrets that endanger Blue.
This graphic novel, a first for this author, is filled with intriguing, likeable characters, a fast-paced storyline (actually multiple overlapping storylines), and a fascinating setting. Though things move so quickly that some plot and character-building details are glossed over, enough of the story survives the storytelling style to make this a fun read.
[ publishers’ official Newsprints web page ] | [ official Ru Xu blog on Tumblr ]
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