Good Neighbors by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh

faeBlack, H. & Naifeh, T. (2008). The Good Neighbors Book One: Kin. New York: GRAPHIX. ISBN: 0439855624

Plot Summary

  Rue was a typical teen, she had great friends, did normal teen stuff, but then her mom disappeared and everything changed. Her father is arrested for the murder of her mother and for one of his grad students, but Rue knows deep down that he is innocent. As if things could not get any weirder, Rue discovers that she is a faerie and so is her mother. She must set out to find her mother, free her father, and discover herself in a whole new world which is at the brink of war between good and evil. 

Critical Evaluation

 Kin had beautiful grayscale artwork that was an excellent help when portraying the emotions of the characters. I am a fan of the Spiderwick Chronicles and was pleased that Black's writing skills carried over into this form of writing. Just as in other fantasy novels, sometimes new found power is unwanted as we see for poor Rue who wants nothing more than to be normal. Some parts were a bit choppy and confusing but for the most part I look forward to Book 2. 

Readers Annotation

   Not only does Rue have to deal with typical teenage drama, but her mother is kidnapped, her father is charged with her murder, and Rue finds out she is a Faerie. Oh yeah, and the fantasy world is about to wage war between good and evil and it is up to poor Rue to save everything!

Information about the Author

  Holly Black was born on November 10, 1971 and grew up in decrepit Victorian houses in West Long Branch New Jersey. She graduated with a B.A in English from the College of New Jersey in 1994. She worked as a production editor of medical journals while studying at Rutgers University. She considered becoming a librarian but decided against it.

  Her first novel was published in 2002 and her novella, The Wrath of the Mulgarath, reached the top of the New York Times Bestseller List in 2004. She was a co producer of the film adaptation of the Spiderwick Chronicles.

  She married her high school sweetheart who is an illustrator and a web designer and she lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Genre
  Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties
  n/a

Booktalking Ideas
  n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
  9-12th grade/Young Adult

Challenge Issues
  Supernatural, violence
   I would offer my library's Collection Development Policy which highlights how challenges and reconsideration's are handled. I would ask the challenger and the professional reviewing it to familiarize themselves with the book.

Reason for Selection
  I am a fan of Holly Black and read great reviews about this graphic novel.