Graphic Novel Review: Suee and the Shadow by Ginger Ly

Posted October 17, 2017 by shooting in Book Review / 16 Comments

Suee and the Shadow by Ginger Ly, and Illustrated by Molly Park

Review by Lauren

source: copy from ALA17; all opinions are my own

Official Summary (add on Goodreads): Meet Suee: Twelve years old, wears her hair to the left in a point, favors a black dress, has no friends—and she likes it that way! When Suee transfers to the dull and ordinary Outskirts Elementary, she doesn’t expect to hear a strange voice speaking to her from the darkness of the school’s exhibit room, and she certainly doesn’t expect to see her shadow come to life. Then things start to get really weird: One by one, her classmates at school turn into zombie-like, hollow-eyed Zeroes. While Suee investigates why this is happening, her shadow gains power. Soon, Suee must confront a stunning secret that her shadow has been hiding under her own two feet—something very dark and sinister that could put Suee and her newfound friends at risk!

Review: I thought Suee was an enjoyable narrator. She’s rather smart and well-spoken for her age, but it never felt overdone or unrealistic. In fact, it made me enjoy reading more from Suee. This is a graphic novel, which I love, and I’m so curious to see the final version. The ARC I picked up was all in black and white, but the completed book will be in full color and I think it will only add to the book. Granted, it’s a spooky novel, so a bit of black and white isn’t so bad.

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In Suee and the Shadow, which is just the first in what seems to be a future series, Suee’s shadow comes to life someday. Like a regular shadow, this one cannot leave Suee – she’s stuck to her feet after all – and she disappears in the shade. However, the shadow has a face of sorts and can communicate with Suee. Suee and the Shadow is a mystery novel because classmates at Suee’s school start to take on the look of a zombie – something people start calling Zero. At first, being a Zero seems connected to being a Loser or something similar, but eventually Suee and two new friends start to make connections about how is becoming a Zero and why.

This was a quick book, as most graphic novels are, but the characters were fun and the story had a lot of detail which made it an all-around good read! This is a good one for Halloween too!

16 responses to “Graphic Novel Review: Suee and the Shadow by Ginger Ly

  1. Aw, this looks like a real cute book! I wasn’t into graphic novels much as a kid, but I started loving and appreciating them more as an adult!

    • shooting

      Well, Suee is twelve so middle grade readers should have no problem with it. If they are a bit younger, it probably just depends on how scared they get. If it’s easily, then maybe not, but otherwise, I’d say go for it!

  2. This sounds like a lovely little read Lauren, I love middle grade novels and the illustrations sounds beautifully dramatic. I’m hoping the final copies left some of the art as black and white prints too. Great review Lauren, will keep an eye out for this one <3

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