Cloud Town

March 15, 2022
In Cloud Town, the interdimensional rip looses monstrous Hurricanes; the relational rip might tear a cherished friendship irreparably apart. Newly uprooted to a nearby wealthy school, Pen and Olive rely on each other to survive. Anxious, academic Olive keeps Pen's schoolwork on the straight and narrow. In return, hard-edged skater Pen protects Olive from the bullies who torment her. Troubles in their own lives, however, seem primed to push the girls apart. The rift between them only widens when an unexpected encounter with an escaped Hurricane under surveillance by the Care Corp reveals that Olive piloted the Storm Catcher that felled the creature. Not strong, capable Pen, but Olive, who's afraid of everything. McCloskey's debut graphic novel is a story of compatibility and divergence as two friends explore and adapt beyond the confines of their relationship and their own self-imposed limitations. Pen, with her troubled home life, is given the more developed backstory of the two whereas Olive has more character growth, gradually overcoming her insecurities and gaining both confidence and independence. Spending as much of the story at odds as they do, it is difficult to believe that the girls, whose personalities are not particularly complementary, were ever truly close; however, that does not detract from readers' investment in their physical and emotional journeys. A limited color palette and viscerally detailed, dynamic art style vividly illustrate the rich quasi-dystopian world. Pen has Afro-textured hair, while Olive reads as White. Weirdly and unexpectedly wonderful. (Graphic science fiction. 12-18)

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June 3, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Cartoonist McCloskey's debut YA graphic novel is a girl-centered sci-fi story about friendship, self-acceptance, and hard-earned bravery, set in a world threatened by giant monsters called Hurricanes. When a Hurricane destroys Cloud Town High School, the students must temporarily attend Tinker Town High School. Unfortunately, the much richer and more privileged Tinker Town students are often openly hostile to the Cloud Town teens, and among their frequent targets are audacious skateboarder Penelope (nicknamed Pen) and timid wallflower Olive. Pen has just defended Olive from another incident when they witness a Stormcatcher, one of the giant mechanical suits controlled by psychically linked pilots that were created to mitigate the Hurricanes' destruction, collapse on a building in front of them. Pen and Olive illegally enter the suit to see if they can help the pilot and save the folks trapped underneath. To their surprise, they are able to pilot the suit and get it back to its laboratory home, Care Corp. Care Corp., going against all existing protocols, decides to bring the girls on board as pilots. Pen and Olive must explore what it means to take on adult responsibility, how to be brave and merciful when one feels the opposite, and to what lengths they will go to ensure their community's safety. McCloskey's detailed art does a great job of emphasizing the emotional highs and lows of high school and mech combat. The gritty, textured look makes the characters and settings feel real and helps create a seamless transition between reality and the more fantastical elements of this adventure. VERDICT The emotional story of two friends overcoming personal obstacles against the backdrop of a rollicking giant monster adventure will be a hit with fans of Hannah Templer's Cosmoknights and Tillie Walden's On a Sunbeam. -Jennie Law

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