Summary [courtesy of Goodreads]: Tucked away in a government facility nicknamed the Playroom, six not-quite-human kids learn to control their strange and unpredictable abilities. Life is good–or safe, at least–hidden from the prying eyes of a judgmental world. That is, until a security breach forces them out of their home and into the path of the Collector, a mysterious being with leech-like powers. Can the group band together to thwart the Collector’s devious plan, or will they wind up the newest addition to his collection?
[Note: This review is based on an eARC from NetGalley and HarperAlley [HarperCollins Children’s].]
This is a delightful, if fairly high-stakes, graphic novel about a scrappy group of cryptid kids who are just trying to find a safe space to live and thrive. The found family element is bar-none spectacular. It’ll make you feel the full gamut of emotions (well, at least it did for me), from squeeing at their cuteness to crying at some of the kids’ tragic backstories to bursting with elation at their successes.
My favorite character was definitely baby-Cthulu Maggie (the youngest of the group), though each of the kids are incredibly well-developed and nuanced, despite the plot-driven nature of the story.
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We get to meet a were-bear, a yeti, a selkie, a changeling, and a host of others. There’s even a Reptilian kid, which…I have mixed feelings about, given the bigoted origins of that “real-world” conspiracy theory. However, this character gets one of the most interesting arcs, discovering that they can identify as non-binary and rejecting their family’s anti-human, anti-emotion biases. Basically, every main character is a joy to read about, which makes the peril they’re put in all the more disturbing. And there truly is a proper big-bad villain, though [minor spoilers] the kids are ok in the end.
Frankly, the only negative thing I can say about this book is that I wish it were longer. Or, better yet, I wish it were a series…I wanted MORE backstory, MORE detail on their road-trip hijinks, MORE of the delightful secondary characters. The ending felt a bit rushed, and having the build up last longer in a miniseries would’ve fixed this easily. As it is, though, it’s a delightful stand-alone that could definitely use some follow-up stories. I want a whole franchise!!!