Serenity Rose, Volume 1: Working Through the Negativity »

When you can float through the air and conjure up monsters out of ectoplasm, you're bound to attract attention. Come stare at Ms. Serenity Rose, local witch, as she spends the day dodging goblins, goths, and a bad case of social phobia in the spookiest lil town in America.

A Booklist Starred Review - Serenity "Sera" Rose tries to live a quiet life. She has her friends Tess and Kelton and her art. For the most part, she is happily sullen among Crestfallen's gothy not-quite-subculture. But the fact that she is a witch makes her dreams of anonymity seem out of reach. It's bad enough trying to avoid becoming a tourist attraction and dodging the goth wannabes, but when vampires start turning up and rock star-witch Rivet Hed's creepy manager wants something from her, she knows her life won't be quiet much longer. There are a lot of words to read in Serenity Rose, but in the first collection of it, they're all worthwhile. Aaron A. (for Alexovich) isn't afraid to take time to develop a plot, which means there is also time to get to know the characters and appreciate the full-on snarky sarcasm of his humor. While the setting is an urban gothic subculture, plenty of potshots are taken at the cliches of cool among its inhabitants. A.'s artwork is beautiful, a sort of dark homage to animation genius Chuck Jones with a splash of Ameri-manga for good measure. Even in shades of gray rather than color, it has enough attitude to stop a truck, making it a nice contrast to all those stuffy superheroes on the graphic-novel shelves.

Stacy Dillon - VOYA

Serenity Rose is one of five American witches. She lives in the small town of Crestfallen, where she tries to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, a difficult task ever since the "bus incident." Her court-appointed psychologist recommended keeping a journal, and this graphic novel is a result of her giving her journals to Aaron A. Serenity's story is introduced very slowly. In between going to a Grinding Organs concert and meeting fellow witch, Vicious Whisper, readers are treated to Serenity's musings on everything from the Goth scene and evangelical religion to drug use and a hilarious anti-Kiss rant. Serenity describes herself as twenty-something years of age. She has faced hardship (the loss of her parents among other things), and her feelings of alienation and disdain will be recognizable to many teens. The text in this graphic novel is very dense. In the introduction, Serenity states, "the storyline is kind of, well . . . haphazard." The art is black and white and is in a japanime style. Serenity and her friends are drawn creepy-cute, with big eyes and wide mouths. Readers who stick with it will be gratified by the sharp humor and Serenity's heartfelt rants, which make this graphic novel appealing to teen readers. This one is an easy sell to fans of Lenore, Squee, and Gloom Cookie. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P J S A/YA G (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult-marketed book recommended for Young Adults; Graphic Novel Format). 2005, SLG Publishing, 144p., Trade pb.. Ages 12 to Adult.