The well

When Li-Zhen comes up short for her return fare home after her first day at the market on her own, she grabs three coins from the wishing well to pay the ferryman. But that well is mystical, and stealing the coins leaves her with a curse--either she fulfills the wishes attached to those coins or she's doomed to be the well's servant. The wishes send her on three quests, which ultimately reveal secrets about the foggy archipelago's monsters, her own innate magic, and the fate of her family, most of whom died battling a sea dragon when she was a baby. Wyatt and Choo's gorgeously illustrated adventure follows a classic three-quest fairy tale structure, but the matter-of-fact queer representation and lush, manga-inspired artwork set it apart. Towering waves, grotesque monsters, sharply expressive faces, and evocative settings appear in a luminescent palette dominated by periwinkles, mauves, and sunset yellows in high contrast to the crisp black shadows. It's a dynamic visual style, reminiscent of Miyazaki's animation and rich with world-building detail. Wyatt neatly folds backstory reveals into the action, and Li-Zhen wrestles with some poignant questions when she considers whether to do the well's bidding. With captivating artwork and a compelling adventure that has surprising depth, this is a top pick for teen readers who liked Tillie Walden's On a Sunbeam (2018).

A farmer's teenage granddaughter embarks on a perilous journey to break her curse in this Chinese-inspired heroic myth. Li-zhen is three coins short to pay the fare back home after a laborious day selling her and her grandfather's wares at the market. Desperate, she steals from the village's wishing well, which curses her. To remove her affliction, Lizzy must fulfill the wish of each person whose coin she stole, lest the ocean consume her in recompense. With the well's mysterious, cloaked guardian as her guide, Lizzy is tasked with ferrying a stranger to a faraway land, helping a greedy man gain immeasurable wealth, and slaying the Leviathan--a monster she thought dead after her late witch mother felled it years before--that is terrorizing her island home of Shui Jing. Choo's thinly lined inks render intricately detailed characters, and pale-hued coloring and expertly prioritized negative space ground the expansive worldbuilding. Wyatt enlivens classic fantasy tropes and themes through the lens of a tenacious heroine whose rapidly expanding worldview and patchy memories of her complicated past build toward a poignant resolution through a compact, immersive narrative. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 14--up. Agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (May)

This post-apocalyptic, archipelago-set graphic novel teems with atmosphere and angst, in addition to gutsy witches, mysterious curses, and horrifying monsters. Teenage Li-Zhen, or Lizzy, is a witch with a tragic family history -- her mother, father, and grandmother died fighting a sea serpent, the Leviathan, when she was an infant. Now Lizzy, traveling on her own for the first time to market to sell her and her grandfather's farm goods, spends all her money at the fair (where she passes time with her same-sex crush, Eli). She steals three coins from a wishing well to pay her ferry fare home; cursed, she must fulfill the three wishes that she stole, or the well will take her "down into the water, into the dark." A series of accelerating adventures unfolds, all leading to a ferocious battle between Lizzy and the Leviathan. Choo's manga-influenced cartooning is cinematic and immersive, expertly balancing long-distance establishing shots with up-close character-driven action. The digitally produced illustrations are rendered in a thin black line, providing plenty of open space for an ever-changing, emotive color palette within immersive, intriguing visuals. Patrick Gall July/August 2022 p.138(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

*Starred Review* When Li-Zhen comes up short for her return fare home after her first day at the market on her own, she grabs three coins from the wishing well to pay the ferryman. But that well is mystical, and stealing the coins leaves her with a curse—either she fulfills the wishes attached to those coins or she's doomed to be the well's servant. The wishes send her on three quests, which ultimately reveal secrets about the foggy archipelago's monsters, her own innate magic, and the fate of her family, most of whom died battling a sea dragon when she was a baby. Wyatt and Choo's gorgeously illustrated adventure follows a classic three-quest fairy tale structure, but the matter-of-fact queer representation and lush, manga-inspired artwork set it apart. Towering waves, grotesque monsters, sharply expressive faces, and evocative settings appear in a luminescent palette dominated by periwinkles, mauves, and sunset yellows in high contrast to the crisp black shadows. It's a dynamic visual style, reminiscent of Miyazaki's animation and rich with world-building detail. Wyatt neatly folds backstory reveals into the action, and Li-Zhen wrestles with some poignant questions when she considers whether to do the well's bidding. With captivating artwork and a compelling adventure that has surprising depth, this is a top pick for teen readers who liked Tillie Walden's On a Sunbeam (2018). Grades 8-12. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

A farmer's teenage granddaughter embarks on a perilous journey to break her curse in this Chinese-inspired heroic myth. Li-zhen is three coins short to pay the fare back home after a laborious day selling her and her grandfather's wares at the market. Desperate, she steals from the village's wishing well, which curses her. To remove her affliction, Lizzy must fulfill the wish of each person whose coin she stole, lest the ocean consume her in recompense. With the well's mysterious, cloaked guardian as her guide, Lizzy is tasked with ferrying a stranger to a faraway land, helping a greedy man gain immeasurable wealth, and slaying the Leviathan—a monster she thought dead after her late witch mother felled it years before—that is terrorizing her island home of Shui Jing. Choo's thinly lined inks render intricately detailed characters, and pale-hued coloring and expertly prioritized negative space ground the expansive worldbuilding. Wyatt enlivens classic fantasy tropes and themes through the lens of a tenacious heroine whose rapidly expanding worldview and patchy memories of her complicated past build toward a poignant resolution through a compact, immersive narrative. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 14–up. Agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (May)