Briony Hatch

Sisters Ginny and Penelope Skinner follow up their self-published debut graphic novel The Art Room with an enigmatic tale of one teen%E2%80%99s dissolving fantasy life and her attempts to confront more lackluster realities. Protagonist Briony Hatch narrates her immersive experience in the fantasy-based Starlin Black novels, with her panic increasing as she consumes the series%E2%80%99 final installment. However, this crisis leads to an exploration of the boundaries between fantasy and reality, between the occult and the imagination, and the Skinners tease out the seemingly minor factors that aid teens in constructing their own sense of individuality. The visual construction of the graphic narrative is remarkably inventive and varied, from Briony%E2%80%99s hand-drawn chapter markers to pages from her diary that render her internal thought processes empathetically. This visual narrative displays a fresh sense of experimentation in conveying the emotional extremes of teen life, from despair to laughter, and avoids the well-worn tropes of the coming-of-age tale. (Oct.)