NewsPrints

Though Blue holds her own among the newspaper lads in the town of Nautilene, few know that she’s not a boy. Her adopted family helps keep her secret, but that loyalty is challenged as Blue’s need to press boundaries pulls her into the geopolitics of her homeland of Goswing and its warring enemy, Grimmaea. She first befriends and becomes an apprentice to a scientist named Jack, who seems all too familiar with the war effort, then stumbles upon the reclusive Crow, who, like Blue, is not all he appears to be. Xu doesn’t always pull together narrative threads of her first graphic novel in ways that feel natural; encounters and dialogues can be forced, as when Blue randomly meets Crow sitting atop a building on a secured naval base and they become instant friends. There’s no faulting Xu’s art, though, which blends the expressiveness of manga with an emphasis on cross-panel action more commonly found in western comics. With rich coloring, retro cityscapes that hark to the era of newsies, and a miscellany of steampunk gadgetry, it’s an enjoyable romp that considers how hidden secrets shape who people become. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)