Home Time

On the last day of primary school, an eclectic and somewhat combative group of friends plans to celebrate with an epic two-night sleepover. Things go awry when they fall into a river and are transported to the Forest of the Peaches, where they are met by humanoid creatures who believe the children are gods who have come to save them from the Lizard Empire. As months pass in this strange world, some of the children become more acclimated than others, resulting in increased tension in the group. Visually, the story invokes the surrealism of Carroll’s Wonderland with exotic flora, fauna, and curiosities around every corner, and there are echoes of Lewis’s Narnia in the plot’s focus on children-saviors in an alternate world. Australian comics creator Whyte shifts artistic style with each chapter, moving from pencil sketches to bright, borderline psychedelic cartoons and even a chapter with a pixelated motif à la vintage arcade games. It’s both alienating and engaging, keeping readers as off-balance as the children, who are trapped in an alien landscape they don’t quite understand. Ages 13–up. (June)