Of Her Own Design

Freckled and pale-skinned high school sophomore Brie is struggling to think of a concept for her next writing project. Between her crush on cool new girl Kay, her mother wanting to move to the city, and her best friend turned enemy’s relationship with her neighbor, Brie’s life is complicated—but dull. She drudges through a colorless existence and hopes for a stroke of inspiration for her writing; her work is the only anchor she has. When she bargains for a magic pen from enigmatic bookstore owner Ambrose, the stories Brie writes with it literally come to life in this rollicking portal fantasy graphic novel by Andelfinger and Willis. Suddenly enmeshed within the dramatic stories of her own making—portrayed via highly stylized and saturated art, which juxtapose the angular, cleanly lined grayscale renderings of Brie’s everyday—Brie must save the people of her imagined town before their world devolves into chaos. Bouncy dialogue imbues Brie’s adventures with their own narrative flair, chronicled through a mixture of standard panel layouts and sweeping montage collages that keep a steady pace. The finely tuned parallel realities make for an engaging look at big emotions, bigger magic, and the consequences of both. Ages 14–up. (June)