Festival of Shadows: A Japanese Ghost Story

A teen participating in her small village’s annual spiritual festival has a year to help her assigned spirit cross over to the afterlife in this bittersweet graphic novel of star-crossed love set in contemporary Japan. Every year, in preparation for the Festival of Shadows, lost and confused spirits appear in Naoko’s mountain village. Naoko, who is a shadow caretaker like her late mother, is entrusted by elders to help a soul accept their death and find peace. If they don’t, they risk becoming permanent specters haunting the village. Since her first shadow failed to progress, Naoko worries that her second one will meet the same fate. But this year’s spirit, a skilled painter who is afraid of cars, intrigues her, and she slowly develops feelings for him. Hyper-detailed watercolor and ink art by Sentō (Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter) painstakingly reproduce traditional Japanese elements such as shoji screens, tatami mats, kimonos, and housecoats, and portrayals of the shadows evoke a dreamlike blur. Via Naoko’s romantic and intimate voice, Sentō explores themes of grief, heartache, and loss, coalescing into a sensitively told supernatural tale. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)