Comics Will Break Your Heart

In her first prose story for young adults, graphic novelist Hicks (The Nameless City) explores feuding families, comic books, and love. Years ago, Joseph Warrick and Micah Kendrick, cocreators of the popular TomorrowMen comics, fought each other for financial rights. Warrick ended up with millions, and Kendrick received a pittance. Resentment has trickled down through the generations, and now Warrick’s grandson Weldon leads a glamorous but unhappy life in L.A., while Kendrick’s granddaughter, high school junior Miriam, scrapes by with her family in tiny Sandford, Nova Scotia. After Weldon’s parents break up, his bad behavior lands him in Sandford to spend a summer with his aunt and uncle, and the teens’ comics shop meet-cute spells instant attraction. They date secretly, aware of their families’ wariness of one another, until a lie Weldon tells threatens the budding romance and stirs up old injustices. This modern-day tale of fortune-crossed lovers features a relatable hero and heroine and a happier ending than Shakespeare’s tragedy. If supporting characters seem somewhat underdeveloped and resolutions a little too tidy, snappy dialogue and a dramatic climax compensate. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Bernadette Baker, Victoria Sanders. (Feb.) [/em]