Brooms

In an alternate 1930s Mississippi, magic is carefully regulated among marginalized communities by white people in power. Because of this, Black teen best friends Billie Mae and Loretta, alongside their transgender teammate Cheng-Kwan, who is of East Asian descent, participate in illicit broom races as the Night Storms, hoping to raise enough money to pay the government exemption fee that would allow them to practice magic legally. At the urging of Billie Mae’s crush, Latina and Choctaw teen Luella, the Night Storms take on Luella’s Choctaw and Black cousins, Emma and Mattie, who risk being taken from their family and sent to a boarding school if they don’t obtain an exemption. After having her own powers sealed away by the government due to noncompliance, Luella is determined to help her cousins avoid the same fate. Via cinematic paneling, careful attention to detail, and a sprawling cast portrayed with varying abilities, body types, and skin tones, DuVall (The Bridge, for adults) depicts pulse-pounding broom races and comforting domestic sequences. By utilizing real-life period details to develop exciting lore surrounding the races and the magic system, Walls (Vixen NYC, for adults) presents an evocative Fast and the Furious–flavored graphic novel. Ages 12–up. Author’s agent: Saribel Pages, Gallt & Zacker Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Peter Ryan, Stimola Literary Studio. (Oct.)