Luminous Beings

June 17, 2024
Almost a year ago, best friends Ty and Burger made a pact to take a gap year and then apply to film school together—but that was before the appearance of zombie squirrels. Now, the budding artists scrap together
documentary footage of their dystopian present using their phones, work at Cousteau’s Coffee with their friend Miles, and puzzle over the disappearance of the café’s former owner, Stuart Fink. After the crew, plus Miles’s partner Fib, uncover an unsent email from Fink that implies he’s still alive, they decide to track him down to earn the $20,000 reward his parents are offering. The ensuing all-nighter leads the teens to Club Quarantine, a millionaire’s castle, and the middle of the woods, and leaves them with a deeper appreciation for their friendship—and some excellent footage for their film. Quotes from Longfellow, Yoda, and Jack White alongside abundant early-aughts, 1990s, and 1980s music references imbue this bizarre and fun graphic novel debut by Arnold (I Loved You in Another Life) with plentiful nostalgia. Detailed art by Pimienta (Twin Cities) likewise builds out the teen’s spaces while inky black
lingering shadows highlight the novel’s apocalyptic bent. Ages 14–up. Author’s agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Elizabeth Bennett, Transatlantic Literary.

Starred review from July 1, 2024
Grades 10-12 *Starred Review* The relationship dramas at play might feel like a 1990s indie film, but then here come the glowing-eyed zombie squirrels. A literal sign of Earth's slow-slide, disturbingly easy-to-ignore ecosystem failure, the squirrels are also a metaphor for the way our personal worlds can change beyond our control. Both should be relevant to late teen and early adult readers, who will easily identify with four friends who wind up on a road trip in search of the legendary Fink, who might be dead or may have just gone way off the grid, but whose discovery promises a reward that can fund the documentary film two of these movie-obsessed hopefuls have been trying to make. Moving from clue to clue, their relationships face crucial, irrevocable moments that readers will connect with. Arnold and Pimienta display joyfully experimental creativity with the form, crosscutting cinematically between critical developments in one scene, imbuing an emotionally shattering moment with shocking visual force in another, and applying comics' unique sequential space to poetry in one more. While the humorous repartee in the dialogue can feel strained or artificial, that is perhaps not inauthentic to an age and time in life that struggles for some levity amid the weighty choices and circumstances. At any rate, it all culminates quite effectively in some uncommonly profound questions about life, destiny, relationships, and the world.

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July 15, 2024
Four teens grapple with common problems in an uncommon time. In this stand-alone apocalyptic graphic novel, friends Ty, Burger, Fib, and Miles are at the crossroads of post-high school life. While their world bears some similarities to ours, these young people face something entirely (and happily) foreign: squizzies. The virus-infected squirrels have glowing, bubble gum pink eyes, the ability to fly, and murderous intent. As a result, people must wear bespoke hazmat suits called hazzies every time they go outside. The friends embark on a quixotic quest to locate Stu, their missing boss, and over the course of a fateful night, they face dangers both within their circle and in the world at large. Arnold's text skillfully portrays post-adolescent banalities against a harrowing and violent backdrop; those sensitive to animal death and violence may be upset at the frequency and gruesomeness with which the squizzies are dispatched. While the story spotlights the interpersonal dynamics, those who prefer robust worldbuilding may be disappointed, as details about the squizzies are scant at best. In a dreamy palette of pink and lavender hues, Pimienta's illustrations leap off the page in a feat of visual wizardry. Most of the central characters are light-skinned; Burger has brown skin and Afro-textured hair, and the cast contains diversity in gender identity and sexual orientation. A delightfully disturbing and dystopian snapshot of friendship.(Graphic science fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Would-be filmmakers and childhood best friends Ty and Burger have big plans to make names for themselves as creative superstars-if they can get funding to develop their documentary that shows the human side of the current global catastrophe. They want to tell the stories of the thousands of victims ravaged by the menace known as Squizzies, who were once gentle beings, until a rampant virus turned them into rabid, murderous zombies; also, Squizzies are squirrels. When they get a lead on their former coffee shop supervisor who went missing and is presumably dead, the duo and their friends set off on a perilous adventure to find him. Their Scooby-Doo gang shenanigans are further complicated by Ty's secret that she has been accepted into a college and plans to break up their partnership but is afraid to reveal that to her best friend. The entire story takes place over the course of one day, and the panels in this graphic novel are colored in shades of lush purple, neon magenta, and hazy pink, as the day turns from sunrise to sunset. The ease of their t�te-�-t�te and ribbing shows the unbreakable bond between the pair, whose friendship is tested yet withstands the challenge of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Coarse language, references to drugs and drinking, mild romance, and violence that is stylized and ridiculous make this a believable YA story. VERDICT This graphic novel is sure to be a hit for fans of Paper Girls, Stranger Things, and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.-Rebecca Jung

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