(1) YA A funny and fast-paced feminist adventure masterfully told through the comics medium. This alternate-Victorian-era fantasy opens after Jane's parents' death. Since women can't own property, the family estate and fortune will pass to Jane's odious male cousin -- who gives her a week to pack her bags and leave. Unless she can secure a dowry via marriage, she will be penniless as well as homeless. Jane, along with everyone in her seaside village, buys into the dominant and oppressive standards of beauty; she's realistic about the fact that her appearance leaves her with few marriage prospects. While she may be considered plain, Jane is exceedingly clever: she proposes marriage to Peter, a gorgeous fisherman forced into the trade by his toxic father. "We both have problems, and this would solve them." But those plans are thwarted after Peter is kidnapped by a man-eating mermaid, and Jane embarks on an epic undersea journey to rescue him. Along the way, she meets folkloric creatures (selkies, crones, a water demon, etc.) and gains knowledge and the confidence to challenge societal norms. Brosgol's (Be Prepared, rev. 5/18; Anya's Ghost, rev. 7/11) magical story is full of quirky and indelible characters; smart surprises and plot twists; and laugh-out-loud dialogue. Stellar world-building and cinematic cartooning effectively pace the narrative, building suspense and emphasizing moments of horror. Textured colorwork adds further depth to plot and setting, and an author's note invites readers to interrogate the worlds (both real and fictional) with which they come into contact.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) YA Alienated from his alternate Victorian London's society by behaviors and sensitivities common to people with autism, Silas is nonetheless valued for his eyes. Their violet color allows the possessor to reach through the Veil and converse with the dead--but only if you're male; violet-eyed females are valued only as breeding stock, and Silas was assigned female at birth. Self-taught in surgical techniques, Silas morbidly dreams of using his knowledge to excise his own womb, but when an attempt to gain the independence to live as his true self goes wrong, he's sent to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanitorium. It's a place where "girls like you" are cured of "the Veil sickness"--and true peril awaits. Can Silas discover why the students are disappearing? The protagonist's travails are coming from so many different directions that readers' sympathies are fully engaged. Secondary characters are rounded as well, creating intriguing dynamics. A well-sustained body horror suffuses the book with tension, and (as an opening note warns) the "transphobia, ableism, graphic violence, sexual assault, discussions of forced pregnancy and miscarriage, mentions of suicidal ideation, and extensive medical gore" can be a lot to take. But readers who are up for it will follow Silas's exploits in horrified fascination and (potentially) delightfully sick dread. A closing note places this fantasy's use of medical experimentation in real historical context.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Lauren Child. In July 1888, women and girls working at a match factory in East London went on strike to protest dangerous working conditions and poor pay. Carroll takes the story of this significant event in labor history and uses it as the armature for her own version of Hans Christian Andersen's weeper "The Little Match Girl." Carroll's little match-seller has a name, Bridie, and a strong voice, luring customers with stories and outrageous patter. Her whole family is in the match trade, her mother in the factory, herself on the frigid streets selling, and her small brother at home fashioning match boxes. Like her nameless original, Bridie experiences visions, but unlike her predecessor she turns these visions into social action and survives to tell her tale. The mash-up of history and Andersen-tale works beautifully, especially on the metaphorical level with light, enlightenment, warmth, and energy battling it out against darkness, ignorance, chill, and despair. Child's illustrations, collages in black, gray, and red with a rich use of pattern, incorporate text at certain points to create an arresting, graphically dynamic page. Serve this up with Pinkney's lushly illustrated picture-book edition of the Andersen and with Maguire's Matchless for a feast of Victoriana and an invitation to discuss child poverty, capitalism, and the power of organized labor.`

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Briony May Smith. From its first words and images, this book about the young Brontës invites readers into the cozy home and companionship of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. It patently conveys the pleasure both author and illustrator take in these children and their prodigious imaginations as storytellers and bookmakers. In neat, compact sentences--impressively so given the information conveyed--O'Leary tells of the Brontës' home and pastimes, and of the flowering of their little books of fantasy stories inspired by the gift of wooden toy soldiers. At the same time, Smith's art offers pictures in which to lose oneself, ranging from the edgeless, vast slopes of the moors to detailed interiors seen through windows and panels. The effect is that of looking into a dollhouse, complete with a bird's-eye view of a table set with food and crockery, an effect exceptionally expressive of the subject matter. O'Leary leaps briefly to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne as successful adult novelists, but she returns to their childhood almost at once; like them, you too could make a little book with a story, she tells us, and here is how to do it. A joyous, beguiling introduction to these Victorian writers. Appended with an author's note and a timeline, in addition to "How to Make Your Own Little Book."

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 This clever and lively Victorian English–village murder mystery starring precocious twelve-year-old fledgling detective Myrtle Hardcastle has all the trappings: households with cooks and governesses and groundskeepers; church luncheons and afternoon teas; mysterious newcomers; missing wills. Also, poisoned elderly ladies: Myrtle's discovery that her neighbor, Miss Wodehouse, did not die of natural causes but was murdered leads to a story filled with spying, deduction, false accusations, red herrings, and danger. Bunce does an excellent job of making Myrtle the lead actor but gives her a strong set of (mostly female) supporters, including her beloved governess, Miss Judson; the family cook; a surprise-twist-at-the-end ally; and one very vocal cat. Myrtle's single-mindedness in solving the murder might wear thin for readers, but she is made sympathetic due to her fraught relationship with her kind but sometimes disapproving prosecutor father, her grief over her mother's death from cancer, and her fervent wish that her father now fall in love with the estimable Miss Judson. Myrtle's narration is Arch with a capital A ("Dear Reader, kindly permit me a pause to properly introduce one of the Key Players in this narrative"), but it suits the novel's setting and subgenre to a T. The last page all but promises a sequel. (For another middle-grade period murder mystery starring an intrepid young female sleuth, check out Marthe Jocelyn's Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under the Piano, rev. 1/20.)

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kristy Caldwell. Isabella Bird (1831–1904) overcame childhood maladies and, perhaps equally hard to surmount, rigid social expectations of female behavior to become a world traveler, explorer, and best-selling author; snippets of Bird's writing appear in this ebullient treatment of a life well spent. Illustrator Caldwell incorporates occasional dialogue balloons and comics-style panels into the digital illustrations, staving off any accusation of Victorian creakiness. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie series. Clockwork boy Charlie and his friends reunite with Charlie's brother to search for three magical objects that can defeat the Iron Cog. Assisted by the spirit of Wilhelm Grimm, they travel the globe to stop the sinister organization from conquering the world. A fascinating Victorian-steampunk setting combines with thrilling action and deepening character relationships for a satisfying conclusion to an engaging trilogy.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) YA Aspiring author Charlotte Brontë's admiration of classmate Jane Eyre is unwavering (even when Jane is suspected of poisoning the headmaster). When Jane turns down a job offer from the ghost-hunting Society for Relocating Wayward Spirits and instead leaves Lowood School to work as a governess, Charlotte tags along. An entertaining, madcap reinterpretation of Jane Eyre wherein Victorian practices collide with paranormal adventures.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 In 1872 Edinburgh, mute pickpocket Danny inadvertently helps a wealthy menagerie owner purchase an elephant at auction. Mr. Jameson concocts a P. T. Barnum–type spectacle in which Danny, posing as an Indian prince, rides the elephant, Maharajah, across Scotland and England. Young animal lovers and fans of historical fiction alike will enjoy this big-hearted adventure based on true events.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Bryony's talent as a portrait painter shifts from precocious to threatening when her works start coming to life. As chaos envelops Victorian London, Bryony escapes the attic her uncle keeps her in to search for her missing father, Dorian Gray, making strange friends along the way. Pleasantly creepy, this novel about an intrepid orphan blends art history, classic literature, and adventure to satisfying effect.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 When a magically gifted thief makes off with quantities of London's ancient stonework, Hyacinth (Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath) must again save the city. Supported by quirky comrades old and new, she pursues the villain into the inner workings of the Tower Bridge and takes advice from Benjamin Franklin. Verbally playful and weirdly informative, Hyacinth's magical adventures are rich in action albeit limited in character development.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA In the sequel to Timekeeper, Danny Hart and fellow clock mechanic Daphne Richards are sent to India to investigate a series of destroyed clocktowers. Meanwhile, Danny's love interest Colton, a clock spirit, uncovers secrets about his own past. Though the plot gets a bit convoluted, a diverse group of characters and swoony same-sex romance add appeal to the imaginative steampunk adventure.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie series. Fleeing London, clockwork boy Charlie (The Kidnap Plot) heads to Wales with a warning for his murdered father's friend. Separated from his traveling companions, Charlie teams up with a band of dwarfs in a race to arrive before the evil organization that killed his father does. A worthy sequel chock-full of intricate world-building, plot twists, and an amusing assortment of new and familiar characters.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) YA Kingdom on Fire series. Sorcerer Henrietta was named the chosen one to save Victorian London from the demonic Ancients (A Shadow Bright and Burning). Though the prophecy was wrong, Henrietta grows increasingly desperate for a way to kill the Ancients--and stop the boy she loves from becoming a monster. Plenty of dramatic twists, romantic entanglements, betrayals, and secrets will hook readers in this entertaining second volume.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(3) YA In 1847 London, Anna is part of Luminate society--noble magic-users under tight political governance--but she cannot use magic herself; instead, she disrupts it by breaking spells. After unintentionally ruining her sister's debut, Anna leaves for revolutionary Hungary where she must negotiate those who would use her for rebellion. This historical fantasy takes on self-determination, classism, and bigotry in its period-appropriate narrative. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) YA When Audrey Rose and Thomas (Stalking Jack the Ripper) travel to Romania for a course in forensics, blood-drained bodies begin appearing before they've even gotten off the train. The resulting gruesome mystery (improbably) involves Dracula's feuding Victorian-era descendants. Audrey Rose's feelings for Thomas again vacillate frustratingly between extremes, but the richly evoked historical setting and forensic details help to ground the more melodramatic moments.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) YA A vivid portrait of the feisty British monarch who ruled for over sixty years. Reef dexterously shows not only Victoria's development as a person but also her evolution as a ruler within the social and political upheavals of her time, elegantly layering in details to provide a broader view of the era. Primary source material and spectacular reproductions in full color appear throughout. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(4) 4-6 After her scatterbrained mother is kidnapped, it's up to Hyacinth to unravel secrets (both ancestral and historical) beneath London. Aided by a magical pig, Oaroboarus, who communicates via printed business cards, Hyacinth traverses London's underground rivers, finding allies and discovering strange forms of magic. Wacky characters take precedence over plotting, but the author's re-visioning of Victorian London (and its plumbing) is unique.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Jess, assistant to her sham-spiritualist mother, is surprised when she receives an authentic--and sinister--message from the spirit world. Jess, a gifted mesmerist, must use her visions and thought-reading skills to defeat a bloodthirsty villain who wants eternal life for himself. Smith's plot-driven tale, set in Victorian London, plays on horror and the supernatural for its drama; the first-person, present-tense writing is involving.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker

(3) 4-6 Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie series. When Charlie Pondicherry's father, a clockwork machinery expert, is kidnapped, Charlie and companions--including a troll lawyer and his pixie assistant--scour a steampunk version of Victorian London for him. Along the way, they uncover a deadly plot and a secret truth about Charlie. Outlandish characters and their backstories, twists and turns, and plenty of action make this an ambitious, entertaining series-opener.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan