Compass South

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 14, 2016

Review

The first in what promises to be an exciting series of adventure graphic novels for the upper elementary/middle-grade readers. Alex and Cleo Dodge are orphans who have taken up with the Black Hook Gang in NYC in 1860. After a burglary gone wrong, the twins trade information for a fresh start and head to New Orleans to catch a ship to San Francisco, where they hope to score big on a new scheme. But nothing goes according to plan and the twins meet Silas and Edwin Clement, another set of red-headed, orphaned twins looking for a home and eager to cash in on the same scheme as the Dodge twins. With a lot of edge-of-your-seat action, the reader is caught up in the story of both sets of twins as they make their way westward. Mock's realistic, detailed illustrations work wonderfully with the story though the reader will have to work to keep track of which set of twins we are following as they are drawn similarly (somewhat purposefully, as they both fit a particular description); everything becomes quite clear in the end. Warning to the younger reader, there is a touch of romance in the book (a fairly innocent kiss) and some sinister characters. The book wraps up nicely but there are obviously more stories for both the Dodge and Clement twins. In fact, Book 2 publishes in June 2017. Lovers of adventure stories and GNs will eat up this fast-paced, beautifully-drawn tale.

Overall Book Score: excellent