Sorceline, ethereal graphic novel with manga touches for upper elementary

Granga. Magic novel. I’m looking over those two Frankenstein words in my head whilst trying to describe Sorceline. They’re words that I made up because thinking of the audience that’s best for Sorceline constantly got my head moving. It’s a graphic novel with spooky sensibilities. It’s a manga with graphic novel touches and hooks in it that’ll make the book a slam dunk for Potterheads.  Sorceline is all of those things, it just depends on what fandom or delivery, that you prefer as to how you’ll describe the book.

At the end of the day, however you describe Sorceline, it’s a book. It’s gorgeously illustrated by Paola Antista and has that new book smell. I know, all new books have a smell, but this one has paper that just smells like literary manna from heaven. The book takes place on the Island of Vorn, a place where fairies, vampires, and magic all live in peace with each other. There’s also a school on this island where the brightest pupils are invited to study things, as well as, deal with the most mysterious of all things, other people.

That’s where our titular character stumbles a bit. She’s smart with incantations, monsters, and such, but is quick to anger and is trying to figure out her place in the people world. It’s a small school where all of the students know one another, so when one of them disappears or the pupils start to act stranger than usual, it’s evident to everyone. Sure enough, one of the students goes missing, fairies get frozen and there are secrets abound on the island.

Sorceline is mysterious and it paces itself very patiently throughout the graphic novel. While it’s telling a story, it’s also building a world with more stories. To that end, there’s a payoff for fans of this feminine-leaning manga/graphic novel that will have them hook in mouth for the next one in the series. It ends with those audiences wanting more and on a cliffhanger that places a big question that Vorn is going to have to answer.

It’s a graphic novel that those upper elementary through early middle school girl readers will dig. The book is also very smart and aims for a higher patience level of reader. This is done by having some of the text written in cursive and the dialogue and character development outpacing the action. Sorceline, for those audiences, is also one of those books that’ll be passed around, talked about, and pontificated as to what happened to the character and which one will be the first to kiss someone romantically.

Sorceline is by Sylvia Douye with illustrations by Paola Antista and available on Andrews McMeel Publishing.

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