A Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens
Living with her aunt next door to the family antique shop, Will likes old things. To her, they have character and a past, and she especially likes taking old things and repurposing them into lamps, a skill that definitely comes in handy for someone who's still afraid of the dark. But she doesn't like talking or thinking about her own past, preferring to push it deep down and acting like nothing's wrong in front of her friends, Autumn and Noel, and her aunt. While she and her friends help put on an arts carnival, Hurricane Whitney hits, knocking out the power, and forcing her to finally confront her fears and hurts.
Will and Whit is a nice little story with great art. Laura Lee Gulledge incorporates hints of what happened to Will with the inclusion of shadows, which is no small feat for a book rendered in black and white. And while you'll probably figure out what happened to Will early on, it doesn't make the reveal and how Will deals with it that less cathartic. While the characters are all kind of cutesy-quirky, it fits the story and doesn't seem too out of the ordinary for a story that revolves around a group of teenagers. Definitely a good next read if you liked Faith Erin Hicks's Friends with Boys.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge.)
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