Generational blood sacrifices, demonic possession, and a couple of smalltown, nerdy best friends to stop their families and neighbors from being turned into mind-controlled zombies: The Ojja-Wojja is a perfect graphic novel for fans of videogames like Night in the Woods or shows like Stranger Things. 

 

Val and Lanie are longtime best friends and certified weirdos. Between Val being autistic and Lanie coming out as a trans girl, the impending transition to high school is literally scarier than accidentally-on-purpose summoning a demon to help them with the bullies at their middle school. What started out as a homework assignment to learn about the town’s ghost stories is fleshed out really well with the inner conflicts of the two main characters, who are a little scared about what high school will bring to their friendship and are willing to do anything to preserve it. 

 

Of course, I HAVE to talk about the artwork. The visual storytelling in The Ojja-Wojja is some of the best I’ve seen in graphic novels. From distorting the images to express Val’s overstimulation to changing the art-style in the imaginary sequences that Val and Lanie use to cope with difficult situations, the art and the writing bring out the best in each other. In fact, I often gasped when I turned the page and saw a brilliantly horrific full-page illustration or the more abstract distortion and sharp, contrasting colors of the demon’s awakening. 

 

Middle school troubles and relationships thematically connect really well with the horror plot of the book. While the final resolution felt a bit rushed, this is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. The art is charming and expressive (until it turns scary and unnerving) and the characters themselves are so wonderful—even the antagonists are characters want to learn more about. 

 I don't often write negative book reviews. But damn. Despite me being hyped for the concept of THE SORCERER OF PYONGYANG, I ended up really disliking it. 

The concept: A disabled boy living in North Korea happens upon a DnD Rulebook, forgotten by a foreigner at the hotel his father works at. This book becomes entwined in his future as he learns English to read it, allowing him to attend university in Pyongyang and changing his future in irrevocable ways. 

I was hoping for was a coming of age story in line Ruta Sepetys or Viet Thanh Ngyuen's work, with the added twist of my favorite tabletop game. Instead, I got badly written women, ableism, pedophilia, etc

SPOILERS AHEAD

1) Childhood teacher being a gay pedophile and years later, remembering him fondly as 'not really good or evil but neutral like most people are.' I get that characters can be complicated and don't have to be redeemable. But come on. Douglas Stuart showed us how this kind of trauma can be written well. This was not.

2) The subplot of his mother being institutionalized made sense, since she was traumatized by her son being sent to a reeducation camp. But it turns out… his dad was let go and kept his normal life. Her husband reveals she was actually institutionalized bc she lost her mind bc she was cousins with the gay pedophile character and that 'it was only a matter of time before her bad genes messed her up too.' Not explored. She had no characterization before and then got fridged. 
3) The love interest from the start is only characterized by being smart, wealthy, and having sex with powerful men. She has an affair with our MC and when he says he doesn't want to have sex anymore, it emotionally wrecks her? When he defects to England, she does the same to marry him.

4) Finally, there was this outside narrator that kept popping up. Totally different tone from our main character. Turns out… it's some British guy that meets our MC later in life and writes his story for him. It feels patronizing the way he looks down on our MC for believing in God in the end, ‘as a figure he needed to replace the role of a dictator in his life.’ 

I don't recommend this book at all.