Home Time (Home Time Series #1)

by Campbell Whyte

Overview

A rising star of Australian comics makes his spectacular, award-winning debut: a jaw-dropping coming-of-age graphic novel inspired by classic fantasy games & stories, each chapter drawn in a different style.

The last school bell has rung and it’s finally HOME TIME! Even though they’re twins, Lilly and David don’t agree on much… except that the last summer before high school is the perfect time for relaxing with friends. But their plans for sleepovers, fantasy games, and romance are thrown out the window when the whole gang falls into a river and wakes up in a village of fantastic creatures. Hailed as magical spirits and attacked by lizards, these kids must find their way home — if they don’t throttle each other first. Australian cartoonist Campbell Whyte combines the rich imagination of Dungeons & Dragons with puckishly charming characters and a touch of video-game geometry in his spectacular first graphic novel.


2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award Winner for Best young-Adult Book
2018 Pubwest Design Gold Award Winner - Children's/Young Adult Book, Illustrated
2018 Dinky Award Winner

2018 Eisner Award Finalist for Best Publication for Kids (9-12)
2018 Ringo Award Finalist for Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel
2018 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award Finalist - Cambell Whyte
2018 National Cartoonist Society Best Graphic Novel Award Finalist
Shortlisted for the 2018 Readings Childrens Book Prize
Shortlisted for the 2018 Ledger Award for Excellence in Comics and Graphic Novels

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603094122
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Publication date:	08/22/2017
Series:	Home Time Series , #1
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Campbell Whyte was born in Perth, Western Australia, wedged between a restless ocean and an endless desert. He began making things not long after his birth, and today that rich tradition continues. When not making comics, Campbell runs the children's art school Milktooth with his wife, son, and hairless dog.

Editorial Reviews

A very different sort of story of youth derailed, the Australian artist Campbell Whyte's exuberant debut graphic novel, Home Time, turns "magical realm" tropes inside out…A richly imagined world…

The New York Times Book Review - Douglas Wolk

06/19/2017
On the last day of primary school, an eclectic and somewhat combative group of friends plans to celebrate with an epic two-night sleepover. Things go awry when they fall into a river and are transported to the Forest of the Peaches, where they are met by humanoid creatures who believe the children are gods who have come to save them from the Lizard Empire. As months pass in this strange world, some of the children become more acclimated than others, resulting in increased tension in the group. Visually, the story invokes the surrealism of Carroll’s Wonderland with exotic flora, fauna, and curiosities around every corner, and there are echoes of Lewis’s Narnia in the plot’s focus on children-saviors in an alternate world. Australian comics creator Whyte shifts artistic style with each chapter, moving from pencil sketches to bright, borderline psychedelic cartoons and even a chapter with a pixelated motif à la vintage arcade games. It’s both alienating and engaging, keeping readers as off-balance as the children, who are trapped in an alien landscape they don’t quite understand. Ages 13–up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Winner of the Excellence in Graphic Literature Award, PubWest Design Award, and DINKy Award!
Finalist for the Eisner Award, Russ Manning Award, National Cartoonist Society Graphic Novel Award, Readings Children's Book Prize, Aurealis Award, and Ledger Award.

“Beautifully realised, funny, smart, weird and surprisingly epic in scope, Home Time is also just plain brilliant.” — Shaun Tan

“Campbell Whyte’s debut graphic novel is cute, funny, scary, exciting, and cleverly constructed. The drawings are always a pleasure, each new art style blending seamlessly into the whole. I’m looking forward to the thrilling conclusion!” — Bryan Lee O’Malley

"Exuberant... It’s a richly imagined world, and Whyte immerses readers in it." — The New York Times

"[A] remarkably assured debut graphic novel... Illustrated in a variety of styles to capture the distinct voice of each protagonist, Home Time delves deep." — Comic Book Resources

"A highly original graphic novel adventure... it goes from curious to interesting to compelling to engrossing — the momentum keeps building to the point where we're on pins and needles." — Under the Radar

"[A] thoroughly entertaining and inherently compelling coming-of-age graphic novel... very highly recommended." — Midwest Book Review

"Whyte’s world-building is as impressive as his ambitious story and his mastery of the half-dozen styles he wears... Built on a foundation of kids’ fantasy classics, but with the specifics of its world unique and the psychological drama wild and unpredictable as the pre-teen mind, Home Time feels both comfortably familiar and refreshingly new and unusual at the same time." — School Library Journal's Good Comics for Kids

"Home Time: Under the River may end up being the best or be on the shortlist of best graphic novels for any age this year...There is more imagination in Whyte's story than you will find in an entire year of most of Marvel and DC Comics's superhero comic book titles." — Leroy Douresseaux, Comic Book Bin

Home Time
Campbell Whyte. Top Shelf, $24.99 (228p) ISBN 978-1-60309-412-2
On the last day of primary school, an eclectic and somewhat combative group of friends plans to celebrate with an epic two-night sleepover. Things go awry when they fall into a river and are transported to the Forest of the Peaches, where they are met by humanoid creatures who believe the children are gods who have come to save them from the Lizard Empire. As months pass in this strange world, some of the children become more acclimated than others, resulting in increased tension in the group. Visually, the story invokes the surrealism of Carroll’s Wonderland with exotic flora, fauna, and curiosities around every corner, and there are echoes of Lewis’s Narnia in the plot’s focus on children-saviors in an alternate world. Australian comics creator Whyte shifts artistic style with each chapter, moving from pencil sketches to bright, borderline psychedelic cartoons and even a chapter with a pixelated motif à la vintage arcade games. It’s both alienating and engaging, keeping readers as off-balance as the children, who are trapped in an alien landscape they don’t quite understand. Ages 13–up. -Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

12/01/2017
Gr 6 Up—On their way home on the last day of eighth grade, twins David and Lilly discuss their big plans for the summer (December in Australia). Yet when they fall into a river and land in another world along with a rogues' gallery of friends, adventures (and witty banter) await. The young humans are understood to be spirits, treated as special guests and emissaries, and generally exposed to the strange "peach" culture they've accidentally stumbled upon. Whyte employs different illustration styles. While the artwork is beautiful, the story is incredibly lengthy and may not suit reluctant readers used to more accessible graphic narratives. Standout panels include the layout of a magic tree house, handwritten diary entries, and detailed pictures of the flora and fauna in the new realm. VERDICT With an interesting narrative and age-appropriate characters, this title has plenty to offer patient readers. A strong additional purchase for middle and upper school libraries.—Erinn Black Salge, Morristown-Beard School, NJ

School Library Journal