Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend

by Alys Arden, Jacquelin de Leon

Overview

There’s more to the mobsters, mystics, and mermaids in Coney Island-just ask born-and-raised resident Zatanna Starr. But the time for having fun in Luna Park comes to an end when a mystic’s quest for a powerful jewel unravels everything Zatanna thought she knew about herself and her beloved neighborhood. Mysteries and magic surround her as she discovers the truth about her family’s legacy and confronts the illusion that has been cast over her entire life. From the bewitching mind behind The Casquette Girls, Alys Arden, and with enchanting artwork by popular Instagram artist Jacquelin de Leon, comes the story of a girl stuck in the middle of a magician rivalry and forced to choose between love, family, and magic without hurting anyone…or worse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781779508720
Publisher:	DC
Publication date:	07/26/2022
Sold by:	DC Comics
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	605,305
File size:	87 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea-leaf readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. The Casquette Girls, her debut novel, garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape. The fourth book in the series, The Gates to Guinée, is due out in 2020. Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend is her first graphic novel.

Jacquelin de Leon is an illustrator and comics artist currently located in San Jose, California. She graduated with a BFA in illustration and entertainment design from Laguna College of Art and Design. Since graduating in 2015 she has become an illustration brand, self-publishing multiple books and working full-time to produce for her online shop and her YouTube channel. When not working on major projects, her favorite subjects are vivid and magical mermaids, sultry witches, and tattooed punk girls with colored hair.

Editorial Reviews

05/23/2022

Arden (The Casquette Girls) and illustrator de Leon’s fresh take on Zatanna Starr’s origin, set in Coney Island, Brooklyn, is both a captivating introduction for newcomers and a quirky new adventure for existing fans. As the daughter of illustrious magician Ezra and his stage assistant Lola, white, camera-shy Zatanna is expected to enjoy the spotlight but decides that she’d rather be behind the scenes. After Ezra, who’s been pestering her to join his act, coerces her into participating in his show, her stage fright forces her into the wings. Seeking distraction, Zatanna, Russian boyfriend Alexei, and best friends Izzy and Kenia, who have feelings for each other and cue respectively as Romani and Trinidadian American, attend a mysterious circus, which inexplicably disappears the next morning. Zatanna suddenly begins seeing strange mirror-script that only she understands, and further research endangers her once peaceful life. While some character designs are visually similar, causing confusion, de Leon renders entrancing sunsets and mystical atmosphere with a lush pinky-purple palette. Arden steadily develops Zatanna’s magical abilities using expert pacing, and a large cast that feels distinct and fully fleshed out, making for a bewitching summer read. Ages 14–up. (July)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2022

Gr 7 Up—In this newest young adult graphic novel, Arden revisits the origins of everyone's favorite backward-talking magician, Zatanna. The book begins with its lead desperately resisting a life of stage magic and completely unaware of her abilities. As the story unfolds, though, Zatanna discovers her hidden powers while being hit with plot twist after plot twist. While this has the potential to grow completely overwhelming, Arden does an admirable job of keeping things friendly for new readers while also modernizing decades of backstory. Unfortunately, the ambitions of the story don't always live up to the execution. Characterization, in particular, is lacking. Zatanna's friends feel like paint-by-numbers characters, and their motivations in the latter part of the story are only in service to the plot. The art, by contrast, is consistently engaging, with gorgeous color work. There's a solid flow from panel to panel with some clever layouts along the way. VERDICT An interesting story with a killer boardwalk setting and strong artwork that's tailor-made for newcomers. While the characterizations get muddled, it's still worth a look for collections where graphic novels about magic are popular.—Nate Hipple

School Library Journal

2022-04-27
A 17-year-old girl makes a fascinating discovery about herself, which leads to learning shocking secrets from the past.

Rising senior Zatanna Starr has been looking forward to leaving prep school behind in favor of a fun summer in her Coney Island neighborhood—the home of mermaids, mystics, magicians, and mobsters—with boyfriend Alexei and friends Izzy and Kenia. Her first night of summer break takes a disastrous turn, however, when her master illusionist father unexpectedly pulls her into the middle of his show despite her paralyzing stage fright. To blow off steam, Zatanna and her friends attend a circus (which mysteriously vanishes the next day) where they come across mirror-script, or backward writing, that strangely makes perfect sense to Zatanna. She begins obsessively researching its origins, but things go awry when mystical clouds with mirror-script writing, visible only to her, lead Zatanna to realize that she possesses magic. From there, life becomes messy, with startling secrets coming to light and enemies lurking in the shadows as Zatanna grows more powerful. Detailed illustrations in dreamy shades of pinks, purples, and blues bring the mystical, quirky setting to life. While the artwork will draw readers in, Zatanna’s heartfelt, gritty story will keep them tearing through pages as she unravels the mysteries in her life. Zatanna reads as White; Alexei, Izzy, and Kenia are cued as Russian, Romani, and Trinidadian American, respectively. Izzy and Kenia are queer.

An enchanting mystery. (Graphic fantasy. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews