School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--After her parents divorced six years earlier, Dee moved across the country with her dad, leaving behind her mom and Beth, her twin sister. Beth's mysterious disappearance brings Dee and her dad back to New Jersey. Authorities turn up nothing, so Dee, distraught over the distance that had grown between her and her sister, searches for clues, starting with Beth's boyfriend Lucas. Meanwhile, the Redline Central Gas Company plans to gut the pinelands surrounding the area. New owner Marshall Monroe is playing dirty, bribing local community leaders to approve the plans for his new pipeline, and Dee joins her friend Tobi in protesting the company's actions. Dee believes that Redline may have something to do with her sister's disappearance after Lucas gives her Beth's old binder, which is full of information taken from the company's headquarters. But when Dee and Lucas venture into the woods to trace Beth's steps, Dee finds herself alone and Lucas gone. She realizes that these woods hold the secrets and answers to her sister's true fate, as well as the key to protecting the town she has grown to love. In this blend of magical realism and environmental thriller, O'Connor weaves together an emotionally charged story of two sisters with urban legend. Her artwork uses thick brushstrokes, which evoke a sense of mystery yet convey Dee's hope in dire circumstances. Though the narrative is intriguing and relevant, it introduces many themes that at times distract from the central plot. Dee and Beth's last name implies that they and their family are Latinx. VERDICT Exploring environmental activism, grief, and changing family dynamics, this graphic novel will engage a wide range of readers.--Elise Martinez, Racine, WI
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this emotionally grounded story with a sibling bond at its heart, Dee Ramirez returns after six years to her New Jersey childhood home, following her twin sister Beth's abrupt disappearance. The local police's investigation has run its course, so Dee attempts to search for clues by implanting herself into Beth's life: transferring into her high school, meeting her boyfriend, and joining the pinelands conservation group to which Beth belonged. As she investigates, the twins' divorced Latinx father and white mother accentuate the tragic situation with persistent bickering. When Redline Central Gas owner Marshall Monroe secures approval to build a pipeline through the pinelands and Lucas disappears as well, Dee encounters a living Jersey Devil, Veradys, who may know what happened to Beth. Though plot elements compete with one another, undercutting both the mystery's heft and the climax's catharsis, exceptional art by O'Connor (The Altered History of Willow Sparks, for adults), with color work by Triona Tree Farrell, features thick, textured brushwork that creates an eerie suburban atmosphere full of tension. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 12--up. Agent: Pete Ryan, Stimola Literary. (Oct.)
Kirkus Review
Will a teen be able to find her missing sister and save a local forest from development? Eighteen-year-old Dee Ramirez's twin sister, Beth, is missing. For the last six years, the girls have lived separately and grown distant--Dee moved out with her police officer father, while Beth remained with their mother. With Beth's disappearance, Dee and her father are back in the family home, and Dee is attending Beth's school and learning as much as she can about her life. As Dee tries to piece together clues about Beth's disappearance, she also becomes invested in a cause Beth cared deeply about: fighting against the Redline Central Gas Company, a shady corporation determined to run a pipeline through the pristine pinelands Beth loved. With her best friend, Tobi, and Beth's boyfriend, Lucas, Dee explores the pinelands, positive that clues to her sister's fate must be out there. In a sharp supernatural twist, Dee encounters something otherworldly in the woods that she cannot explain but feels can help. Drawing upon a mix of contemporary environmentalism and paranormal mystery and populated with a believable cast of characters, this genre-defying thrill ride will appeal to a wide audience. The resolution may leave a bit to be desired, but the journey is filled with edge-of-your-seat creepiness. O'Connor positively portrays characters of diverse body shapes and sizes; Dee and her family's surname cues them as Latinx. Lucas appears White, and the supporting cast is multiracial. A buzzworthy eco-thriller. (Graphic thriller. 13-17) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When Dee Ramirez, 18 and biracial, goes to see her mom in New Jersey, it isn't the kind of visit anyone wants to face. Dee's twin sister, Beth, is missing. Dee and her friend Tobi decide to look for clues, and they find Beth's scarf on a path in the Pinelands National Reserve in the process. In tandem with this plotline is the Redline Oil Company's plan to run a pipeline through the Pinelands and local activists' efforts to prevent this from happening--a cause to which Beth and Tobi are dedicated. Dee also gets drawn into the anti-pipeline activity, guided by Beth's binder of news clippings and notes, which begin to suggest that Beth's disappearance and Redline's plans are entwined. O'Connor skillfully builds the intrigue, which is interestingly shot through with the legend of the Jersey Devil, giving this eco-mystery a supernatural tinge. Her dusky palette lurks with purples and teals and the varied panels offer dynamic views of the story's action. Love for family and friends is at the narrative's core, giving this unusual sister-story a broad reach.
