Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Abstract

Reviewed by: Snapdragon by Kat Leyh Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Leyh, Kat Snapdragon; written and illus. by Kat Leyh. First Second, 2020 240p Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-250-17112-2 $21.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-1-250-17111-5 $12.99 R Gr. 5-8 In this graphic novel, the kids at Snapdragon's school insist the old woman who lives in the woods is a witch who eats animals, and though Snap doesn't buy it, she still has to check the woman's place when her dog goes missing. It turns out that Jacks, the supposed witch, fixed up Snap's injured pet, and over the coming weeks Snap returns regularly to the woods, helping Jacks with her business—cleaning and rebuilding the skeletons of roadkill and dead animals and selling them over the internet. Jacks has a few secrets, though, including a long-ago romance with Snap's grandmother and actual magical abilities; she agrees to apprentice Snap when she shows her own uncanny powers, but Snap's ambition nearly derails the whole endeavor. This is an immersive, spirited read, and Snap and Jacks are crafted with nuance and care, gifted with wit and compassion and flawed by insecurity and bullheadedness. Leyh skillfully balances magic and realism, interweaving the past relationship between Jack and Snap's grandmother, the troubles Snap and her friend face at school (Snap because she's Black, her friend because of being gender nonconforming), and the financial strain in Snap's single-parent home with stories of one-eyed guardian foxes, roadkill ghosts, and flying benches (no brooms for Jacks). Readers familiar with Leyh's work in the Lumberjanes series will recognize her bouncy, dynamic art and figures that are nearly always in motion, keeping the energy high and the tone lively. Fans of Ostertag's The Witch Boy series and Steinkellner's The Okay Witch (9/19) will find this to be a satisfying readalike. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois