I picked this up somewhat randomly at Barnes & Noble, who have happily broken out their YA graphic novels into their own section at the store I go to, so I don’t have to dig through the whole YA section anymore. It makes me really happy to be living through this renaissance of graphic novels, and I’m excited to see it continue expanding. Fly by Night is a good example of the interesting work that’s being done now, and it was an enjoyable read.
Dee’s twin sister Beth has gone missing, and she and her father return to her New Jersey hometown to try to find her. When their parents divorced, Dee went with their dad and Beth stayed with their mom. Dee feels a lot of guilt over growing apart from Beth, and this isn’t helped by her parents immediately starting to fight again as soon as they get there. Fortunately, her old friend Tobi is there to help her settle into school and support her. There’s also an evil energy company trying to build a pipeline through the pine barrens, which Beth was working to try to stop. Dee gets involved in the anti-pipeline movement and finds something mysterious in the woods. The book is a compelling look at grief, environmental concerns, and the supernatural.
***SPOILERS FOLLOW***
I did enjoy this book, but I found the logistics of the plot to be a little thin. The twins being separated by the divorce seemed really unusual as far as custody decisions go, Being separated from any sibling, let alone a twin, is so traumatic, and the book seemed to skate by what must have been a wrenching and horrible decision. Why didn’t they switch them back and forth? Why hadn’t they seen each other for six years? Why did the court let the dad move an 11 or 12 year old away from her hometown and her twin sister? I also had an issue with everyone just accepting the existence of the Jersey Devil in what seemed to be a very calm fashion. I know this is me thinking too rationally about a work of fantasy, but they were all so blase about it. I would have thought a few people would have screamed or been awestruck by a giant purple elf/fairy looking creature who can also talk. I know I would have been completely taken aback and my whole worldview would have been thrown upside down. And I didn’t like that now Beth is dead forever but is also a bird, and that also seemed to be skated by. Is she somewhat sentient as a bird? Does she know she used to be a human? She brought Dee her scarf, so she seems to have some knowledge of that, but she’s described as having been “set free.” So she’s just a bird forever?? When the bird dies, will her human soul get released? What happened to the bird’s soul?
The art was great, the colorist did a moody and beautiful job. I just had a lot of unanswered questions. I would recommend it because I think it’s an interesting read and we should support more original YA graphic novels.
Warnings for: murder, attempted murder, family angst, processing grief, attempted environmental destruction.
