Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Misfit City, by Kiwi Smith

The tiny coastal town of Cannon Cove is known for two things things: The first is its record abundance of cloudy/rainy days. The second (and by far the biggest) is it was the was where the 1980s cult classic movie, The Gloomies, was filmed. Other than that, nothing exciting ever happens. Which is why Wilder is so anxious to leave for college. In fact, the further away she can get from Cannon Cove, The Gloomies, and the constant stream of (annoying) tourists, the better.

Then Captain Denby, the town recluse, dies and donates a trunk to the local museum. A trunk that just happens to contain an ancient treasure map that, if sources are correct, was created by none other than the legendary (and infamous) pirate, Black Mary. Wilder, along with friends Macy, Dot, Karma and their dog Pip set off to translate the map and see where this adventure might lead. Maybe to treasure! But predictably there are some very bad people after the map as well. Which means Wilder and company find themselves deeply involved in what could be the most exciting (and dangerous) adventure of their lives so far.

The story ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, so we can (hopefully) expect the adventure to continue. And the sooner the better!

Misfit City is the first installment of a fun new graphic novel series by Kiwi Smith. The references to real-life 1980s movie The Goonies are obvious and intentional. I will tell you that I am a HUGE fan of this movie. It's one of my favorites and something I can happily watch again and again. So it goes without saying that I was very excited about this book! But despite the pirate treasure-themed plot, Misfit City is not an exact reboot of the film (but with a female cast). And it is the differences that make it an awesome read. 

I'd recommend this for readers who love series featuring strong female characters, like Lumberjanes and Giant Days. Fans of The Goonies won't want to miss this either. --AJB

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