Serenity Rose Volume 2: Goodbye, Crestfallen
If you missed Serenity Rose, v.1: Working through the Negativity (2005), the mutliple characters and evasive plot of this second volume will confuse you—but it’s a beguiling confusion. This time around, teen witch Serenity’s overseas plans are hijacked by the Supernatural Shield Initiative, who demand to know what Serenity’s lucid dreams have to do with the monstrous corpses recovered from a Zimbabwe diamond mine. Alexovich stages his action like a John Woo film—big, bloody, and poetic—but infuses it with the sensibility of a moody teen who can’t help referencing Dawn of the Dead. Deep, fascinating, and filled with gooey green ectoplasmic evil. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus