Forbidden Harbor

July 8, 2019
The sea yields treasure and turmoil alike in this sweeping, joyously illustrated 19th-century maritime adventure. Abel, an amnesiac castaway, is found on an island by the British navy during the summer of 1807. Taken in by three orphaned sisters who run an inn back home in England, Abel discovers talents and memories he can’t remember gaining—and recalls a misty harbor only he and a scant few others are able to see, from which, it is said, no one ever returns. This overflowing volume’s greatest flaw is its own plenitude: though the cast is charming down to the last character, the script indulges in internal monologues far too generously. But it’s easy to forgive, given the strength of the comics art. Turconi’s technical mastery is apparent—ship cabins, lonely moors, and elegant parlors are drawn with pinpoint skill—but it is the inventive character design that truly shines. He takes obvious delight in depicting everyone from craggy-faced pirates to comely courtesans. Though the voyage can occasionally drag, this heartfelt paean to sailing culture will treat readers to a resplendent expedition.

June 14, 2019

This graphic novel has an intriguing entry point--it's 1807, when a confused (and cute!) young man named Abel is taken aboard a ship that's just lost its captain. He travels home with the crew and is taken in by the missing captain's daughters at their languishing local inn. Abel begins to piece together his identity from clues in their home, while also striking up a surprisingly literary friendship with the madam of a local bordello. The mystery unravels at just the right pace--to say Abel's true nature comes as a shock would be a stretch, but the whole escapade feels like a fairy tale or a sea shanty in its reassuring magical realism. The good guys struggle and are rewarded, the bad guys get what's coming to them, and a romantic worldview rules the day. The story's greatest treat is how it makes a very specific genre broadly accessible--combining the literature and verse of a sailor's life (think Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) with intricate, active imagery of majestic ships at sea. VERDICT From the married creative team of writer Radice (Disney Fairies) and artist Turconi ("Agatha: Girl of Mystery" series) comes a tale that's far from forbidding. Radice's flowing prose and Turconi's fanciful pen invite even the utterly uninitiated to delve into the delight of a sailor's tale.--Emilia Packard, Austin, TX

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2019
Abel washes up on a deserted island with no memories, though Captain William Roberts, who rescued him, can tell he's an experienced sailor: Abel nimbly climbs the ropes and is handy in firefight with a rival ship. It seems there's nothing Abel can do to restore his memories, so he tries to cobble together a new life. Roberts is eager to help, even putting Abel in the caring hands of the daughters of his disgraced former captain, Stevenson, who disappeared after betraying his crew. Bringing Abel and the daughters together under one roof, however, lets loose powerful secrets and launches a plot filled with murder, betrayal, and revenge. Turconi has worked as a Disney animator, and it shows in his cartoonish, exaggerated figures. The sketchy pencil work, however, softens the artwork and gives it a pleasantly vintage feel. Radice and Turconi expertly spool out a complicated, genuinely surprising series of plot turns punctuated with poetic imagery. More sophisticated than the usual swashbuckler, this is a great pick for fans of literary adventure stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)