CYBILS GRAPHIC NOVEL NOMINEE (YA): The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag
ABOUT THE BOOK
Everyone has secrets. Mags’s has teeth.
Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine make outs with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there’s her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before.
So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won’t get attached, of course. She’s always been strong enough to survive without anyone’s help.
But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose.
REVIEW
The Dark Deep presents an interesting realistic story with one fantastical (but very symbolic) element. Mags keeps to herself pretty much and has since her best friend moved away and she discovered her connection to the thing in the basement. Her visits to the basement leave her exhausted and bleeding but she's been told by her grandmother and mother her whole life that she mustn't tell anyone about it. This leaves her feeling isolated and alone, distracted only by her secret make out sessions with a schoolmate (who happens to have a boyfriend). When her best friend returns with wants and needs of her one, Mags secrets come closer and closer to the surface. She must decide whether to keep her secrets to herself and give up the relationship that means the most to her outside of her abuela or whether she dares take a risk and let it out into the light. Nessa too has a secret that endangers both her and Mags. Only together can they find a way to let light into the dark deep. The thing that struck the hardest was the symbolism of Mags' secret monster and her struggles to deal with it and keep it hidden when she desperately needs the support and help of others. As far as content goes, I would rate this a PG-13 level since it includes some gore, plenty of making out (LGBTQ+), and domestic violence. Recommended for readers who can handle the length, the content, and some substance to their graphic novels.
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