 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Kin: The Good Neighbors, Book One
- By Holly Black
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Spiderwick author's graphic novel for teen fans only.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know this is for author Holly Black's teen fans, not young Spiderwick devotees. The female faeries are sexualized and idealized in the graphic novel's illustrations. Except for the wings, the faeries could moonlight as models with their tiny waists, ample bosoms, sharp cheek bones, long legs, and penchant for skimpy clothes. The novel features illustrations of nude women (angled so chests/private areas are not shown); violence (a daughter wonders if her father killed her mother); a faerie who is forced into sexual slavery; and drinking at a college party. Teens break into abandoned buildings (sometimes climbing and rappelling) and photograph themselves in masks.
What's the story?
High-school student Rue Silver's world gets even weirder after her mother goes missing and she starts seeing strange creatures instead of people populating her hometown. When her father is arrested for the murder of a student and possibly her mother, Rue isn't sure whom to trust. Can Rue see this alternate world because she is one of "the good neighbors," or fair folk? These aren't Disney-style Tinker Bells but a group of supernatural beings who plan to make people fear them once again. It looks like Rue's grandfather is the leader -- and only she can stop him.
Is it any good?
The edgy, expressive black-and-white illustrations will attract teen readers, even if the plot doesn't always make a whole lot of sense. There are a few visual missteps, like when Rue's legs go from fishnet stockings in one frame to bare on the next page. Rue's apathetic "What, me worry?" gets a little tiresome, especially when she faces life-changing events.
Still, scenes like a coffee shop populated by demons and shots of humor (Rue's friend says he believes her because "This is the part in the movie where that guy says, 'Zombies? What zombies?' just before they eat his brains. I don't want to be that guy.'") will engage teens exploring their identities. "A lot of kids have this fantasy that secretly they're really the princess of a foreign country," Rue notes when she discovers her mother's heritage. "Turns out that pretty much sucks."
What families can talk about
Families can talk about Rue's "no worries" approach to life. Do teens identify with this strategy? Families can also talk about the depiction of female faeries: Do teens agree that being so thin is attractive? Is this a realistic expectation for even supernatural girls and women to look?
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| Author: | Holly Black |
| Illustrator: | Ted Naifeh |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Graphix |
| Publication date: | October 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 120 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 12 |
| Read alone: | 12 |
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