Eighteen-year-old Autumn is in her senior year of school and works in a coffee shop. It seems like a humdrum life, but what she’s going 
to do after graduation eludes her. Her dad left a couple years ago, and her mom doesn’t have any money to send her to college. So, her future holds just work, and for not enough to live on by herself. Is this all there is?
Then, a boy from her school (who owns a bookshop) and an imaginary friend from her childhood (who’s a… well, it’s not explained right away… ) pop back into her life through a series of increasingly unlikely events. Statues of animals in the park speak to her, tiny glowing fairy lights find her in the park, her hands start *glowing*, and a HUGE guardian troll named Fred finds her and then disappears! The coffee job suddenly seems soothingly boring after that. But strange people keep finding her. Just when a dark, purple-suited man with a Van Dyke shows up and threatens her, her MOM shows up and defends her! (With her same glowing hands and eyes!) Why won’t anyone tell Autumn what’s going on? All she keeps hearing is “not now”.
The art is sharp edged, with broad marker inking, and is somewhat two dimensional. Washes of color help portray the light values and keep the art more interesting. It reminds me a bit of Mike Mignola’s art, back in the first days of Hellboy, or his graphic novels of Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. And just like those comics, this spooky tale starts with a teenager’s discovery that the world isn’t exactly what she thought it was. It’s filled with creatures, fae, and dark powers. Who IS Autumn? Who is her mom? Adolescent anxieties and rites-of-passage sync perfectly with this story, which flows smoothly and should interest teens and young adults. Autumn is challenged to decide who she wants to be. But she needs to figure it out soon, because Mr. Purple-Suit’s threats are getting louder and more powerful. (OTOH, isn’t it useful when the baddies just TELL you what nefarious plans they have? Bad call, Mr. Purple Suit. And stop the mansplaining, would you?)
No adult situations, and minimal violence. Suggested for the young adult section.
The October Girl, Book 1
By Matthew Dow Smith
Mad Cave Studios, 2025
ISBN: 9781960578594
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
