By Jonathan Garnier
Illustrated by Yohan Sacre
Translated from French by Lara Vergnaud
Boston: Etch Books, 2020. Graphic novel.
One day, Timo finishes reading all of the books in his village and decides that it is time for him to go on a quest. Turns out, going on an adventure is not as much fun as he expected and his quest is not laid out for him like he wants. As he perseveres with his quest, Timo rescues a creature named Broof from a cursed temple. Broof's mysterious past is filled with secrets that take Timo's quest on a very different path. Though Timo starts his quest as a naive and gung-ho explorer, he quickly learns that adventuring is more complicated than his books make it seem and it isn't always easy to tell the difference between a hero and a villain.
Highly stylized, folkart inspired illustrations bring Timo's adventure to life in tidy and easy-to-follow panels. The muted, neutral tones of the illustrations offset the magical elements in this hero's journey with a classic feeling. In addition to the main story, we also read Timo's own account of his adventure in sepia-toned journal entries -- a record that doesn't always match up with the events we see in the panels. This is an engaging adventure story underscored by a reminder that kindness and understanding will accomplish more than brute force can, and, of the dangers of adventuring without a knowledge of the past.
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