Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse (Paranorthern #1)

Gr 4-8--Witch-in-training Abby Morgan has been helping her single mom run their magical North Haven coffee shop during Abby's school break, but lately, Abby's magic has been on the fritz. During an emotional moment after Abby discovers that her little sister Ella is being bullied, Abby's magic opens a portal that unleashes chaos bunnies from another dimension onto North Haven. Too scared to ask for help, Abby sets out to learn the advanced magic needed to close the portal herself before the bunnies destroy North Haven. Vibrant blocks of coloring alternate between a warm orange that suggests a crackling fire just off the page and a soothing amethyst with a fantastical feel. Spare backgrounds and greatly simplified or missing facial features suggest that details are not a priority for Costa, but the style evokes strong emotions and reactions during charged scenes. Cooke brings fun and cheesy humor, with somewhat obscure pop culture references, like the 1993 movie Cool Runnings, but it reads authentically. Abby and her family are Black, Hannah is brown-skinned and wears a hijab, there is queer representation via the burgeoning romantic relationship between Abby and Gita, a wolf girl, and multiple types of bodies are depicted. VERDICT An amusing and magical tale that embraces its campiness to full effect. For readers who enjoyed Kat Leyh's Snapdragon, Steven T. Seagle's Camp Midnight, or Whitney Gardner's Fake Blood.--Alea Perez, Elmhurst P.L., IL