The October Girl Vol. 1

Gr 10 Up–Eighteen-year-old Autumn is worried about how she’ll afford college while working part-time to support her single mother. She’s melancholy and realizes that her life is about to become a dreadful pattern for survival. Autumn recalls her last conversation with her father before he abandoned the family five years earlier: “life isn’t a fantasy.” She drifts through her mundane life, reminiscing about when she believed in fairy tales and in her imaginary friend, Barnaby. Then suddenly, the story shifts from a somber slice-of-life to fantasy as Autumn’s reality alters overnight. Everything she dreamed as a child starts to come true, but of course, every fairy tale comes with a villain. The color scheme in this graphic novel displays darker tones to reflect Autumn’s mood. By contrast, Smith cleverly uses light and bright shades to represent the magic seen and used by the characters. While the story’s conclusion is ambiguous, it could be a cliffhanger and a promise of more to come. Autumn and her family are depicted as white.