Book Review: Northranger by Rey Terciero, Bre Indigo (Illustrator)

 

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre:  Graphic Novel, YA, Romance, Contemporary, Horror, LGBT
Release Date: June 6, 2023  
Description:

"In this swoony and spooky teen summer romance graphic novel set on a Texas ranch, sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz finds himself falling for the ranch owner’s mysterious and handsome son, only to discover that he may be harboring a dangerous secret.

Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary—but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas—real life can be way scarier.

When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there—in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.

But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get…complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it’s scary."

This was a charming read accompanied by amazing illustrations. Despite this, and all the cute moments, I wasn't blown away by it. I've never read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey so I'm not sure how much of the inspiration from that work was incorporated into the story.

To be honest, I was expecting/wanting more horror in the story. The way it was used and what it inevitably ended up contributing to the story wasn't really what I expected. The build-up didn't really go far. I was also not a big fan of the conflict/reveal towards the end either, mostly because it could've easily been solved if Cade had spoken to the right people. 

Aside from that, I really liked the representation. There was a wide range of it too, from sexuality, race, and family. You witness the homophobia(and a bit of racism) sprinkled throughout the story and you feel and see how it affects Cade. Now the characters, they were okay. Cade, Henry, and Henri were probably the best ones, and the rest I didn't really care much for. Either they weren't fleshed out enough or they just weren't interesting enough to care about. 

Overall, it was still a good read. If anything, it made me curious about reading Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. 

Overall rating:  3.5/5