Little Girls

May 15, 2019
Grades 6-9 Sam travels around the world with her father, and as a white student, she's an outsider at her Ethiopian school. Lielet is a native Ethiopian, but she's bullied because of her small size. The two find quick friendship and even quicker trouble when they begin investigating several grisly deaths that lead them into the surrounding plains and onto the trail of a legendary Kenyan monster called Kerit. Featuring a particularly creepy menace and a careful layering of suspense, this is a sure-fire hit for young horror-lovers. Its characters are instantly likable, the central friendship is easy to root for, and if the girls seem preternaturally brave, that's only to say that they're acting like male protagonists have since time immemorial. The sharp, generous art is substantially responsible for the appeal of the characters, thanks to their distinctively featured faces and realistic bodies. It also produces much of the tension, letting long expanses of silent panels saturate the grassy plains with suspense and creating pure visual thrills, as in a climactic war waged between lions and hyenas.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)