Billy Fog and the Gift of Trouble Sight

Gr 8 Up—Subtitled "original story, poems, and anarchic bestiaries," this book features adorable and gruesome illustrations and captures the mood of an Edward Gorey collection as seen through the prism of Tim Burton. Billy Fog is able to see things that most people can't, and he spends a lot of time thinking about death, nightmares, ouija boards, ghosts, and the Boogeyman. When his cat dies, he writes a letter to Santa Claus (as a trusted and all-knowing authority figure) asking him to explain the concept of death. The morbidly humorous story jumps back and forth between different formats including regular prose, poetry, and "The Gazette of the Bizarre." There are creepy and surreal characters like The Little Knife Girl, The Little Scissor Girl, and Puddle Princess. Billy Fog is a weird protagonist, and audiences will have some trouble empathizing with him. On the one hand, they might feel bad that he's so confused about death and the scary things that only he can see. On the other hand, when they see him being mean to his cat or his little sister, they might to start to feel like he deserves some punishment. The art is cute, cartoony, sweet, and childish, which belies its more serious nature. Bianco uses combinations of black-and-white and sepia-toned illustrations, often combining them into the foreground and background of his pages to great effect. Recommended for teens who are looking for an unusual and darkly comic adventure.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library