Spill Zone: The Broken Vow: A (Blog Tour) Graphic Novel Review

Three years ago something happened in Poughkeepsie, New York that left the town changed. Inside the Spill Zone nothing is quite right anymore. Dead bodies stand motionless, caught where they fell; strange creatures wander the zone; no one who goes into the zone comes out the same.

Addison thought she was done with the zone when she took one last job to retrieve something from inside. Except she got close enough to touch the spill and now she’s changed–just like Jae, a mysterious boy from North Korea’s own spill zone.

Addison’s little sister, Lexa, was changed the night of the spill herself. And now her doll, Vespertine tells them that something worse is trying to get out in Spill Zone: The Broken Vow (2018) by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Alex Puvilland with color by Hilary Sycamore.

Find it on Bookshop.

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is the conclusion to Westerfeld’s latest graphic novel duology which began with Spill Zone. You can find a copy at your local library, buy a copy, or you can read the entire comic online with neat blog posts from Scott and Alex talking about their process at thespillzone.com.

This concluding volume is even creepier than the first with higher stakes, scarier creatures, and a lot more suspense. While Addison tries to make sense of what happened the last time she went into the spill she also has to figure out how to protect her sister and her town from whatever is trying to get out.

The Broken Vow expands the world of the comics as readers learn more about Don Jae and North Korea’s own spill. The eerie illustrations and psychedelic colors from the first volume return in this installment and continue to evoke a world gone subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) wrong. The use of different speak bubbles for each character also adds another dimension to the story.

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is fast-paced action and nail-biting suspense. A satisfying conclusion to a truly original duology.

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour stops for even more Spill Zone posts:

7/8	Novel Novice	http://www.novelnovice.com/
7/8	Undeniably Book Nerdy	http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com/
7/9	Bookcrushin	http://bookcrush.in/
7/9	Hit or Miss Books	https://hitormissbooks.wordpress.com/
7/9	Bookling Critics	https://booklingcritics.wordpress.com
7/10	Seeing Double in Neverland	http://seeingdoubleinneverland.blogspot.com
7/10	WhoRuBlog	http://www.whorublog.com
7/11	Here’s to Happy Endings	http://www.herestohappyendings.com/
7/11	The Book Rat	www.thebookrat.com
7/12	Miss Print	https://missprint.wordpress.com/
7/12	Bookstore Finds	Www.instagram.com/bookstorefinds
7/13	Teen Lit Rocks	teenlitrocks.com
7/13	Adventures of a Book Junkie	https://www.toofondofbooks.com/
7/14	Novel Reality	http://novelreality.blogspot.com
7/14	Flavia the Bibliophile	http://flaviathebibliophile.com/
7/15	Haku & Books	https://www.hakuandbooks.com/
7/15	Emily Reads Everything	www.emilyreadseverything.com
7/16	YA Book Nerd	http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/
7/17	Take Me Away to a Great Read	https://takemeawaytoagreatread.com/
7/18	Bumbles and Fairy-Tales	http://bumblesandfairytales.blogspot.com
7/18	Pink Polka Dot Books	http://www.pinkpolkadotbooks.com/
7/19	Folded Pages Distillery	www.foldedpagesdistillery.com
7/20	Book Nut	Booklovingnut.com
7/21	The Life of a Booknerd Addict	http://www.booknerdaddict.com/

Spill Zone: A (Blog Tour) Graphic Novel Review

No entry. No photos. No survivors.

No one has been allowed in the Poughkeepsie Spill Zone since the night of the Spill. Addison Merrick was out of town and came back to a town she didn’t recognize, missing parents, and a sister who hasn’t spoken since.

With nowhere else to go she’s kept herself and her sister near the border of the Spill in their family home. From there it’s easy for Addison to periodically sneak into the Spill and snap photos of the weird aftermath to sell to art collectors.

No one knows what happened the night of the Spill but when Addison receives an offer to venture farther into the Zone than she ever has, she might be closer to finding out–whether she wants to or not in Spill Zone (2017) by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Alex Puvilland with color by Hilary Sycamore.

Find it on Bookshop.

Spill Zone is Westerfeld’s latest graphic novel and the start to a new series. You can find a copy at your local library, buy a copy, or you can read the entire comic online with neat blog posts from Scott and Alex talking about their process at thespillzone.com.

Spill Zone starts with Addison getting ready to venture into the Spill Zone to take another batch of photos. By this point Addison has the process down from sneaking through the border to how to get out of the Spill in one piece and protect herself and her sister while selling the highly illegal photos to art collectors like the owner of the Vandersloot Gallery (which you can find online). It’s risky but, thanks to Addison’s meticulous rules, it’s manageable.

Inside the Spill is dangerous and eerie. No one knows what happened. Time doesn’t seem to work the same way. Dangerous creatures are everywhere. Even colors are different. When Addison receives an offer she can’t refuse she’s forced to travel even further into the Spill Zone and confront dangerous truths about that night and the aftermath. The combination of Westerfeld’s story and Puvilland’s art keeps the tension taut throughout this volume as it builds to the dangerous climax and, of course, leaves readers with more questions.

Spill Zone is a fascinating and fast-paced story perfectly situated to appeal to both fans of speculative fiction and comics. Spill Zone is a deceptively fast read that packs a punch–guaranteed to reward multiple reads and close examination of each panel. Highly recommended.

As part of the Spill Zone Blog Tour I also have an exclusive photo from inside the Spill Zone!

This photo was taken by artist Alex Puvilland during his research for this book in Poughkeepsie. Spill Zone has had a lot of fun publicity that started well before its publication including the Spill Zone site where you can read the entire comic (and cool blog posts about Scott and Alex’s writing process) and also a web presence for the Vandersloot Gallery which displays some of Ms. Vandersloot’s impressive collection of Addison’s photos from inside the Spill.

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour for more exclusive photos. You can find the full schedule here: http://fiercereadsya.tumblr.com/post/160085874816/no-entry-no-photographs-no-survivors-three-years