Oddly Normal

Half witch and half human, 10-year-old Oddly Normal is used to being outcast at school-her green hair and pointy ears immediately mark her as different, and her family's home, a haunted house lookalike among cookie-cutter suburban colonials, sticks out just as much. Frustrated that her parents are so happy while she is so isolated, Oddly makes a birthday wish for them to disappear-and they do (along with the house). Her auntie promptly shows up and brings Oddly to her mother's homeland of Fignation, where zombies rub shoulders with robots, giant insects serve as public transportation, and Oddly feels as lonely as ever. Over five chapters (originally published as separate comics), Frampton addresses relatable topics like feeling like an outsider and trying to make friends in an unfamiliar, unfriendly setting. Vivid cartooning, in the vein of '90s cartoons like Gargoyles or Recess, meshes well with the goofy goings-on in the story (at one point, a smiling sun yanks a curtain across the sky to turn night into day). Little is resolved in this first installment, with the fate of Oddly's parents left to future books. Ages 9-up. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 4-6-When a half-witch, half-human named Oddly Normal makes a standard pre-teen wish that her parents would disappear, she is surprised to find it come true. Her aunt, an utterly charming and effervescent witch, decides Oddly is no longer safe in the human world, so they travel to her mother's home realm, Fignation. Oddly's acclimation to Menagerie Middle School is rocky, and she's left wondering where, exactly, she belongs. Many readers will identify with Oddly's attempts to bridge cultures and her struggle to figure out her place, both in her family and at school. The text contains some sophisticated vocabulary and literary references (there is a vampire named Bram, for instance), while remaining accessible. Fignation is a richly imagined world of fantastical creatures. The drawings throughout are engaging and make good use of moody, saturated colors. A recreation of an "Oddly Normal" collection published in 2006 that expands upon the original story and has reimagined illustrations. VERDICT This is Frampton's fully realized vision for "Oddly Normal"; it is worth adding to any collection, even those that already contain the earlier edition.-Jenna Lanterman, formerly at The Calhoun School and Mary McDowell Friends School, New York City © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.