Review by Booklist Review
Known for telling speculative fiction stories steeped in humanity, Lemire (Sweet Tooth series) brings us this remarkable tale of a girl and her monster. The book hits the ground running in crunchy, visceral fashion, transgressing from a rural crime story to domestic drama to creature feature. During an annual swarm of "fishflies," a boy is shot and his perpetrator cursed to become a monstrous human-fishfly hybrid. Little Franny Fox befriends the creature, endeared because they are both "gross", and hides him. Meanwhile, Officer Danny Laraque investigates the shooting and the missing Franny, leading him and others to converge upon the community's tragic, supernatural past. Lemire's interactions between the characters and dialogue are deftly crafted considering the strangeness of the story, displaying the personal, emotional weight each character is carrying and how this motivates how they deal with the bizarre. The art is strikingly muted, making effective use of darks and few colors, as well as black sound effect pages functioning as literary breaks. Lemire even makes use of the borders and the gutters of the pages, which featuring a fashionable yellow staining to mimic the pages degrading. At times moving and revolting, this is a wretchedly detailed story of loyalty, trauma, and living on the outside.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Eisner winner Lemire (Sweet Tooth) delivers a wrenching fable of loneliness and redemption in small-town Canada. When Lee Simard wakes up bleeding in a field in the town of Belle River, covered in bites from a swarm of flies that smell like fish, he barely remembers the night before. In a flashback, readers learn he robbed a local corner store and shot the teen clerk, Paul. With Paul in a coma, his mother desperate for answers, and police investigating, Lee goes on the run. Franny, a lonely and misunderstood young girl with a constant sniffle and a deep sense of compassion, finds Lee in her family's barn and confides in him as a fellow outsider. Soon, Lee turns into a giant fishfly, but Franny sticks with him, even though he's a monster. The discovery of Celtic symbols in the nearby forest leads Paul's mother to experience visions that unveil the tragic, violent history behind the town's curse of flies. Lemire's singular style, with its uncanny figures and warm, bleeding inks, is a visual delight. The result is a tightly woven monster tale shot through with melancholy. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A haunting, atmospheric showcase for creator Lemire's (Phantom Road) signature blend of small-town life, supernatural elements, and deeply emotional storytelling. A lonely young girl named Franny stumbles across a wounded fugitive hiding after a botched robbery and offers the outlaw sanctuary in her barn. Franny's pain at feeling isolation from society and the outlaw's guilt and desire for redemption lead to the formation of a uniquely powerful bond between the unlikely pair, until a swarm of strange and oppressive fishflies blanket the area and seemingly trigger the bank robber's transformation into a strange creature. Determined to save her friend, Franny investigates potential causes of, and connections between, these supernatural events. Lemire's sketchy lines and muted color palette complement the eerie and melancholic tone of the story. His ability to craft intimate, human moments amid the fantastical is on full display, creating an exploration of flawed, vulnerable characters caught in extraordinary circumstances that feels both grounded and otherworldly. VERDICT A beautiful, unsettling, and ultimately touching story about connection, transformation, and the possibility of moving forward in life, despite the burden of an unresolved past.
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