Review by Booklist Review
In the aftermath of terrible loss and its ensuing grief, it's sometimes said that a person's world turns upside down. Walz visualizes the metaphor to wily effect in a dynamic assault of intricately designed imagery, literally reversing gravity for his desperate characters, turning their suburban town into a thrilling, death-defying obstacle course they must navigate not just to survive but to evade the inexplicable monsters that pursue them both physically and psychically. Though the imagery makes for a striking strangeness, the narrative turns on far more than a visual device. Evan--guiltsick from his last exchange with his terminally ill best friend--and Emma--crushed by depression and loneliness--slowly discover that the monsters here haunt from within as much as from without and that this seemingly abandoned upside-down world itself is made of their deepest emotional vulnerabilities. It is in giving form to a struggle with mental and emotional health that Walz's tale takes on deeper, more significant layers. By turning Evan's and Emma's moment-to-moment battles to survive into simultaneous battles to face their own pain, Walz transcends the already top-notch adventure story and gives readers something more profound, more accessible, and more relevant. Like an updated, emotionally attuned Poseidon Adventure, this makes for a riveting, heartfelt ride.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
After his best friend Evan dies of cancer, Theo feels completely alone. Overcome with negative thoughts following Evan's funeral, Theo wakes up to his world literally flipped upside down. Now he's being relentlessly stalked by an insidious, transmuting monster intent on consuming him. As he flees, he receives help from Emma, another teen stuck in what Theo learns is the Flip Side. Emma provides valuable survival tips while managing depression, anxiety, and more, and the pair work together to avoid their monsters. Theo believes that the movie he and Evan were working on before Evan's death holds the key to escaping the Flip Side, but Emma, resigned to never getting out, proves difficult to convince. "Powerfully influenced" by a short story written by his late friend and creative partner, as addressed in an author's note by Walz (the Last Pick series), this emotionally resonant graphic novel depicts vulnerable, bittersweet friendship against the backdrop of a high-concept, speculative premise. Walz balances heavy ruminations on death and mental illness with a tragicomic tone and earnest intention. Theo's real world is rendered in muted tones, while the Flip Side bursts with poppy, surreal color. Ages 12--up. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Theo, reeling from his best friend Evan's recent death from cancer, finds the world literally flipped upside down. Amid the chaos of a topsy-turvy world, with his phone battery at 1%, Theo receives a mysterious warning text: "Don't let it in." He's utterly alone until he finds Emma, a fellow survivor who's living with multiple mental and physical health diagnoses. She's named this world, where she's been isolated for a long time, the Flip Side. Emma is determined to help Theo escape from the monster that's chasing them. She asserts that "the only way to survive is to give up hope," but nevertheless, the young people's friendship brings hope to them both. The Flip Side is a truly sinister place, with labyrinthine cityscapes and apocalyptic colors. Details, such as the grotesque body of the shape-shifting monster, which is born of negative emotions, effectively convey the nightmarish tone, and bold black lines enhance the well-paced action. The intriguing premise and striking visual representation convey lessons about depression and grief. Evan, who appears in flashback scenes, feels less like his own person than an impetus for Theo's growth, however. Elements such as the struggle for people to acknowledge grief over a friend and Theo's relationship with Emma (who has a difficult personality and problems too profound for him to understand) add interest. Theo is cued Latine, Emma reads white, and Evan has brown skin and Afro-textured hair. Imaginative horror meets honesty about emotional pain. (content note, author's note)(Graphic supernatural. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
