Seeker Society by Jana Tropper and Kyle Higgins

 I was in the mood for a little adventure, and today's read might just hold plenty of that. At least, that's what I'm getting from the cover. I think it gives steampunk vibes, but I'm not sure that's what this tale weaves around. According to the blurb, it's a type of academy read, but I'm also not sure it would fit into the same 'academy reads' category which was popular in the YA direction a couple years ago. Maybe, it will be more like a 

SEEKER SOCIETY

by Jana Tropper & Kyle Higgins

Illustrated by Zack Giallongo

& Whitney Cogar

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Middle Grade Fantasy   /   Graphic Novel

176 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

JUNE 3rd!!!

Shackleton’s School for Seekers is a haven for students as diverse as the magical gifts they possess. But as the new class of Seekers soon learn, the ability to hear voices from the past or sense an object’s history can lead to great knowledge...and even greater danger.

When Fern, Jordan, and Zack are selected for a mysterious class trip with Shackleton’s fearless Dr. Adichie, they’ve only just begun to explore the limits of their powers. It’s clear their teacher knows more than she’s letting on about the kids’ gifts—and the dangers they’ll be facing. But when an unexpected accident separates the trio from their instructor and leaves them stranded on an uncharted island, they’ll have to learn to rely on each other to survive the hostile environment and the Seekers’ equally hostile rivals, the Keepers.

This gorgeously illustrated graphic novel is now in print for the first time after its successful debut on the Epic! platform.

GOODREADS     /      PUBLISHER

MY TIDBITS

The ability to connect with the past leads to adventure and danger pure.

The School for Seekers is packed with students, who harbor various gifts...many which lean to peering one way or another into history, gifts in language, and more. While these might, at first, seem calm, these talents are more powerful than they appear. When a group of Seeker students accidentally lands on an island, the adventure is about to begin, but they might not survive it thanks to the deadly creatures residing there.

The illustrations are rich and allow the fantasy world to open up and invite in. The scenes are vivid, and the creatures radiate danger. Each moment hits with emotional clarity and makes this group easy to root for from beginning to end.

The tale is complexly woven and allows the information to dribble between the action, keeping tension high with just enough background knowledge to make things understandable. It flips between present, past, and somewhere in between constantly. Each time, this is marked with a short time note in a rectangle at the top of the page. This helps keep the flashbacks clear. While the constant back and forth allows for information to be dropped at just the right time (avoiding info dumps), it does break the story flow and pulled out of the main plot quite often. It almost grew confusing a few times as the sudden change needed to be recognized and worked in with the main plot every time to understand what was happening. While not my favorite tactic, it keeps the story compact and quick paced.

There's a large amount of diversity on the character end to make sure many aspects are included. This builds nicely into the teamwork as each student needs to learn to handle their own powers while discovering how to work with the capabilities of those around them. That also slides nicely into the mystery and makes it exciting as each clue discovered depends on this vibrant mix.

It's an interesting beginning to a series and lays the foundation for many adventures to come. Fans of quick-paced adventure with super-powers and teamwork involved as well as inner struggles are going to enjoy this one.

And here she is...

Jana Tropper, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a writer, presenter, and speech-language pathologist at a public elementary school outside Chicago. When she's not writing, reading, or playing video games, she enjoys visiting schools and has presented as both an educator and author at several events including C2E2, LITapalooza, New York Comic Con, and San Diego Comic Con. She lives with her husband, Josh, and their own three rescue dogs: Ripley, Newt, and Sandy Lambert.