Barbarian Lord

Gr 7–10—Smith's debut graphic novel has guts, gore, and glory set against a harsh, Viking-influenced backdrop. After being exiled from his home and stripped of his lands by his enemies, the Barbarian Lord has but one goal: revenge and victorious return to his kingdom. He's got the anger and the muscle to take back his territory, but to get there, he'll have to go through snowstorms, face down trolls, and outwit skull-faced poets. With furrowed brow and clenched jaw, the Barbarian Lord is a scowling, merciless warrior of a bloodthirsty era. Interesting callbacks to Norse mythology will make this graphic novel an easy pleaser for fans of Rick Riordan's books and K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr's "Blackwell Pages" series (Little, Brown). Clean, blunt lines and unapologetic vicious (if mostly bloodless) fight scenes make for a unique art style choice, but the illustrations often seem out of sync with the narrative. An easy summer reading pick for middle-grade graphic novel aficionados and reluctant readers.—Clair Segal, Horace Mann School, New York City