Toxic Summer

Gr 9 Up–Leo and his best friend Ben can’t wait for the summer jobs of their dreams: being lifeguards in a small seaside town, which means nonstop party action and all-access passes to scantily clad beach hunks. But the summer vacation of their lives turns murky when they arrive in the aftermath of a toxic spill, meaning a closed beach, no lifeguard jobs, and no “unsupervised perverted beach maniacs.” Instead, they are enlisted to help clean up the rotting, poisoned carcasses of slimy sea creatures. On the bright side, they meet a group of bored local teens, and one happens to be a cute romantic prospect. The friends plan a forbidden bonfire party under the guise of efficient beach clean-up work but are attacked by strange tentacled creatures who are seemingly in league with zombielike locals. This sparks a quest to reverse a chain of destructive events caused by tampering with the ocean and an ancient curse from a mysterious underwater civilization. Illustrated with bold, contrasting colors, this graphic novel cloaks environmental messaging with a slapstick, energetic, teen high jinks escapade. While the characters can be somewhat one-dimensional, the humorous moments keep the story afloat. This buddy quest/queer romance is rife with raunchy comedy best suited to older teens. Hand this to readers who enjoyed Heartstopper, The Girl from the Sea, and Luminous Beings. Ben and most of the other main characters cue as white, while Leo has slightly darker skin than Ben.