Piper

by Jay Asher, Jessica Freeburg, Jeff Stokely (Illustrator)

Overview

#1 international bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why Jay Asher and co-author Jessica Freeburg brilliantly reimagine the classic Pied Piper legend as a powerful graphic novel about loneliness, love, and vengeance. Fans of Neil Gaiman and Through the Woods by Emily Carroll will devour this eerie, atmospheric retelling.

“A moving graphic novel about isolation, love, and retribution, this dark version of a familiar tale will remain with readers long after the last page is turned.”—School Library Journal
 
Long ago, in a small village in the middle of a deep, dark forest, there lived a lonely, deaf girl named Maggie. Shunned by her village because of her disability, her only comfort comes from her vivid imagination. Maggie has a gift for inventing stories and dreams of one day finding her fairy-tale love.
 
When Maggie meets the mysterious Piper, it seems that all her wishes are coming true. Spellbound, Maggie falls hard for him and plunges headfirst into his magical world. But as she grows closer to the Piper, Maggie discovers that he has a dark side.
 
The boy of Maggie’s dreams might just turn out to be her worst nightmare…
 
With striking illustrations from Eisner-nominated artist Jeff Stokely, mixed with Jessica Freeburg's work on historic and legendary horrors, Piper is an exciting new departure for Jay Asher that deftly touches on the same themes of truth, guilt, and redemption that made Thirteen Reasons Why a beloved bestseller.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780448493664
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

JAY ASHER's debut novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller, has sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone and is now a thirteen-part series on Netflix. The Future of Us, his second novel, was co-authored with Printz Honor winner Carolyn Mackler. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling What Light. Piper, out in Fall 2017 and co-authored with Jessica Freeburg and illustrated by Jeff Stokely, will mark Asher’s graphic novel debut. His novels have been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives with his family in California. Follow him on Twitter @jayasherguy.

JESSICA FREEBURG is the author of paranormal fiction (Living in Shadows) and narrative nonfiction works focused on creepy legends and dark moments in history including Monsters of the Midwest, Fight for Survival, and Collapse and Chaos. To blend her love of writing with her passion for history and the paranormal, Jessica founded Ghost Stories Ink, a group of authors, illustrators, and filmmakers who visit historic locations and perform paranormal investigations for creative inspiration. She also serves as the assistant regional advisor for the Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Follow her @JessicaFreeburg.

JEFF STOKELY is the co-creator and artist of Eisner-nominated comic series THE SPIRE. He is the artist of acclaimed series SIX-GUN GORILLA and JIM HENSON'S THE STORYTELLER: WITCHES, THE REASON FOR DRAGONS. Follow him @JeffStokely.

Editorial Reviews

Gorgeously illustrated and lyrically paced, PIPER had me under its spell from the first page. A riveting and, at times, chilling response to one of the most fascinating legends that history and fairy tales have given us. 
—Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles and Renegades
 
Jay Asher and Jessica Freeburg have conjured real magic with PIPER! Mysterious and weird, scary and yet charming, they’ve managed to take an old story and craft it into something beautiful and new! Highly recommended.
—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Black Panther: Doomwar

With an unfailingly honest touch, Piper unlocks the mystery and finds the heart of one of our most haunting legends. Asher, Freeburg, and Stokely find the emotional True North and leave their audience, including me, reaching for our Kleenex. Loved!
—Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of the Dorothy Must Die and Stealing Snow series 

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
Gr 6 Up—Maggie, who lives in a small village in the woods, is a dreamer. Ignored and abused by the other villagers because she is deaf, she takes refuge in her imagination, making up stories of forging a better life and finding love. Maggie becomes attracted to the handsome, magical stranger who arrives in town, and hopes that her dreams might come true. He appears to return her feelings, and they form a bond, but however kindly he treats her, the piper must still be paid. In this vivid reimagining of the Pied Piper legend, the artwork features rich, saturated hues with noticeable color differences among everyday life in Hameln, the muted shades of Maggie's daydreams, and Piper's and Maggie's dark backstories. The characters' dynamic body language and expressive faces speak volumes, especially during dramatic sequences. During quieter moments, the illustrations and dialogue shine. Asher, Freeburg, and Stokely take a fresh look at an intriguing, centuries-old legend. However, the protagonist's lip-reading abilities are not always realistically portrayed. VERDICT A moving graphic novel about isolation, love, and retribution, this dark version of a familiar tale will remain with readers long after the last page is turned. Fans of the authors and Emily Carroll's Through the Woods will adore this tempting piper's song for the eyes.—Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

2017-12-03
Asher collaborates with Freeburg and Stokely for a new take on the mysterious medieval tale of the "Pied Piper of Hamelin."White, red-haired Maggie feels isolated in her village of Hameln. Deaf since childhood, she speaks and reads lips to communicate but feels lonely due to the callousness of the townspeople. Her only solace is telling stories to her loving guardian, Agathe, and dreaming of romance. Prejudice isn't the only problem in Hameln—the village is overrun with rats that destroy the village's resources and rapidly spread disease. Things play out much as in the original tale with the addition of a romance that ends in tragedy—and a twist on the familiar ending. Unfortunately, the representation of disability lacks attention to detail; there are multiple panels in which a character is not in Maggie's sight lines but Maggie responds as if she has read their lips. Stokely's art is otherwise friendly and approachable, full of earth tones and individually rendered characters. Framing the graphic novel with an opening authors' note titled "Seeking History in a Legend," Asher and Freeburg attempt to situate their retelling as revelatory: "And we've waited over seven hundreds [sic] years to find out what [happened]." While Asher and Freeburg lean heavily on magic rather than history, in contrast to their opening, their interpretation may pique the curiosity of readers new to the story.Neither illuminating nor truly inclusive. (Graphic fantasy. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews