Spill Zone (Spill Zone Series #1)

by Scott Westerfeld, Alex Puvilland (Illustrator)

Overview

Do you dare enter the Spill Zone? From science fiction visionary Scott Westerfeld and artist Alex Puvilland comes the first volume of this dystopian graphic novel duology

Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone.

The Spill claimed Addison’s parents and scarred her little sister, Lexa, who hasn’t spoken since. Addison provides for her sister by photographing the Zone's twisted attractions on illicit midnight rides. Art collectors pay top dollar for these bizarre images, but getting close enough for the perfect shot can mean death—or worse.

When an eccentric collector makes a million-dollar offer, Addison breaks her own hard-learned rules of survival and ventures farther than she has ever dared. Within the Spill Zone, Hell awaits—and it seems to be calling Addison's name.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596439368
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Series:	Spill Zone Series , #1
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	GN340L (what's this?)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Scott Westerfeld is the author of the worldwide bestselling Uglies series and the Locus Award–winning Leviathan series, and is co-author of the Zeroes trilogy. His other novels include the New York Times bestseller Afterworlds, The Last Days, Peeps, So Yesterday, and the Midnighters trilogy.

Alex Puvilland was born in France where he grew up reading his father's comic books. He now lives in Los Angeles with his ridiculously talented wife and two extraordinary children, Leo and Adrien. He works for Dreamworks Animation, and does comics whenever he has a moment. Alex co-illustrated Prince of Persia and Templar.

Editorial Reviews

Addison can come off as cold and harsh, especially to people who try to help her, but her character is far more nuanced than the typical tough-as-nails antihero…Readers will have no problem rooting for Addison—and fearing for her…As frightening as Spill Zone can be…its greatest asset is its muscle-tensing suspense. Reading it feels like binge-watching a great cable series, complete with the same feeling of despair you get when you finish the final episode and realize you've got a long time to wait for the next season.

The New York Times Book Review - Christopher Healy

★ 05/08/2017
After losing her parents to the Spill Zone, an inexplicable force that has possessed Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Addison assumes care of her younger sister, Lexa, who witnessed the spill. Although the area is quarantined, Addison frequently risks her life to sneak inside, using her camera to document the bizarre ways that reality has been warped within: the zombielike human “meat puppets” trapped inside, cats that seem to speak, unimaginable creatures, and defiance of the natural law around every corner. After an art dealer offers Addison a million dollars, she considers visiting the hospital her parents never left, even though it goes against the rules that have kept her alive. Westerfeld (Afterworlds) establishes several compelling mysteries in this series opener, and Puvilland captures the haunting surreality of the Spill Zone through an unearthly pastel/neon palette that oozes a sense of wrongness every moment Addison spends there. At times, Puvilland’s jagged panels take on the feeling of snapshots, reflecting Addison’s work and lending a voyeuristic quality to the story as readers follow her. Fascinating and hard to forget. Ages 15–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (May)This review has been corrected--a previous version contained a typo in the illustrator's name.

Publishers Weekly

A little dark, a little twisted, and completely enthralling.” —Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles and Heartless

"As frightening as Spill Zone can be, though, its greatest asset is its muscle-tensing suspense. Reading it feels like binge-watching a great cable series, complete with the same feeling of despair you get when you finish the final episode and realize you’ve got a long time to wait for the next season." —The New York Times

“Puvilland, an animator for DreamWorks, has a rough, kinetic style that brings to life the rough, kinetic world of Spill Zone.” —Los Angeles Review of Books


"If Katniss Everdeen’s your gal, you’re going to want to meet Addison Merritt." —Entertainment Weekly

"Amazing." —io9

"Expect some stunning sci-fi spectacle when Addison ventures into the Spill Zone." —A.V. Club

"Westerfeld...establishes several compelling mysteries in this series opener, and Puvilland captures the haunting surreality of the Spill Zonethrough an unearthly pastel/neon palette that oozes a sense of wrongness every moment Addison spends there." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This unnerving, gripping title—Westerfeld’s first original graphic novel—is bound to entice older comics fans, especially those interested in darker sci-fi and nuanced characterization." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Westerfeld handles the spooky business of the infected town magnificently, spiking the eerie and inexplicable with moments of genuine horror, while always keeping the emotional tensions of his highly accessible teenage protagonist at the center." —Booklist, starred review

"Full-color illustrations are appropriately wild, jagged, and threatening. Readers will be demanding the next installment as they close this one." —Kirkus

"It’s clear from the movie-ready visual images that the illustrator is primarily an anima- tor, and the panels are a worthy match for the clever, memorable text."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This first entry in a creepy, addictively suspenseful graphic novel series makes for compulsive reading." —Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—It's a mystery why three years ago Poughkeepsie suddenly broke the boundaries of reality, giving life to demonic wolves and sentient twisters, or why its human inhabitants now hang suspended in the air like puppets. It wasn't aliens, it wasn't a nuclear attack, and the military isn't talking. That isn't Addison's mystery to solve; all she has to do is go into this quarantined area—the Spill Zone—and photograph the bizarre happenings. She sells the images to support herself and her sister, Lexa. But soon the woman buying the bulk of the photographs presents Addison with the opportunity to embark on a deadly mission inside the Spill Zone, with the reward of a cool million dollars should she succeed. Meanwhile, the North Korean government, which had its own Spill incident, wants to meet with Addison for their own ominous purposes. Then there's Lexa's rag doll, Vespertine, who whispers devious thoughts in Lexa's mind. Westerfeld and Puvilland have created an imaginative, nightmarish powerhouse, with hectic line work and loud, vivid colors. This first of a duology wisely moves at a slow pace, rather than immediately revealing the plot and backstory of this warped world. Ultimately, the characters are the most compelling part of the book. Addison is particularly complex: though she is sympathetic, her decisions are intentionally presented as morally questionable. Harsh profanity and violence make this a more appropriate choice for mature readers. This unnerving, gripping title—Westerfeld's first original graphic novel—is bound to entice older comics fans, especially those interested in darker sci-fi and nuanced characterization. VERDICT A must-have for teen and graphic novel collections.—Matisse Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-02-14
Taking photos of the dangers in the Spill Zone can be deadly, but it pays the bills.Three years ago something happened to Poughkeepsie, New York. Nanotech outbreak? Nuclear accident? Alien invasion? Trans-dimensional breach? Anyone who knows isn't saying. Most of the residents still exist, but they're "meat puppets," floating, glowing, and unresponsive. The rats might chase you, and the cats might sound like they're speaking, but there are also nightmare beasts on the prowl. Addison sneaks past checkpoints on her motorbike to take pictures and sell them on the black market to support herself and her younger sister, Lexa, who hasn't spoken since the spill. When a collector bypasses the tough-as-nails white teen's middleman and reveals he's been cheating her, Addison takes on a mission for the collector that will put her in extreme danger…but may pay enough to get her out of the game for good. Bestselling prose novelist Westerfield kicks off a graphic-novel series of dark sci-fi adventures set in the very near future and sets up an interesting milieu. Another spill in North Korea, Lexa's talking doll, and the effects of the spill on survivors are hinted at as the action progresses. Animator Puvilland's full-color illustrations are appropriately wild, jagged, and threatening. Readers will be demanding the next installment as they close this one. A necessary start, with intriguing hints at action and weirdness to come. (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews