Katie Cook

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

For seventeen-year-old Callie Benson, the high school experience has been especially ... challenging. She can see the echos of plants and animals who have died but not yet moved on - and her furtive conversations with invisible spirits have earned her the reputation of the "crazy" girl on campus. Her father is a demon who's always gone, traveling between the human world and other realms in search of magical objects for his antiques store. Her mother - well, Callie doesn't know much about her; it's just been Callie and her father for as long as she can remember. Callie knows that she's not human - at least not entirely - but beyond that, she's not sure what she is. Just that she's nothing special.

Callie's world opens up when she discovers that a fellow classmate named Declan can see the spirits, too. Callie helps him gently dispel an especially giant spirit who has camped out in front of his house (and, more alarmingly, watches him sleep at night), and the two become fast friends. When Callie's dad goes missing on her birthday, she and Declan enter the other world in search of him. With the help of a demon named Lasser and the spirit of one very possessive radish, can Callie rescue her father - while also coming to terms with what she is?

NOTHING SPECIAL is one very special strip. (Sorry, I had to.) The storytelling is magical, and I especially love the spirits that follow Callie around. (A sassy radish? Sign me up!) The mystery of Callie's lineage is a juicy one and I enjoyed the big reveal with her mom at the end. Cook's artwork is charming with just the right amount of cutesy mixed in. Bonus points for bonding over pop culture references.

You can also find it on Webtoons, where Katie Cook is already well into Season Three. (This book comprises Season One, chapters 1-29.)… (altro)