Select one of the keywords
The Spill Zone    by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland Amazon.com order for
Spill Zone
by Scott Westerfeld
Order:  USA  Can
First Second, 2017 (2017)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto

Scott Westerfeld was writing YA dystopians before they were the thing to write. Along with Alex Puvilland, he adds a little horror to the genre in The Spill Zone. Addison's town has been decimated by a phenomena referred to as the Spill. Now a ghost town – quite literally – The Spill Zone is off limits to all.

This does not stop Addison, though, as she must provide for her sister, Lena, a young girl who has been mute since being in town during the Spill. Addison supports herself and her sister by illegally entering The Spill Zone to take pictures of the weirdness that occurs within – pictures that collectors will pay big bucks for. But when one collector asks Addison to go against every rule she has set for herself, she must decide if it is worth it, little knowing that her choice is partially orchestrated by Lena's favorite doll.

While The Spill Zone is not Westerfeld's first foray into graphic novels, it is his first world created in that format. What this means is that The Spill Zone would still be a first-rate dystopian no matter what, but it definitely would lose much of its creepiness without Puvilland's illustrations. The world they create is so bizarre it is a credit to Puvilland how well it is conveyed through the art. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Aside from the world-building, the story and characters are top-notch as well.

The Spill Zone is a creepy dystopian that must be experienced by fans of the genre. Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland make a wonderful team to create a thrilling story that leaves readers salivating for the next installment.

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.

Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews