Youth Group by Jordan Morris (review)

Reviewed by: Youth Group by Jordan Morris April Spisak Morris, Jordan Youth Group; illus. by Bowen McCurdy. First Second, 2024 256p Trade ed. ISBN 9781250789228 25. 99 Paper ed. ISBN 9781250789235 17. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8-10 In this quirky, fast-paced graphic novel, Kay knows that church is really important to her mom, so she agrees to at least try out the youth group. The charismatic pastor who takes pop lyrics and makes them about God, the strict morality rules, and the perky religious teens eager to win her over—she expected all of this. What she absolutely did not anticipate was that her youth group leaders are actually demon hunters, and that Kay, as a Blight (a human that cannot be possessed by demons), is going to be unavoidably the center of the action in an attempt by lesser demons to find all the blights, kill them, and then use their life force to take human form. This younger generation of hunters is much more open to collaboration and cooperation with other demon-fighting groups, and, against the wishes of their pastor and trainer, they organize an interfaith party to bring everyone together in a cooperative, badass takedown of evil. The demons are visual delights, varied in size and style but consistent in their oozing malice and hatred of humanity. Shifting panel size highlights key action scenes, and garish color contrasts are jarring in satisfying ways, celebrating this horror clash of good and evil. The creatures are not ones to simply injure humans—there are a couple of startling deaths despite the valiant efforts of their hunters. Besides the murderous hell beings, however, Morris offers a cozy '90s world where diversity is celebrated, queer kids have a ready home within a church youth group, and Wiccans and Christians can find easy common ground at a rager. It is little wonder that jaded Kay is drawn in despite her initial misgivings. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois