Swamp Thing: Twin Branches
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- USD 12.99
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- USD 12.99
Publisher Description
The #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle series) and artist Morgan Beem unearth the primal power of memory and how it twists the bond between two brothers. Twins Alec and Walker Holland have a reputation around town. One is quiet and the other is the life of any party, but they are inseparable. For their last summer before college, the two leave the city to live with their rural cousins, where they find that the swamp holds far darker depths than they could have imagined. While Walker carves their names into the new social scene, Alec recedes into a summer school laboratory, because he brought something from home on their trip—it’s an experiment that will soon consume him. This season, both brothers must confront truths, ancient and familial, and as their lives diverge, tensions increase and dormant memories claw to the surface. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is a story of shadows, both literal and imagined—and those that take form and haunt us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though Alec and Walker Holland are identical twins, they couldn't be more different: while Walker is outgoing and personable, Alec thinks Walker "makes being human look so easy," and struggles with interpreting social cues from his peers. Following a difficult year Alec develops Type 1 diabetes following a severe illness, the siblings discover their father's adultery the twins spend the summer before college in rural Virginia with their aunt Jessica and cousins Dalton and Jolie. Walker quickly rekindles his friendship with their cousins, while Alec focuses on recreating his experiment after his cousins' dogs destroy his research. Alec's experiment facilitates the transference of memories and thoughts from plants to hosts, occasionally transforming them in the process. Though overabundant plot elements compete for attention, Stiefvater (Call Down the Hawk) succeeds in establishing sympathetic character dynamics. Beem's waifish characters paired with the monstrous floral transformations throughout conjure a subtly eerie atmosphere, rendered in cool greens and blues, that keep the origin story's intrigue alive. A compelling, if uneven, narrative that may appeal most to those of a botanical bent. Ages 14 up.
