Haphaven

by Norm Harper

Louie Joyce (Artist)

Ever-superstitious Alex Mills will do anything to avoid a jinx. Picking up pennies, knocking on wood, collecting rabbit’s feet . . . you name it. That is until she steps on a crack and it actually does break her mother’s back. To save her mom, Alex must follow Hubbub Caskside, a trusty leprechaun, on a journey through the end of a rainbow to Haphaven, the world where all of Earth’s superstitions draw their power. All she needs is a rabbit’s foot to save her mom, but she soon discovers the lucky article won’t be so easy to retrieve. Not only is the rabbit’s foot guarded by Haphaven’s most formidable creature, the Jinx, there’s also a forest full of trees that knock back if you don’t knock on wood, people named Penny who do not like to be picked up, and a particularly vindictive black cat who will not be crossed.



As Alex finds herself desperately searching for a way to save her mom, she learns of a mysterious connection between her family’s fate and the rulers of Haphaven. With her mother’s life on the line and her own fate at stake, Alex must find the strength within herself to unlock the mystery and take back control of the superstitions that have controlled her life, even if it means crossing the Black Cat once and for all.

• ISBN10: 1549304119
• ISBN13: 9781549304118
• Publish Date: 19 March 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Oni Press,US
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 160
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Haphaven through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Haphaven is a graphic novel full of superstitions and rules. Its one part fairy tale, and one part coming of age story. The series follows Alex as she grows up with superstitions, thanks to her father. Until one day she stepped on a crack and found herself on a desperate quest to undo the damage wrought.
This was an interesting series, on the whole. I originally became interested in it because of the artwork on the cover (which I promise you carries through the whole graphic novel). Though I’ll admit that the introduction was a bit off, and it took me longer than expected for me to get really into the story being told.
It was fun reading about all the different superstitions that Alex lived by. At first, we saw how difficult it would be; living in the modern world while driven to follow complex rules that may or may not be judged by society. Like feeling compelled to throw a stranger’s spilled salt over your shoulder during a family dinner…
It quickly becomes more fantastical though, as Alex rushes to save her mom after a sudden broken back – courtesy of the crack that Alex stepped all over. It gets a bit hectic and crazy from there, but the story hangs on to its cohesion and ultimately has an interesting point to make.

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