KIN (The Good Neighbor) by Holly Black

From the highly acclaimed Spiderwick series, author Holly Black takes us into a new realm, the magical world of fairy. Book one of a new trilogy, Kin sets the scene of mystery, magic, and pure fun.

Rue isn't worried that her mother seems to have disappeared. Or at least, that is what she keeps telling herself. One evening she was kept awake by the high voices of her parents arguing. When she finally went downstairs to see what the commotion was about, her father was crying and saying it was all his fault. Her mother had vanished.

A few days later, she comes home from school and the police have her house surrounded. Rushing towards the front door, she is stopped by a police officer. They are arresting her father for murder. A student had been found slain, and her father , a professor, was the last to see her.

Weird things begin to happen to Rue. She meets her mother's family for the first time, not knowing her mother had any family. Her grandfather is dark and threatening. She begins to think she is crazy, seeing things that really aren't there; or are they? She imagines wings and beaks on people and the shadows creeping closer to her. She goes to the library and does some research.

Before long, she learns that her mother didn't disappear. Her father had broken a promise to Rue's faerie king grandfather, and because of that, her mother was dying. Now Rue must go to save her, and must also defeat a dark faerie that threatens our very mortal world.

As the first graphic book I have read, I was highly impressed. The illustrations are fantastic. Very detailed, but so full of emotion and atmosphere, the characters almost leap off the page. The plot is sound and full of promise of magical things to come. The end will leave you hanging, just begging for more. I look forward to the next installment of this magical world of fairy.