Ly's story and Molly's art combine to create a fun and creepy tale of a girl whose not-so-nice shadow comes to life. The cliffhanger at the end will make you eager to jump into Part 2. ( )

Suee sets out to find up what is up with the kids in her school that have no shadows. This is a great tool for parents who want to open up a discussion of bullying with their children. Kids will enjoy the cartoons and the short length of the book. Do not overlook Book Two and the future volumes. My thanks to the author for a complimentary copy. ( )

Why did she go? I like people like her. Like Haeun.

The class loser? What for?

You're always so alone. It's no fun. And you have no friends.

This school is just not on my level. I can't make friends with lame people.

Twelve-year-old Suee Lee and her father have just moved house to Outskirtsville to be close to her father's new job, and it is Suee's first day at Outskirts Elementary School. Suee doesn't make any attempt to make friends with the girls in her class, classifying a group she passes in the corridor as a jerk, a loser, a Queen Bee and a dim bulb. After an an odd experience in the darkened exhibits room, Suee's shadow starts talking to her and moving independently, and after that she doesn't want to make friends, in case they notice her shadow behaving oddly. But Suee's problem with her shadow isn't the only odd thing happening at the school. The Vice President sets up an after-school class for all the children who failed an exam they took the previous term, and Suee notices something eerie about most of the children who attend that class; they all have wide staring eyes and no shadows, and other children have taken to referring to them scornfully as zeroes.

I received Parts I and II of this graphic novel from the Early Reviewers program, and although Suee and the Shadow is a children's book, it is very readable for adults and I carried on with Part II immediately as I was engrossed in the mysterious goings-on at Outskirtsville Elementary. The pictures are quite simple, mainly in black, white and grey which matches the darker tones of the story, and the characters are all easily distinguishable from one another. ( )

I received a copy of this title from the author via Librarything Early Reviewers.

Ten Second Synopsis:
Precocious, friendless Suee moves to Outskirtsville and immediately becomes embroiled in strange goings-on related to a class full of "zero" kids.

This was an engaging introduction to Suee and the nefarious happenings at her school in Outskirtsville. Suee is a bit like an Emily Strange sort of character in that she enjoys wearing black, doesn't go out of her way to make friends, and is drawn to investigating when things start getting a bit weird. If you like Emily Strange, you'll probably enjoy Suee's adventures as well.

Suee wakes up one morning to discover that her shadow can move and talk and she is understandably concerned about this new addition to her sense of self. While trying to figure out the mystery of how her shadow came to be alive, there is another mystery developing in the school with the "zero" class, in which seemingly random kids are required to stay after school. These kids, who once were as normal as everyone else, seem to change after attending zero class. As events become stranger and more kids are moved to the zero class, Suee reluctantly joins forces with zero girl Haeun and cool boy Hyunwoo to try and figure out what's going on.

This graphic novel will appeal to middle grade readers with its striking art and easy-to-follow story. Given that it's a translation, the dialogue flows remarkably well. Suee is flawed enough to be relateable, but there are clues dropped for the canny reader to pick up that Suee doesn't seem to notice. This adds to the fun of the mystery in my opinion.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes to indulge in graphic novels aimed at young readers and is mildly freaked out by the idea of a shadow with a mind of its own. ( )

"Suee and the Shadow" is a short graphic novel that presents the precocious life of Suee, a 12 year old, recently transferred, student. Suee is very mature for her age and her family situation is quite complicated. Yet her cynic and sarcastic ways are justified because of the way she grew up. The story is about Suee discovering a mysterious shadow following her everywhere. This book doesn't give you a lot of background information on the main conflict and it actually ends with a big cliffhanger. However, I really liked the story. It was simple and makes you experience a subtle feeling of uncertainty and curiosity. Needless to say, the art work's simplicity was made with elegance as well. I definitely recommend it! What's sweet about this graphic novel is that it doesn't target only a small demographic of children but also that of older teenagers and adults. It can be enjoyed by anyone pretty much! "Read, Live, and Imagine!" :D ( )