This is a retelling of Northanger Abbey, only swap horror movies for gothic novels, and a summer job at a ranch for a season in Bath, and two cute partially-closeted teen gay boys for the central couple.

I will confess that I almost bailed in the early set-up for this book. It takes racism and homophobia head on, and our protagonist, Cade, does NOT want to take the summer ranch job, and once he does he is effectively trapped with no privacy, even sharing a bedroom with his stepdad who Cade is not out to and sometimes makes homophobic comments and THIS ALL FELT LIKE A LITTLE MUCH FOR A JANE AUSTEN RETELLING. But once Cade gets over the first week shock at his new job, the stress drops to a more tolerable level, and I think it does a good job balancing the Jane Austen vibes with the very real feelings of isolation and danger for queer kids in rural Texas. I'm glad I kept with it. ( )

This graphic novel retelling of the usually overlooked Northanger Abbey follows its source material pretty closely (thematically, anyway). Gothic novel fan Catherine is now horror movie-obsessed Cade, who feels alienated from his family and community for being gay. Cade hates having to work at the ranch; already sticking out for being latino in a rural, white area, Cade hides his gay identity for obvious reasons. This is difficult because he's falling for sweet and hunky Henry (same first name as Northanger Abbey's love interest). Due to (mostly unintentional) eavesdropping and ominous accusations made by a disgruntled farm hand, Cade gets the idea that something terrible happened at Henry's family's lake house, maybe even murder. Is Cade living in a horror movie? Could he be falling in love with a serial killer?? If you've read Northanger Abbey, you know where that line of thinking is going, but it's a wild ride anyway.

This is a fantastic book, both as a Northanger Abbey adaptation and as an exploration of being gay and closeted in the heteronormative, Christian South. I can't say I enjoyed the book, as it's always harrowing to read about homophobia, racism and xenophobia, plus I'm a wuss when it comes to scary stories, but I'm so glad I bought and read it.

Read the full review (plus trigger warnings) at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2023/11/book-review-northranger-by-r... ( )

teen graphic novel/modern retelling of Northanger Abbey CW/TW: homophobia, racist remarks, animal cruelty

gay 16-17 y.o. Cade loves horror movies but also suffers from an overactive imagination after watching them. He lives in Abilene, Texas with his stepsister Alice, stepfather Dale, Mom and Abuela; he agrees to help them make ends meet by joining Dale to work at a ranch in the rural town of Ranger for the summer (Northranger is the owner's drafty old lake house that they get invited to on rainy weekends). The owner is a stiff military Brig. General, but his son Henry is a lot friendlier (not to mention cute). ( )

At his mother's insistence, Cade reluctantly joins his stepfather to work at a ranch over the summer. The days are early and the work is physical. Cade tends and feeds the horses, mucks out the stalls, repairs fences and more. Making it bearable for Cade, who is gay and closeted, is Henry Tyler, the son of the ranch owner. Henry comes out to Cade and they engage in a discreet relationship. But the Tyler family holds secrets and those secrets cause Henry to be emotionally up and down in their relationship. Another ranch hand Jon, who is alcoholic, makes mysterious comments about the Tyler family that has Cade questioning who he is dealing with. A poignant story of what it's like to be gay in a rural area, inspired by Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," per the author's note. ( )

It’s been years since I read Northanger Abbey, so I’d forgotten about how ramped up Cathy was about everything in her Gothic obsession. In this case it’s Cade who loves horror movies and has been surviving as a closeted queer kid in Texas, but he still got himself super ramped up during a huge reveal. This was actually a great adaptation, although it didn’t keep Austen’s HEA; rather there was a melancholy hope at the end, but I will craft my own epilogue where Cade and Henry eventually get out of Texas (or go work at the awesome queer ranches in Kelly Fox books) and live their best lives. ( )