Nightschool, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

Svetlana Chmakova is one of my favorite middle grade graphic novelists, and when I saw she had a YA series also, I jumped on it.
NIghtschool is a quadrilogy revolving around a school that hosts normal high school classes and students during the day, but at night, the classes and students are very different, and not a little dangerous. The first volume introduces the idea of a school which, under the cover of night, teaches students with special abilities. The readers meet Alex, a gifted teenager whose fear of her own power prevents her from attending the school. We also meet Sarah, Alex's sister, who is the new Night Guardian at the school. The relationship between the sisters is pivotal to the plot throughout this series. In addition to show more Nightschool students, the reader also becomes acquainted the Hunters. The Hunters are human, but with supernatural powers, and are responsible for protecting fellow humans from rogue demonic forces.
Nightschool Vol 1 is an excellent introduction to the world and magic of the Weirn, and I look forward to reading the remainder of the series. show less

A modern fantasy manga, which is to say it's basically the real world but with witches and vampires. I enjoyed it; it's nicely drawn, switches fairly well between dramatic and humorous sections, and I liked Alex's familiar and the school-related stuff (which there isn't much of here, name notwithstanding). On the other hand, it is a modern fantasy story, and while it's original so far in some ways, it has the common trappings of the genre: a protagonist with powers not merely strange, but stranger than those of other supernaturals; a world split secretly between ordinary clueless people and a parallel supernatural society; rogue supernaturals who prey on ordinary people, and hunters who track them down and destroy them. So if you're show more looking for something entirely novel, or you're just a bit tired of "The real world, but with witches and vampires" then move along. show less

I found the first and second volumes of this series at a used bookstore and snatched them up. Although I never fell in love with Chmakova's Dramacon the way some others did, I liked it well enough. I enjoy fantasy and was interested in seeing how well she'd handle a switch to a new genre.

Although I didn't hate this volume, I was a bit disappointed in it. There was just too much going on, too many characters being introduced. I'm going to guess that Alex is the series' main character, since she's on the cover and got several pages all to herself. However, it's difficult to tell which of the many, many characters who popped up throughout the volume will play a larger role later. I couldn't even tell you much about most of them, since they show more appeared and disappeared so quickly.

I felt much the same way when it came to the details of what was going on and how the world worked. Alex is a weirn, which is...something. The back of the book tells me it's a “particular breed of witches.” All I know is that Alex can do magic, and she's got a being called Astral who follows her around. There are two groups, the Hunters and supernatural beings, some of whom attend or teach at the Nightschool. I'm pretty sure neither group is supposed to be considered villainous. The Hunters kill supernatural beings who've gone bad, and the Nightschool people attend/teach classes on the grounds of what, during the day, is a regular school. Normal humans don't appear to be aware of the Nightschool. Alex, for some mysterious reason, is home schooled and is potentially dangerous, although I'm not sure how aware of this she is.

All of this might turn out interesting, but, at the moment, it's just a jumble of vague information. With fantasy, it can be difficult to balance world-building and character development without letting one or both slide, and I think Chmakova may have bitten off more than she could chew. It was worrisome to learn that the series is only four volumes long. Here's hoping the story becomes more focused in volume 2.

Extras:

Four pages are in full-color. Also, there are some author comments at the end.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Suprised at how well the plot and characters were presented, very limited information but enough to hook you in. Interested to see where the series go.

I loves this series i read them all! Now i'm just trying to get them all.
there are four books in total, the art was lovely and the over all concept was a little generic. Still it has its own twist on the generic, I loved it.

Good concept from a talented artist and writer. Storyline was a little confusing...I wanted more details about the characters and what was going on. I look forward to reading more of the series.

A good beginning to work looks like an exciting story and an interesting world.