Graphic Novel Review – Compass South (Four Points, Book 1) by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Adventure/Graphic Novel
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0374300432
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Four Points series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“It’s 1860 in New York City. When 12-year-old twins Alexander and Cleopatra’s father disappears, they join the Black Hook Gang and are caught by the police pulling off a heist. They agree to reveal the identity of the gang in exchange for tickets to New Orleans. But once there, Alex is shanghaied to work on a ship that is heading for San Francisco via Cape Horn. Cleo stows away on a steamer to New Granada where she hopes to catch a train to San Francisco to find her brother. Neither Alexander nor Cleo realizes the real danger they are in-they are being followed by pirates who think they hold the key to treasure. How they outwit the pirates and find each other makes for a fast-paced, breathtaking adventure.”

My son and I picked this up at the library. This was a well done historical fiction graphic novel; we both ended up enjoying it.

The main story focuses on twins who are trying to make a living in a gang after their father disappears. When they are arrested during a heist, they agree to rat out the gang in exchange for tickets to New Orleans. One of the twins sees an ad in a newspaper that is offering a reward for missing red-haired twins; they decide to go to New Orleans to claim the reward (being red-haired and twins themselves).

On their adventures they run into another set of red-haired twins that has the same idea. What follows are many adventures involving pirates and kidnapping. It all made for a fast-paced and engaging adventure story set in the mid 1800’s.

The illustration is well done and easy to follow and done in full color. I enjoyed it and thought it added to the story a lot.

Overall this was a fun adventure graphic novel. I plan on picking up the second book in the Four Points series to see where Alex and Cleo’s adventures take them next. I would recommend to middle grade and older readers who enjoy historical fiction with a lot of action and adventure.