'Nightmare in Savannah' by Lela Gwenn with art by Rowan McColl is a graphic novel about why it's important to choose your friends wisely.

Alexa moves to Savannah to escape the criminal past of her parents. When she tries to make new friends, she finds out she can't escape her past that easy. That leaves her making friends with the outcasts, but the outcasts have their own nasty secret: they are fairies with an evil streak.

I didn't mind the story, but it feels like a retread. The story is better than the weak art and color.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Maverick, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I am a big supporter of graphic novels. I love when a new one comes out and avidly keep track of releases. This one was on my radar for awhile, and I'm glad I got to read it early. I actually liked the sketch-y art style. It didn't feel rushed or confusing, which is not something I can say for the writing.

It moved so fast that I thought there were pages missing. It was discombobulated and confusing it felt like being thrown into a cube and being tossed around. Really, I wish this storyline had been spread out through for or five volumes. Every piece of important information came in one sentence or less, and the action was so fast it held no meaning or purpose. With so much happening in one volume, the character development fell flat for me as well.

Disappointed I didn't like this one since I love paranormal/supernatural stories.

I had no idea what to expect going into this graphic novel. I didn't have any expectations going in.

I hade such an issue with pacing. I felt like my download was missing pages. I kept going through to make sure I hadn't missed pages or anything. The pacing got even worse the farther we went through.

This had the potential to be great which such an interesting concept about a changeling.

Nightmare in Savannah by Lela Gwenn

Alexa moved to Savannah for a fresh start after her parents were sent away for their crimes. Too bad her new schoolmates have already learned of her sordid past and label her as an outcast. I very much got "The Craft" vibes from the storyline as she meets up with a group of girls who seem otherwordly.

I am a sucker for good fairy lore, and this one had an interesting concept of fairy changelings within a human environment. I highly enjoyed the LGBTQIA, and cultural representation within the book and that common teen issues such as bullying, rebellion, self-esteem, etc. are addressed.

The author did a great job of highlighting the toxicity of the teenage high school experience and the discomfort some teens feel when they have insecurities or are now coming into their identities. There is a strong lesson to learn from Nightmare in Savannah: karma will always make you pay for your misdeeds.

For me, I think the comic was well done graphically, the pink and purple tones were girly but at the same time not too overbearing but the plotline needed some additional refining.

The story accelerated at such a rate that it made keeping up with the sequence of events a bit difficult. Between the girl squad, various high school frenemies, grandpa, and the mysterious additions I found myself flipping back and forth trying to piece together what was happening.

Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alexa has to move in with her grandfather after her parents are arrested. She starts all over at a new school in the middle of the term, making friends with three other girls who also don't seem to fit in. They suddenly themselves suddenly equipped with red eyes, pointed teeth, and new powers to go along with all of it. At first, the girls take full advantage of these newfound powers, before things start to go haywire.

Abrupt and choppy, the chaos of this short graphic novel makes it hard to enjoy. I found most of the characters underdeveloped and hard to relate to. The premise of changelings and fairy lore was an interesting draw, but the execution was flawed. The author attempted to throw too much at the reader without fleshing out any of the characters/storyline.

The storyline was a bit jumbled/confusing to follow. It seemed to have pieces of the story missing, making it difficult to keep track of characters and underlying story elements.

Alexa is sent to Savannah to live with her grandfather and get away from her family's past. Unfortunately, a quick search from her classmates reveals her parent's criminal acts and marks her as an outcast. Lucky for Alexa, three girls quickly invite her into their group of friends. But after a bonfire bacchanalia in the woods, the girls realize they have one common link - they are all fairy changelings.

Nightmare in Savannah was a fun spooky read during Halloween and gives the reader a good primer of fae lore. The story shows how the girls start to use their powers to exact revenge on those who have wronged them, and how it gets out of hand. There are some episodes of hallucination, paranoia, minor body horror, gore, and even death enacted on their victims and you come to find out there is another big bad really pulling the strings.

Bonus points for representation of a variety of backgrounds, both racial/ethnic and sexual, including ace and wlw romance.

My issues with it are that a lot of the motivations of the characters are only briefly presented. The character development for the main character is much more robust than for the other three girls, and usually, those wouldn't be an issue except that a lot of plot points turn on them and you find it hard to either connect with them or remember why something would have occurred. Additionally, there is one male character who will not let up his advances on Alexa and though at the end it's shown that he's not really a creep, he feels like a red flag from the meet-cute.

I like to start off with I am thankful to have had the opportunity to review this book, but to be completely honest, it felt so rushed. Don’t get me wrong I’m a sucker for cute endings and a nice love story, but I caught myself having to go back and reread pages to catch myself up to speed and fill in the blanks. It’s called nightmare in savannah more like a commercial in savannah, a quick read indeed a twist on the tale of fairies the only one I’ve ever heard of was tinker bell, a sweet cutie. These are not like tinker bell. Overall 3/5 could be better, but because of the ending, it was not the worst.

Let's consider the opening scenario of this book: the new girl in town finds herself in the company of a crew of defiant and wild girls. This is a set up that screams of werewolves or vampires. Instead we're treated to lore that I've often said is a vastly under-explored source for stories: changelings. These are the fae that medieval people feared. They are self-serving and cruel. And the more they use their magic the stronger they grow. It also begins to control them more, like a drug addiction. The pacing is a bit rough, scenes jumping a bit more than I'd prefer, but it's a unique book worth reading.

This was a rather disappointing read. Even though this book did sound promising in the beginning, it had failed flat for me. The art style didn't really fit in with the spooky vibe as well as the overall story. Most of the characters fell flat for me and were presented very one dimensional except for the main character.

Plus the information that we did get of the side characters was very lackluster and surface-level. As a result, the friendships the main character had with them failed to seem real.

The story even felt very cookie cutter, in a way that was not pleasurable. The plot was forced down to romance. Even the romance didn't make sense and should've been left out of the story from how rushed it was. These girls had zero chemistry like at all.

Unfortunately, this book really didn’t work for me. The premise was interesting, but the story felt rushed. A lot was left implied and it was frequently confusing. Definitely needed to slow the pace down and let the story breathe.

A story about finding a secret about oneself while making friends, crushing hard and fighting the fight. Then throw in some faeries and lore! You have a great book! What's even better?

The protagonist falls in love with one of her new friends, who turns out to be a queen!

The illustrations are done well and characters are decently created. There are some plot holes but it's still a good read. I especially loved the journal entries.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Maverick for giving me the opportunity to read this!

#NightmareinSavannah

Wow, I really hated this.
The characters were despicable and their actions were disgusting. The art wasn’t anything special either.
I wouldn’t recommend it.

This graphic novel was a pleasant Fae starter kit for those unfamiliar with this particular folklore creature. The graphic novel stays quick paced while also displaying the troubles of high school. I would say the only thing I didn't like about it was that I wish it could have been longer. But all good things come to an end. A great read for middle and high school kids with some nice LGBTQ+ representation in it. I even learned a new term. The artwork is impressive especially since it only uses a few. I felt that the limited color palette really added to the story though. Also, a perfect spooky read for this upcoming Halloween.

This gave me such Craft vibes! It follows a group of Changelings reckoning with their new powers and how to use them. My main issues with this were pacing and the ending. Much of the story was art without words, which can certainly work at times, but at others, I had to reread pages trying to figure out how we got from one point to the next. The story also escalates super quickly and there was overall just a lot happening and then it ends suddenly. I think I would have preferred this to be longer so that the story could be drawn out longer and not feel so rushed. It's a solid creepy read for Halloween, though, and the art is fun, so overall I'd still recommend it!

This is a fun graphic novel about changeling which is a folklorish creature that is switched with a human child while they are infants. I’ve been intrigued by the lore around changelings since reading Melanie Golding’s Little Darlings a few years back. As such, I loved learning about the fairies and changelings through the hunter’s guide book.

It should be noted that Nightmare in Savannah is fairly dark in content and does feature mild body horror including death and gore as well as extensive bullying.

I loved the pink and purple hues used throughout which brought the story to life with magical and feminine tones.

I also really enjoyed the ace representation and sapphic romance aspects.

An odd and fascinating graphic novel about 4 strange girls being more than they appear - about taking revenge, about paying for bad decisions, about rebelling and about forgiving. This is a book about dark fairies made to show there is no black and white but only complicated shades of grey where the victim and the perpetrator mix. An interesting take on toxic relationships and teen discomfort in their skins. This was a good read where things escalate quickly and wonder where it's going to end. If you saw the mini series "I Am Not Okay With This" and it was right up your alley, then this is the read you absolutely need!

Alexa is forced to move back to Savannah with her grandpa , where she was born, when her parents are imprisoned for fraud. Alexa starts at her new high school, where she is ostracized by the popular kids and accepted by a group of outcast girls. These girls party one night and the next morning Alexa awakens to find herself changed. The girls learn who they really are from a book that was placed in Alexa's room by her grandpa's 'lady friend'. With this knowledge come many changes and some poor decisions. The ending is a twist that was a little surprising.

I liked the artwork and the diversity of the characters. There were the expected mean girls and jocks, and the jock who wasn't 'really' mean but goes along with his friends. Overall it was a great graphic novel.

Part of the reason I wanted to read this book is that it takes place in Savannah which is where I had just spent my vacation this summer. I loved the haunted feel of the city and was hoping for the same here within this book (its the vibe the cover gives off).

Though not my favorite graphic novel to read on this site, it was not my least favorite either. A quick read though the art was a bit rough.

Some parts the craft and some part winx club, I would be down for reading a second volume if one were to come out. A second volume might flesh out the plot a little more too.

Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis: After rebuilding her life in Savannah, Alexa joins a clique of girls at her new high school who turns out to be more mysterious and eerie than expected.


My Thoughts: As a little caveat, this review will be messier than usual since I had a hard time downloading and scrolling through my ARC copy due to a hefty few technical issues that made the reading experience more lengthy and lethargic, only amplifying some of the problems I have with this book.

Plot and Pacing (2.5/5) – The outcast new kid on the block trope at play here isn’t particularly unique, but I liked how the protagonist quickly found a group she fitted into instead of getting bullied for most of the story. However, I thought the friend group was introduced too soon which seemed to defeat the point of even bringing up Alexa’s parents’ criminal history as a catalyst as it never becomes a center of conflict afterward. These rushed-over aspects extend over to the entire volume’s pacing as the plot kept jumping from one point to another which made the overarching conflict pretty confusing. There were pages of factoids interspersed throughout to explain the lore but it mostly just broke the immersion for me and would have been better suited if placed at the beginning or end of the story.

Characters (2.8/5) – Due to the rocky pacing, the cast’s characterizations felt underdeveloped which is more disappointing considering how interesting some of them were such as the MC Alexa herself, her grandfather, and Fae. The budding romance between Alexa and Skye was cute though and did play a decently good role in the plot.

Art (5/5) – This is the only category in which I would grade above average due to how distinctive it was. Namely, I loved the predominantly purple/violet color scheme mixed with black backgrounds which successfully sold the creepy, supernatural overtone the series is aiming for. The same can be said for the expressive and diverse character expressions and fashion choices. Meanwhile, the composition did a convincing job in evoking certain moods, an example of which being the fragmented panels during the eerier scenes which evokes an uncanny dreamy quality. More specifically, the campfire party scene was an apt demonstration of this.


Final Thoughts: Nightmare in Savannah was no nightmare to finish quality-wise, but it sure was no trick-or-treater’s delight either though I might give the second volume a chance if there is one. However, if you’re a fan of YA supernatural tales, perhaps the art might make up for the wonky plotting.


Thanks to Maverick and NetGalley for providing me with my first advance ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.