In our latest episode, Claire and I talk about very ridiculous things in our discussion of The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher Baldwin. Neither of us care for gothic novels very much, at least those other than Dracula, but we can agree that if all gothic novels were graphic novels instead, we'd enjoy them much more.
This book is goofy and fun and actually has a pretty deep message for something so ridiculous. It's all about high-schooler Haley and her obsession with gothic novels. As she's spouting poetry on a bridge in the rain, she sees a young man in the river below, so she goes to rescue him, but as she does, she's sucked into what is called a Gasket Universe, a universe between ours, which has pandas and Carolina-style barbecue, and another, larger universe filled with dread and certain doom. The Gasket Universe takes the form of a gothic novel, and Haley and her new friends, all stereotypes from gothic novels, must try to save the universe, but in order to do so, they must break their stereotypical roles. It's delightfully illustrated and silly beyond reason and it's fantastic. For more details, check out our summary, read the book and, of course, listen to our episode!
Here's a recording picture in which we're probably talking way too much about barbecue.
Until next time!
Amanda
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