Katzenjammer

April 15, 2022
Cat is trapped in School: How she got there, how long she has been there, and what is happening, and why are lost to her, in the same way that she has lost her eyes, with only empty sockets left behind. Memories slowly begin to bubble to the surface, such as the first day of first grade when she met her first friend and her first bully. Soon the flashbacks reach middle school, where art classes and a new friend provided sanctuary and escape. Meanwhile, School is a nightmare world where the violence of words is made manifest in torn flesh and where students othered in the real world find no respite. Their bodies have changed in monstrous ways that reflect the differences that made them targets for those with popularity and prestige. It is evident early on that Cat is somehow involved in the construction of this violent, otherworldly imagining of School, but the details are unclear. As the worlds of memory and fantasy grow nearer, the violence rapidly escalates, and soon, mass maiming and deaths litter every page, challenging even readers with a strong constitution for violence. While interspersed chapters of flashback memories provide some respite, there is ultimately no relief from the psychological and physical violence that permeates both the real world and nightmare conceptions of School. The book follows a White default. (Final art not seen.) A nihilistic hellscape of gore and high school politics. (Fiction. 15-adult)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 16, 2022
Zappia (Now Entering Addamsville) paints a sinister picture of modern teenage life in this disturbing high school horror novel. Seventeen-year-old Cat cannot recall when or how she and her fellow students got trapped inside School, a living organism with halls that expand and contract, showers that spray blood, and no clear escape. She also doesn’t know why her teachers became inanimate objects, or why she and half her peers started mutating into caricatures of themselves, while the cruel popular kids remain unchanged. But when class president Julie, who turned into a walking, talking porcelain doll, is found smashed, Cat, whose face has become a feline mask of hardened flesh, teams up to find the killer with best friend Jeffrey, whose head is now a crayon-decorated cardboard box. As Cat investigates, memories of her past return—some sweet, but most marred by sadistic bullies. The author’s stylized b&w illustrations amplify the tale’s nightmarish feel. Brutal physical and psychological violence and complex, mostly white-cued, characters pervade this relentlessly bleak interpretation of high school society. As the mystery’s pieces click into place, the devastating reality of the teens’ situation becomes clear. Zappia’s denouement, though earned, offers not catharsis but despair. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 14–up. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency.

July 29, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* The three meanings of katzenjammer put forth by Merriam-Webster (hangover; distress; a discordant clamor) all apply to Zappia's (Eliza and Her Monsters, 2017) surreal nightmare of a novel. Readers are deposited unceremoniously into a high school, where students are trapped and many are grotesquely transformed. The protagonist, Cat, is among "the Changed," her face covered with a permanent porcelain cat mask, her eyes sockets vacant. The Changed and the Unchanged operate as separate factions with defined turf, but someone has begun gruesomely murdering students, heightening tensions between the two groups. As Cat slinks around the hallways trying to find the murderer, readers experience her frequent flashbacks to the years leading up to the present, meeting various characters and coming to understand Cat's social position as an artistic outsider. The flashbacks also function to help Cat recover memories that shed some light on their current hellish existence. Zappia has created a visceral examination of trauma and violence akin to A. S. King's I Crawl through It (2015), with a generous helping of Battle Royale, that touches on many issues relevant to teens. It's not a book for mainstream readers, but those who brave it will find much to think about.

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September 2, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Cat's always been different and an outcast, but she hasn't always had a porcelain face. She's not sure how that happened. She's also not sure why she's stuck living inside her high school with her classmates. Cat struggles to remember her past. While life is completely different, some things never change and the classmates have divided themselves into cliques. The teen begins to remember small pieces of her life before-pleasant memories like drawing, mixed with terrible memories of being bullied. She remembers meeting her best friend and how everything changed between them. But when one of the students is murdered, Cat takes it upon herself to find the culprit. She attempts to collaborate with the popular students-unsuccessfully. But she's determined to uncover the murderer if it's the last thing she does. Zappia's novel is a dark story with dual time lines that come together quite nicely. While the book is filled with quirky characters, they are also vicious. Themes for the book include: harassment, bullying, sibling rivalry, art, friendship, and romance. The black-and-white illustrations add to the creepy atmosphere of the plot. VERDICT This book that's part-murder mystery, part-supernatural horror, and part-contemporary fiction is recommended for readers who do not require happy endings.-Jennifer Rummel

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