Description: Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone. The Spill claimed Addison's parents and scarred her little sister, Lexa, who hasn't spoken since. Addison provides for her sister by photographing the Zone's twisted attractions on illicit midnight rides. Art collectors pay top dollar for these bizarre images, but getting close enough for the perfect shot can mean death--or worse. When an eccentric collector makes a million-dollar offer, Addison breaks her own hard-learned rules of survival and ventures farther than she has ever dared. Within the Spill Zone, Hell awaits--and it seems to be calling Addison's name.

Review: Spill Zone is cloaked in mystery surrounding an event that has caused residents of Poughkeepsie to hang suspended in the air like floating zombies where demonic wolves and sentient twisters appear out of nowhere. From what we can gather from the little clues in the book is that it wasn't aliens, it wasn't a nuclear attack, and the military isn't talking. In fact the lack of a backstory is what kept me filling through the pages of this bizarre graphic novel. Ultimately, it's the characters that drive this story. 
  Addison and her mute sister, Lexa, are on their own after their parents were caught in the Spill Zone. Addison photographs this quarantined area-the Spill Zone-and its bizarre happenings. She sells the images to support herself and her sister, Lexa. Her talent of weaving in and out of the Spill Zone undetected leads Addison to a deadly mission inside the Spill Zone with a reward of a million dollars should she succeed. Meanwhile, the North Korean government, which had its own Spill incident, wants to meet with Addison for their own ominous purposes. The story becomes even more twisted when Lexa begins to talk without any explanation and her creepy rag doll, Vespertine, who whispers devious thoughts in Lexa's mind.
  There are lots of different things developing this graphic novel. It starts off slowly but picks up the pace as more mysteries are layered on top of one another. The world that Westerfeld and Puvilland have created is imaginative and nightmarish with drawings composed of hectic lines and loud, vivid colors. Addison is an intriguing character who is forced to act like an adult though she is only in her teens. She is sympathetic but her personality can be abrasive. Her decisions are morally questionable, which makes her complex and appealing.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language and violence throughout the book. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Broken Vow (Spill Zone #2) by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland coming in July 10, 2018, The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman