Northranger: A Modern, Queer, Retelling of Jane Austen’s Northranger Abbey — Matthew’s Book Club
By Rashauana Herm
Recommended reading age: 15 and up
“The funny thing? People think that horror movies are scary… but real life is way scarier.”
Sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz loves to escape the real world with a good horror movie. Yet, his summer morphs into a scary movie when he finds out he will spend the summer in the sun, working as a ranch hand in rural Texas. Once he gets there, Cade immediately detests life on the ranch: the early mornings, the back-breaking manual labor, and of course, the never-ending horse poop to clean up.
The only saving grace is the other two teenage farm hands also on the ranch, especially the rugged and dashing Henry. After spending time working together, Cade and Henry discover that they both have a fondness for horror movies and immediately become fast friends. As sparks begin to fly between the boys, Cade develops questions surrounding the abrupt death of Henry’s mother. As Cade can’t help but harbor doubt about who Henry truly is and what he is hiding, he realizes is falling helplessly head over heels for him.
Written by Rey Tereciero and illustrated by Bre Indigo, Norhtranger is a charming graphic novel influenced by Jane Austen’s 1817 gothic romance Northranger Abbey, and also the author’s childhood growing up in the 80s and 90s in Texas. Besides a few uncomfortable moments of homophobia, racism, and a mention of suicide, Northranger is a giddy story of first love with threads of an intriguing mystery weaved throughout. The sepia-toned artwork adds to the moody, gothic influence, and looks so intriguing splashed across the page!
I have only read a small handful of Jane Austen’s work (usually required reading for school), but I am interested in picking up a copy of Northanger Abbey after reading this graphic novel. I think modern retellings of classic literature with more diverse characters are a lot of fun and a delightful way of ensuring every reader feels included!
As a devoted fan of horror movies myself, I loved Cade’s passion for the horror genre and the complexities it can hold. I liked reading Cade and Henry’s friendly debates and conversations about horror tropes, their favorite scary movie, and what excites them about horror. In the story, Cade explains that he consumes horror media because it makes him feel less alone, and provides an escape from the fear he feels as a closeted Latinx kid growing up in a small Texas town. He explores the connection between his being in the closet and someone “hiding from monsters”. Queer folks have always had an interesting relationship with horror and I hope that this will ignite more appreciation for the thoughtfulness of the horror genre, beyond it just being cheap scares and tons of blood.
Northranger is a thought-provoking story about first love, family dynamics, grief, mental health, self-acceptance, and the experience of being gay in a rural, religious town where being openly queer could be life-threatening. I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone looking for a quick summer read, with a spooky undertone to get them ready for the Halloween season. Fans of the graphic novel series Heartstopper, by Alice Oseman will certainly appreciate the super cute story of Northranger!
About the Author
Rashauna Herm is a 30 something Denver local. She enjoys a good potato-based dish, scary movies and glitter.
