Scurry
Genre: Graphic Novel
Author: Mac Smith
Published February 21, 2023 (I believe it was a webcomic before this)
Page Count: 336
In a post-apocalypse world where all humans have vanished and an erie rain continues to cover the land a small, yet brave scavenger mouse named Wix is sent on a perilous journey to help secure food for his colony. Little does he know that he will have to brave predators, make unlikely allies, and come to discover things he never dreamed of.
Reading Audience:
Amazon suggests ages 8 - 12. It might be a little bit much for some 7/8 year olds since it is comic book style. This means all the intense scenes and deaths are visually presented. No one knows your child better than you.
Stuff to be aware of:
Language - There is name calling like stupid and idiot, but there are no curse words. The characters do sometimes say, “what the…” and then they don’t finish the sentence. One character asks a male character if he is going to “make out” with his friend who is a female. The words “crap” and “screw this” are used are both used once.
Scariness - The cats and wolves are drawn to appear scary. The wolves’ eyes glow. In one scene the cats and wolves appear in a nightmare sequence and look fiery. A fox catches and kills a raven in midair. There is a fire scene with lots of intense fighting.
Violence - There are some intense scenes and deaths. One mouse is seen caught in a trap. There is no blood, but the scene is a bit disturbing. Two forrest animals are pounced on by wolves and presumed dead/eaten. Cats kill a bunch of mice. The dead mice are seen laying around, but there is no blood or gore. An animal is killed by a wolf and the wolf looks to be eating the animal, but the scene is drawn in a way where you can’t see the wolf’s snout or the animal’s body. Some dead animals and birds are seen, but no blood or gore. One wolf gets a broken leg with a little blood. His pack turns on him and kills him. No other blood is seen and the act of killing him is not seen. One mouse gets his face burnt, you later see him with a burnt face. A wolf gets stabbed in the mouth with a pointed stick. He does bleed, but is not killed. Later there is a close up shot of a dead wolf’s face.
Other - One mouse stops another from eating poison and two characters talk about others who have died. One character mentions that mice breed like mice (that is a funny thing to write).
Overall:
I didn’t expect much from this, but I was very surprised. I didn’t know I needed an apocalyptic graphic novel with animals as the characters. I feel like this story is Walking Dead but more family friendly, with animals, and has no zombies. I know what your saying? How does it feel like Walking Dead with no zombies? Well, there is the society has crumbled aspect, but there is also these different survivor groups that have different ideals and surviving in different ways. There is also the real sense of not knowing who will live and die. Several characters and animals die and are even betrayed. It feels very Walking Dead-ish.
The story is really good with several plot twists I did not see coming. My ten year old daughter and I read this at the same time. We both enjoyed it and can’t wait for the sequel.
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