Squad

Gr 9 Up–An outsider back in Los Angeles, Becca hopes to turn things around at her new school. She meets Marley, one of the school’s queen bees, and gets an unexpected invitation to join her clique. The other members, Arianna and Amanda, aren’t especially welcoming, but they accept Becca after she works hard to fit in. She soon learns that this pack is literally that—Arianna, Amanda, and Marley are werewolves who feast on boys, but only those they believe are dangerous predators. Becca agrees to be turned and joins the hunt, but things soon spin out of control. The narrative is solid, though a slow-to-evolve subplot about Becca’s queerness feels like an afterthought and is sometimes borderline homophobic. Issues around Becca’s fraught relationship with her mother also feel tacked on. Nevertheless, the story offers a fresh look at the cost of fitting in and how the line between predator and prey often blurs. Sterle’s artwork is strong, whether conveying the girls’ disdain or gruesomely illustrating the werewolves feasting. Her use of bright colors throughout adds intensity. Becca is Asian, Marley is white, Arianna is tan-skinned, Amanda is Black, and their classmates are diverse.