The New York Four (Paperback)

by Brian Wood (Author), Ryan Kelly (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–Riley enters into a standardized test beta with three NYU classmates in order to make some money to get an apartment together. A good student with limited social skills due to her controlling, academic parents, the teen relies heavily on online interactions. As she begins to get to know her classmates and to reconnect with her outcast older sister, a secret virtual relationship threatens to destabilize everything. Wood is known for incorporating a strong sense of place into his comic work, and, while this is a story about growing up and learning to communicate, the classic bohemian fixtures of clubs and brownstones, and the inclusion of New York City landmarks, help make the book feel grounded. Kelly's energetic artwork conveys a sense of activity and movement. His portrayal of one character, Merissa, tends toward caricature more than the others, and panels are occasionally too busy to find the focus of the scene easily, but the detailed settings are nicely evocative. Wood tries to do too much, resulting in a scattered set-up of Riley's classmates' individual stories–glimpses of what are surely the main focuses of future volumes–leaving readers with what is disappointingly not quite an entire story, but one that is superbly told.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
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From Booklist
As in Local and DMZ, indie superstar Wood shows great skill in writing extremely appealing and occasionally infuriating female leads. All four of the college freshmen at the center of this tale are well realized, but it’s shy, sheltered Riley who is the focus of this girlcentric offering. Riley’s life is packed with drama as she meets up with her estranged older sister and struggles to balance school, family, and a mysterious new boyfriend—whom she has never met but texts to the point of obsession. Kelly’s art, filled with expressive, idiosyncratic faces and figures, matches Wood’s indie street cred with gritty depictions of the Lower East Side. He captures actual New York locations with nearly photographic accuracy, matching Wood’s affection for the city, itself made obvious by the passages of hipster, travel-guide stuff packed into the story. Despite a disturbingly ambiguous ending, this graphic novel will delight readers on the cusp of discovering their own independence. Grades 10-12. --Jesse Karp

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Minx (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401211542
• ISBN-13: 978-1401211547
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,161 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The New York Four, December 9, 2008

By	Cai Yixin Jeremy - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The New York Four (MINX)

To be honest, I originally wanted to hold off on getting this book because of its target demographic, but as soon as I saw the preview art on it I was sold. The art was every bit as good as Local's and Brian's writing was just as good.

I loved the format as well, I've always wanted to read a manga sized American comic. It has the same feel as a manga volume and it has the structure of one too. It's broken down into bite sized chapters, much like in manga, and you can easily finish reading it in about an hour or so (if you're a slow reader like me).

Like in Local, we have a female protaganist, Riley, who has just enrolled into NYU. She's a quiet character though and that dynamic soon comes into play; she has to fend for herself right from the get-go and she soon finds that university is just the beginning of her struggles. But, thankfully, she has help in the form of her girlfriends. Before long, this book unfolds pretty much the way you expect it to, 'girl' problems abound.

In other words, its just like Local but with a lighter tone. And that's great if you want more of that kind of storytelling. If you aren't looking for another Local, then I'm afraid you may find yourself getting bored very quickly. My suggestion would be to read the preview first and see if you like it; that's what I did and that paid off big time; this book will be a permanant fixture on my bookshelf.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something for the geek in all of us, October 20, 2008

By	Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews

The New York Four is a book that is actually worthy of the title graphic "novel." The story and characters are as complex and interesting as in any prose novel or movie.

Riley Wilder is a shy introvert, a feature which her parents have actually fostered because her wild and unruly older sister ran away from home. Riley's social life consists of texting with people she's met online, but has never met in person. But now that Riley is commuting from her home in Brooklyn to college in Manhattan, she's ready to start coming out of her shell. Of course wanting something and actually being able to make that drastic a change in personality are two different things.

Riley finds and makes contact with her long lost older sister through her myspace page. Riley also reaches out to some other freshman girls who are looking for work, recommending they try the job she works at beta-testing SAT and PSAT tests.

Unfortunately, even though Riley has made some real human connections, when somebody slips an e-mail address into her pocket, she finds herself back in old habits, obsessively texting with an anonymous friend, rather than spending time with her real ones.

The story is written by Brian Wood, wirter of DMZ, Channel Zero, Local, and Demo. If you've read Demo, you know he's good at handling real world characters.

The art by Ryan Kelly is amazing. His characters are individual and recognizable. His scenery is detailed and real. There's somthing in the background of every panel. And his zipotone (that's those dots used to make different shades of gray for any new comics readers out there) is some of the best I've ever seen.

My only real complaint about this book is I want it to be longer than the 152 pages. There's so much story, so much personality to each of the characters, that there are parts that I really wish had been fleshed out more. To be fair, most of the Minx books are less than 200 pages, so the creative team may have had size restrictions.

The Minx line was started to get American comics into the hands of people who were only reading Manga, or to appeal to people who read books but not necessarily graphic novels. I've read most of the Minx books and, so far, this one is the most solid. I think this book shows the potential for depth of story that comics have in a way that is accessible to new readers.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Four stars for New York Four, August 28, 2008

By	Jesse Haller (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

The New York Four is about Riley Wilder trying to make it though her first semester in college, and the three girls she befriends during that time.

This was a good book. Was it the Citizen Kane of comics? No, but it was a fun read, that rang true with what it is like during your first semester in college, as well as the landscape of New York City. The city felt alive in every since of the word, it felt as much as a character as Riley and her friends and family do.

I was unaware until the end that this is the first of what will be a line of books. Which I am very happy about, I cannot wait to see what happens next in the girls' lives. There are story elements that felt unfinished at the end, like Lona's story with her teacher. This will, I assume, be resolved in a up coming book, but felt like some kind of closer should have been put in, even if it ended up being a cliffhanger.

Ryan Kelly's artwork is wonderful, the panel flow is great, but still has stuff in the background that is interesting to look at. My only problem is that the girls look older then the college freshmen they are suppose to be. But Kelly's use of zip-a-tone has, and still amazes me.

I did find it a little tacky how ever that the book had 24 pages of previews for other Minx books in the back.