Spill Zone: The Broken Vow

The Broken Vow is the second graphic novel in the Spill Zone series. It begins with chapter four, continuing the story from the first novel.

Something has happened to Poughkeepsie, making it a scary place with zombie-like people hanging in the air, disfigured animals roaming, and inanimate objects creating strange patterns. There are also areas that are only two-dimensional.

In the first book, Addison is paid a million dollars to retrieve “dust” from the forbidden zone. This trip changes her. She can smell moonlight and fly now. She can also hear her younger sister’s doll, Vespertine, speak.

The Broken Vow is about uncovering secrets and unraveling mysteries from the first book. We learn why the zone exists, whose fault it is, and maybe who Vespertine really is. We also get to know Don Jae better, the North Korean boy who survived another zone.

Westerfeld has done it again: created an engaging new world. The illustrator does an amazing job of bringing the zone to life. It’s both grotesque and fascinating. The characters are interesting and well-developed. The story held my attention, but I didn’t find some of the “answers” satisfying. Also, the ending didn’t feel completely wrapped up. Maybe that’s intentional, so there could be a third book one day. Also, I would have preferred less swearing in a young-adult book.

This wasn’t my favorite Westerfeld series, but it’s worth a read if you are a fan – or if you’d like to see what a post-apocalyptic Po’town would look like.