Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Paper Girls Volume 1 by written by Brian K Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang is the first book in what I believe is an ongoing series. I picked it up because it was shortlisted for a Hugo Award and conveniently presented to me in the Hugo voter packet, but I had previously heard good things about it and it was already on my radar to eventually buy. So yay Hugo packet. What I didn't realise until I was reading it was the genre. From the cover art of Volume 1 and the freaking blurb I was expecting something geeky and female-driven. And I mean, it is... but there are also very distinct speculative elements to it.

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Which part of that blurb suggests anything about, like, aliens or time travel? NONE OF IT! And saying that here might be a bit of a spoiler, but I think not knowing would put potentially interested readers off more than I have spoiled just by saying that. So. Young girls, aged around twelve, in 1988, who deliver newspapers and encounter aliens and time travel. What's not to like?

The only downside of Paper Girls is that it's a volume 1 in an ongoing series, meaning that the story is in no way complete, many (most) questions are left unanswered and it ends in a cliffhanger. Happily, the second volume is already out and the third is coming relatively soon, so I am looking forward to continuing the story in the near future, just as soon as I get around to making a trip to the comic book shop.

I recommend Paper Girls to fans of nostalgia, girls and spec fic. I'm not entirely sure where the story is going, but I am very happy to continue along for the ride.

5 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Image Comics
Series: Paper Girls, ongoing series, contains issues #1–5
Format read: watermarked PDF
Source: Hugo Voter Packet