Thief of the Heights

Starred review from August 5, 2024
M. (Animalheads, for adults) explores intricate themes of ambition, friendship, and social justice with heart in this captivating graphic novel set in a vertically stacked dystopian city, where one’s quality of life is determined by which tier one occupies. Friends Basem, Mustafa, and Aarfah dream of bettering the lives of their community in the lower levels of Muqadas, where citizens never see daylight and must contend with a water-polluting virus. The trio’s inventive prosthetics creations soon garner the attention of a scout from the upper tiers, launching them into a world of opportunity and enchantment. But even as the teens procure valuable resources for their inventions, they’re forced to reckon with the darker side of Muqadas society, which could compromise everything they stand for. Debut illustrator Yao’s exquisite artwork vividly bring Muqadas to life; unique and visually diverse character designs feature people of varying abilities, body types, and skin tones, adding further depth to M.’s richly rendered worldbuilding and emphasizing the work’s focus on class dynamics, exploitation, and marginalization, and how they affect one’s livelihood. It’s an engaging and nuanced read with much to offer. Ages 13–up.

Starred review from August 15, 2024
Moving up could change everything for the better--but for three friends, it could also mean casting aside everything they stand for. In the vertical city of Muqadas, people's lives are defined by tiers; quality of life deteriorates as you go deeper. Those in the lowest tier never see the light of day, and a virus called Habar infests their water, causing numbness and often requiring the amputation of limbs. Close friends Mustafa, Basem, and Aarfah are ambitious engineers who dream of making better prosthetics and moving up so they can help change the system. But despite their skills and camaraderie, they're limited by a lack of resources and Habar's ubiquity. When an ambassador offers them the chance to leave and run their business in a higher tier, they face a difficult choice: Should they take this opportunity in hopes that it will bring better resources to their people, or stay put and continue the work they've been doing to help their community? This story, which features an ethnically diverse cast in a world infused with North African and Islamic cultural elements, as well as meaningful queer and disabled representation, explores complex themes around inequality paired with compelling art. The thoughtful imagery pushes the narrative beyond the text. Yao's use of light, particularly the striking color palette of teal and orange, brilliantly captures the contrasts between Muqadas' different levels. Introspective and insightful, with eclectic characters who burst through the narrative.(Graphic science fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 Muqadas, a stylized vertical city in a setting reminiscent of \North Africa, is the home of Basem, Mustafa, and Aarfa. Also present is an infectious disease, habar, which causes loss of limb and lifelong suffering. The three teens are engineers on the lowest tier, fighting against the disparities in their hometown by designing prosthetics for themselves and their neighbors from whatever scrap they can find. When they're offered a life-changing opportunity--an invitation to the mid-tiers, with a new workshop, new apartments, and room for their families--they're surely off to live the dream, right? This fantastic example of Muslim futurism addresses health inequalities and inequities and explores ways the technology of today and tomorrow may only further socioeconomic injustice and intergenerational poverty. Yao's illustrations are detailed with geometric patterns in striking colors, which bring readers though arched doorways and into the innermost emotions of the characters. Readers will finish this tale wishing to know more about the intriguing world of Muqadas, and perhaps be inspired to bring their own sf world to life in a comic.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025
In the distant dystopian-future setting of this graphic novel towers the monumental stacked city of Muqadas, where each level dictates the quality of life of its citizens. A trio of adolescent friends -- Basem, Mustafa, and Aarfah -- resides in the lower region of Saha, a tier plagued by a water-polluting virus that infects the limbs and must ultimately be treated by amputation. Using their engineering skills, Basem and Mustafa generate prosthetic legs from scrap metal for Aarfah. Their ingenious efforts attract a scout from the tiers above, granting them an opportunity for social mobility and a chance at a new life. But what must they compromise to achieve this status? A story of class divisions, exploitation, and marginalization unfolds in this segmented world that mirrors real-world health inequities and socioeconomic injustices. The forest greens and indigo blues punctuated by glowing candlelight in the lower tiers clash with the pastel-hued opulence of the upper regions, symbolizing the disconnect and social disparity between the tiers. Dynamic characterization and atmospheric world-building in a setting with echoes of contemporary Muslim society engender a fantastically allegorized tale touching on themes of social stratification, solidarity, friendship, queer relationships, survival, and hope in a world fractured by enduring class struggles. Jerry Dear

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)