The Book of Murmurs

by Candice Purwin

In this fantasy adventure, a young girl must brave a magical world of strange creatures and shivering landscapes to find her slain parents and defeat a monster who feeds off fear.

When tragedy strikes her household and her book of spells is stolen, Little Moon is spirited away to the strange, shimmering world of The Fault. In this land rich in lore and crackling with magic, she must find allies, discover her true name, and channel the stories of her matrilineal line to battle the fearsome Shenk.

A fantastical tale crafted as supple and strong as spider silk, Candice Purwin's graphic novel weaves together powerful themes of grief, friendship and identity. The Book of Murmurs takes you on a journey through what it is to be lost, and what it means to be found.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Supernatural

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2026

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Book of Murmurs is a graphic novel style read with beautiful artwork. The story confused me at the start as it starts off then changes into another story and I had to get my head around the style of the book and when it went back to the original story, I realised it was a story within a story within a story type book. The book continues this way all the way through and I did enjoy this although also found it quite confusing too. The story plot itself however fell rather flat for myself and felt a little rushed in places and missing substance of some sort.

[Julie K. Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Book of Murmurs by Candice Purwin has such a striking and strong stylistic approach to the graphic novel. I was constantly wowed by the beauty, texture and intricacy of the drawings. Some sections are told only in black and white, while others have a gorgeous and intentional color palette.

While the book contains stunning art, it suffers from style over substance. There are so many stories within stories. Every time I finally thought I was catching on, we’d be transported to a new story within the main story. And within that short story a new character would begin telling an anecdote or another story. So much was happening that I couldn’t conceptually grasp any of it.

I’m all for surreal fantasy and letting the readers draw their own conclusions - but I felt I could not understand anything well enough to draw any deeper meaning.

I also had trouble with the text at times. The size was inconsistent, and the letters varied too much. While beautiful, I worry this font choice might cause some accessibility issues.

Overall, the convoluted storytelling left me feeling strongly confused rather than any other emotion. Which is unfortunate, because I really do think there are some special things going on here.

I wish Purwin all the best and hope they continue to make beautiful work! I look forward to giving any upcoming books another try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/10 or 2.5/5 stars

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's a very dark surreal fairy tale, with dark surreal illustrations that still have a cozy feeling to them because of the colored pencils style and the cute characters. The plot confused me, a lot of the time so much I didn't understand what was happening, but I still loved it. It's my favorite thing I've read this year so far (...except for Of Monsters and Mainframes, but that book is so completely different it's difficult to compare). I will buy this book as soon as it comes out.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful graphic novels I have encountered. ...I had no idea what was going on in the plot. But if you are a season reader, this is an autumn book.

[Michael Doane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl receives a book of stories from her mother. After reading one of these tales, a terrible creature called the Shenk shows up and destroys her world. She’s soon pulled into the Undertow, a magical place between worlds, where the named and nameless are at odds with each other. She meets many other creatures along the way, and through their stories, gains knowledge and abilities she’ll need to defeat the Shenk once and for all.

Beautifully illustrated, and packed with enough lore for twenty volumes, The Book of Murmurs is a dream logic fairy tale, reminiscient of Wildwood or Snow & Rose, but much more surreal and strange. If only its transitions were a little smoother and its focus a bit more honed, this would be a near-perfect tale of a hero girl descending into a fairy realm to destroy a world-ending evil. Fans of Alice in Wonderland, Labyrinth, and Ghibli’s fairy tales will be right at home in this book.

[Lexy Kelleher · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

Looking at the cover and the synopsis of this one, it seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is a case of great concept, bad execution. 1.5 stars from me.

This was overall a very frustrating reading experience. I felt Alice in Wonderland vibes with the nonsensical, surreal vibes of this book, but I did not feel it worked well. I was often confused at where we were, what was going on, and who was speaking. It did not help that the font, though pretty, was sometimes difficult to clearly read. Although early on I was really enjoying the art style, it was similar to the fever dream style of the narrative, sometimes making it difficult to tell what I was looking at.

I feel like there was a metaphor here I was supposed to tune into, but the plot was just so muddled that I couldn't really grasp it. The stories within a story, something I usually love, caused confusion and did not connect as well to the main narrative and characters as I would have hoped. They had the potential to elevate the story and make some of it clearer to the reader, but in my opinion, failed to do so.

I hate to rate anything so low that I know someone poured their heart and soul into, but this was not the read for me. If you like surrealist tales and really dig the art based on the cover, this may be the read for you.

[D.T. Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was witchy, fantastical, and a little hard to follow. A muted Ghibli vibe, too. The artwork and colors are very engaging; the pictures feel like finely woven quilted fabrics.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lushly illustrated fantasy adventure in a wildly creative world of stories. A little girl reads a story she's not supposed to in her mother's spell book, and invites a name stealing monster into her house. To defeat it, she'll have to venture into The Fault to find new friends to help her win her name back. Not only is it an absolutely gorgeous book, switching back and forth between full color and black and white art, it's also such a well crafted and interesting world, brimming with lore on every page. Narratively, it definitely got a little confusing at time. It kind of had an Alice in Wonderland/Spirited Away thing going, where there's so much freaky stuff happening all the time, it getd a little tough to follow. But I got so into the world and it's characters that I didn't really mind. This is one I think I'll reread down the line

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful graphic novel, reminiscent of Coraline.

[Fiore]

DNF @ pg 150, I really wanted to finish this since it is so beautifully illustrated with a fascinating layout. But it was simply too hard for me to follow as a cohesive story.

[Larakaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this is an amazing read! It contains so much and yet is never overwhelming and it all comes together beautifully at the end.

[ellie pasquale · Rating 3 out of 5]

the most stunning graphic novel i’ve read in recent memory — these illustrations will genuinely haunt me — but the story under it all tragically falls apart :/

[Jessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline was very strange and underdeveloped.

[RiahsReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork in this graphic novel was stunning and kept me very invested, but the story was just too confusing. Stories within stories are fine, but I was just lost and along for the ride.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm tempted to give this book 5 stars on the art alone (GORGEOUS) but I'll maintain my integrity as a reviewer lol.
While at times confusing, this story just pulled me along into a beautiful fantasy world. I loved the interluding stories that broke up the narrative and the exploration of immigration through a very fantastical lens. While I think an older reader would enjoy the book more, it is totally suitable for a middle school audience.
contains magic, death

[Stephanie Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

volver a la magia, volver a contar y guardar historias, volver a la belleza de lo que nos rodea y lo que nos imaginamos . que libro tan HERMOSO y puñeta, desgarrador para despues hacer creer a uno en la esperanza.


2/2/26

puñeta que buen libro lo quiero releer por lo que me queda de vida necesito que to el mundo lo lea

[Missfit Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss for the advanced copy. o found this graphic novel confusing with a lackluster dialogue that kept me from fully being immersed in the story. there's no clear distinction between character speech bubbles and the supposed narrator which only adds to the confusion

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Murmurs is an absolutely gorgeous graphic novel that feels like an interesting mix between Alice in Wonderland and Spirited Away. It follows the story of Little Moon, a girl whose name has been stolen by a monster, and she has to travel to a magical realm to get it back, save her parents, and ultimately, save all the worlds and the creatures who inhabit it.

The book cover is stunning, with beautiful red foil engraving that makes it really stand out on the shelf. I really like the illustration style of the book. Some of the chapters are colorful and bright, while punctuated by other chapters that are drawn in a sketchy black and white style. The colorful style tells the present story, while the black and white typically tells some past story that's relevant to the current plot. It's an interesting form of storytelling, though I will say that it can sometimes cause some confusion, as you'll be in the middle of a story and then thrust into a different one, and it can cause a bit of whiplash.

The story itself is really beautiful and carries a lot of meaning to it when it comes to understanding who we are and where we belong in the world. It heavily explores themes of grief and trauma. It also emphasizes the importance of our own stories and how our stories connect us to each other and our place in the world. The story can often get hard to follow. I think part of this stems from the visuals, where it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish which speech bubbles belong to which characters. Some characters also look a bit different in different areas of the story, which, again, can make things difficult to follow. There were multiple instances in the book where I had to go back and re-read multiple pages to try to figure out what was going on. I was usually able to figure it out, but I could see it being significantly harder for younger readers to fully grasp.

As for the recommended age of the book, the suggested 14-18 years is probably about right. The book explores some pretty dark themes and some stories within the book could be seen as a bit scary by younger readers. I think teenagers, though, would be able to resonate a lot with the story, and any teen who likes a fantasy setting would absolutely love this book.

Overall, I really loved the book. I was able to read it in one sitting over the course of 2-3 hours. It was a really enjoyable read and now I have a gorgeous book to add to my growing collection of graphic novels.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What are murmurs? I found a definition of murmurs. It is: to speak or say something very quietly. Story of good vs. evil centering on a girl who’s grieving her murdered parents and searching for her stolen name.

A little girl and her parents move to a new location, her mother finds their beloved collection of stories in a box. At bedtime, the girl reads a scary sentry from the book, and suddenly the Shenk appear. It is a monster made of tentacle-like arms covered in eyes. He beheads her parents and steals the girl’s name. She se ts out on a quest to reclaim it, she travels through fantastical locations, like The Glassmoor and The Fault, and even visits The Wandering Haar, a “drifting dimension.” The child attempts to find and channel It is “a river of power and knowledge and chaos.” She’s aided (and at times thwarted) by magical characters, including talking spiders, witches, a whispering hat, giants, winged librarians, and a moving map.

The author has created busy, vividly colored illustrations adding to the mystical, danger-filled mood, with intermingled chapters of black-and-white flashbacks providing background to the central narrative. The transformation of this work from webcomic to serialized monthly comic book to graphic novel is bumpy; as a singular story, the work feels convoluted due to the abundance of threads and characters that impede the narrative flow and comprehension, leading to a choppy reading experience I didn’t like the “choppy” narratives it made it difficult for me to read and understand why the story was changing. I did like the colors and the little girl. This story of the power of names to create a sense of identity and belonging suffers from a lack of narrative focus. It is an enchanting story of grief, identity, and queerness that creates lightheartedness, wonder, and a charming sense of dread.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

[Kristina Butke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Murmurs is an exquisitely illustrated dive into a fantasy world that, unfortunately, was hard for me to keep up with. But it's a beautiful book with colorful imagery, stories-within-stories, and lovely language that certainly captivates with its fairy-tale qualities.

Little Moon's parents have disappeared thanks to the monster Shenk, and the Book of Murmurs has been stolen by the catwitch. The Shenk is a monster that threatens to steal names, and in the world Little Moon escapes to, names have meanings, and "the nameless are lost."

I needed help from the official book description to write that little blurb because I couldn't remember the lead character's name or figure out exactly when Shenk became Shenk. That's the thing about this gorgeous comic--things bleed from one image into the other, and the storytelling is very much the same, so it's hard to keep a track of things and characters when there are no transitions or clear lines. This is my only complaint of the comic.

The idea of names having power is one of the oldest in storytelling. And consider how beautifully written this is: "This is what becomes of you if you survive losing your name. You slowly dissolve into something that hisses and howls but doesn't know why it cries so." The importance of names and identity is reiterated throughout the book effectively.

I'm so torn as how to score this one. My initial gut wants to give this three stars because at times I found the story incomprehensible, but overall the book leaves me with a warm feeling and a desire to dive into fairytales, especially when the book contains so many. The art is gorgeous, too. So...I'm giving this a four.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for a digital ARC.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unnamed girl begs her mother for a story from her grandmother's book of stories. What follows is a tale of magic and mystery as the girl tries to get her name back and find her lost parents.

What drew me to this graphic novel was the artwork. The cover is intriguing and all of the art inside is absolutely gorgeous. It's mostly colorful, although some of the stories are in black and white. The art always does a good job of fitting in with the type of story that is being told. The issue that I had with this book was with the storytelling. There were stories within stories and a lot of layers. It felt like it was all a metaphor for something, but I couldn't say what exactly. Some of the stories were good, but a lot of them I just could not follow what was going on. It was all a little bit too surreal and it was also kind of difficult to keep track of all of the characters. I did like Goblin, though.

I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy really artistic graphic novels and those who enjoy surreal fairy tales.

Thanks to Fantagraphics Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book of Murmurs is a fantasy graphic novel that follows a teen girl trying to find and rescue her parents from a monster represented by invasive eyes and hands. She loses her name and enters a magical world called The Fault, where she meets a variety of characters who help her understand her identity and connection to magic. This book is absolutely gorgeous and is illustrated with watercolor and colored pencil.

The setting is incredibly rich. In fact, every other chapter--rather than strictly advancing the story--develops its mythology through fable-like stories from the Fault. The book's writing is also effective at creating a timeless ambience, and I loved how power is given through names and language.

I did have some problems with the writing, mostly because of how information-heavy this book is. The dialogue consists of many interactions that are exposition-heavy and make the book feel dense. As a graphic novel, I think more sequences could have been shown visually. Despite this, I’m confident that this book will find its audience, especially among teens.

Thanks to Netgalley & Fantagraphics for the ARC!

[agus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a magnificent work of art, it's truly one of the prettiest books ever and I'd love to have it physically one day. The art is so stunning and the use of colored pencils and watercolors, the contrasting warm and cold colors, with an abundance of orange and purple, is an excellent choice. Some parts featured imagery that was terrifying and the creature, the 'shenk' was reeeally creepy.
The story reminded me of Coraline and Over the Garden Wall (i loved them both), with its ominous and mysterious atmosphere and a hero's journey to rescue her parents. The world-building is great and the characters are unique and interesting.
I felt like the protagonist lacked a personality, the focus was mainly on the plot and its progress, but I liked the witches and the concept of the many worlds. Also, the plot might not be that easy to follow for younger readers.
I really appreciated the color changes between the stories in the Book of murmurs (black and white) and the main story (colorful). My favorite part was the story 'The girl who ate her fear', it was so terror-inducing, and I loved it.
Thank you Fantagraphics Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thank you NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review*

“The Book of Murmurs” by Candice Purwin was a feast for the eyes, this was some beautiful artwork and storytelling. Reading it felt a bit dreamlike, the Nameless girl moving from one strange scenario to the next in search of her mother’s lost book. I guess an apt comparison could be Alice in Wonderland. I was a bit confused by everything at first, but eventually I felt I had a tenuous grasp of the magical world that we’ve fallen into. Occasionally I found myself a bit lost in the paneling and losing the thread of conversations and events which is a bit of a shame because otherwise I really enjoyed the book. I feel like the quote “Not all stories are spells, but all spells are stories” is going to stick with me, as well as the themes surrounding the sharing of knowledge and passing down of stories through the generations. This was a lovely book. I’ll definitely be sharing it with my young library patrons and be looking out for other work by Candice Purwin in the future.

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you can tell by the cover, the artwork in the book is lush with earthy tones. The storyline was a little disorienting at first, which was offputting. It would have been easy to set it aside, but the art invested me in the story. By the end, I was impressed in the non-linear way the story was told, of a young girl, seeking her abducted parents and being forced to go to unfamiliar magical realms. Along the path, she meets mysterious characters who have fascinating back stories that show who they are, either immediately or at some future date.

Time feels fluid. How the girl navigates what could be a suffocating matrix impresses me. Candice Purwin does both the art and the story, showing how talented she is in both regards. I love the textured cover of hard paper. The cultural weavings, the magical familiarities, the way positive light and darkness are drawn to her is compelling.

I would recommend this book not only to enjoy for one read, but to purchase and add to your library.

[Jacob Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a surreal blend of visual beauty and imaginative storytelling reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland meets Coraline. Even as an adult, I found myself transported back to that childhood feeling of unease; the quiet fear that creeps in when the lights go out and the house falls silent for the night. It's in that space where the dreamlike creatures and beasts of the story awaken, and you find yourself wondering when morning will come.

The art style is unlike anything I’ve encountered before, wholly unique and deeply expressive. While there were moments when I found it challenging to follow the dialogue or the direction of the narrative, I still recognize the tremendous value this book offers to young readers. In fact, I found myself rereading certain sections, carefully examining the words and images to ensure I wasn’t missing any nuance.

I will be enthusiastically recommending this book to library patrons upon its release.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unique handwritten font choice and overall design isn't typical of many graphic novels, so it automatically sets it apart. A world in which the girl gets pulled into a magical world of mushrooms and fantastical creatures after the deaths of her parents features an overall story and then interrupted short chapters of folklorish backstory in black and white as opposed to the color of the general story.

It's stuffed with dialogue and illustrations that make it difficult to read in certain panels because the font gets smaller to accommodate the dialogue but still give plenty of room for the illustrations, otherwise, it's a feast for the eyes entirely and unleashes an entire world that is intricately detailed. An adventure and a half and while not entirely my favorite, I can see it growing on me.

[fifi4fiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

grateful to NetGalley, the Author and Publishers for granting me this e-ARC!


⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

this was a nice cozy read. the artwork was absolutely stunning; the watercolour-style illustrations and fairy-tale atmosphere made the whole book feel eerie, immersive, and genuinely magical. that was what initially drew me in, but i also really loved a lot of the writing.
there were so many quietly profound moments and lines that stayed with me, especially when the story explored grief, identity, and storytelling itself.
that said, the narrative felt a little too abstract and all over the place at times. the story wandered quite a bit, and some sections made it harder to stay fully connected to what was happening emotionally and structurally.
it occasionally felt more focused on atmosphere and symbolism than on creating a very cohesive plot.
still, the writing, artwork, and overall emotional tone were strong enough that i ended up enjoying it quite a lot. it felt more like stepping into a strange, haunting folktale than reading a straightforward fantasy graphic novel.

[Maxisagayweeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal fantasy graphic novel!

The art is incredible and I especially loved the contrast between high saturated colours for the main story chapters and black and white for the stories within the story (and I really loved the background characters too! The world building achieved by simply featuring a page with a mole-whale breaching and then that being that is SUPERB (AND I LOVE THE MOLE-WHALE))

Cozy and emotional (and reminiscent of many Ghibli films), and queer normative and warming and I LOVE

Did /slightly/ struggle to follow the main story plot at certain points which is why it’s 4.75/5 rather than 5/5, rounded up to 5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Fantagraphics for my ARC!

[Micah · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Easily one of (if not THE) most goregous graphic novels of all time. The colors and psychedelic color pencil art is breathtaking. Sometimes the panels are SO detailed I had to stop and just seep it in in order to fully understand what was happening. Which I appreciated, I have a bad habit of just freezing through graphic novels and the like, but i managed to take my time with this one.

I see a lot of complaints about how difficult the book can be to follow, but if you approach the book understanding that it is fairly fragmented in its storytelling and is heavily whimsy, if you slow down and examine the art it is not that bad. I will definitely be doing a reread in the future and this is definitely a book that is getting read in the autumn every year. 🍂