Hex Americana

by Bree D. Wolf

"A sweet and quirky romance sure to set hearts racing." — KIRKUS  Starred Review "A rip-roaring tale of young love and betrayal." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"A journey full of twists, turns, monsters, and redemption." — BOOKLIST

A boy-meets-ghoul story at 100 miles-per-hour!
Ken Takamoto is a wannabe racer stuck at home for the summer, with only his mother for company. Dante Willow is a ghost stuck in the car he crashed while racing his rival twenty years ago.
When they meet by chance, Ken has the answer to both their enter the local racing league Hex Americana and win the annual Grand Prix. If they win, Dante can pass on to the afterlife and Ken can keep Dante's fixed-up car to go anywhere he wants. What starts as a simple plan becomes a wild summer full of witches, gnomes, feelings, magical chickens, and more as they prepare for the big race.
Will Ken and Dante finish first? Can they even make it to the finish line? And more importantly, what happens when this racing duo blooms into something more?
Bursting to the brim with crazy monsters, blazing automotive action, deep-rooted mysteries, and small-town secrets, HEX AMERICANA is the race everyone’s dying to win!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Young Adult, LGBT, Romance, Ghosts

380 pages, Paperback

Published December 19, 2023

Reviews

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ken is a daredevil half-Yōkai who is obsessed with car racing. He accidentally comes across the Speed Demon, the ghost of a boy who died in a car race 20 years earlier. Together they train to compete in the Hex Americana, the biggest car race around. It’s not all fun and games, when they learn the truth about Dante’s death and the powers behind the Hex.

Weird. All around. I didn’t really understand the world - I didn’t fully understand everyone’s motivations. And the ending was just meh.

[Dan P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cute moments, but ultimately a glaring example of how writing for young adults often feels childish when that's the last thing anyone wants to read, especially young adults. This story could be told in a more emotionally mature way without losing any of its accessibility or charm. Alas, a bit of a snooze

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, light read. Very creative. Look forward to more works by Bree Wolf.

[Jenny Ashby · Rating 1 out of 5]

So long, so convoluted without any explanation of the world in play here, and so much racing which is uninteresting to me. If you like racing, you might find this more enjoyable, but there are still the other issues. Aside from my feelings about it, I will say that I've had this book in my collection for seven months and it has been checked out three times. That tells me what I need to know about it.

[Feli_H · Rating 2 out of 5]

⬇ English translation of this review can be found in the comments section ⬇

Una nueva edición de la competición automovilística más popular vuelve a abrir sus puertas, conmemorando en esta ocasión a un competidor que pasó a la historia debido al triste desenlace que tuvo su carrera prometedora. Conocido como Demonio Veloz, Dante para los amigos, no ha logrado trascender la vida terrenal después del accidente que sufrió. Es en ese estado cuando se topa de casualidad con un adulto joven llamado Ken, con quien se aliará para lograr ganar el Hex Americana, esperando así, lograr pasar a la Otra vida.

La premisa me resultó muy llamativa a primeras. Hace rato que no leía una historia que tuviese las carreras de autos como motor principal de su narración (“ba dum, tss“), por lo que las expectativas estaban altas. También me enteré gracias a la publicidad de la editorial que tenía un romance entre dos hombres, así que con mayor razón le quise dar la oportunidad. Ahora veamos qué tal me pareció en general.

Es la trama de los dos protagónicos, con muy poco de automovilismo: Desde el transcurso de su primer encuentro, Ken y Dante se alejan de los tópicos del insta-love, reemplazándolo por un inicio natural en el que surgen conversaciones acerca de la vida como fantasma de uno, la vida previa amorosa de otro, las razones de ambos para ayudarse mutuamente, entre otras. Resultando en un aspecto positivo al inicio. A medida que fue avanzando la historia, en cambio, ocurrieron cosas que no lo fueron tanto.

Una cosa es que Dante haya bromeado en una escena al decir que él y Ken son novios, y otra muy distinta es que se refiera a él como su novio como si hubiese sido algo que ya fue asentado con anterioridad en la historia. Y es que si la intención era generar gusto o reacciones enternecedoras en los lectores, conmigo al menos no lo logró.

Las escenas donde se preparan y compiten para presentarse en los eventos son muy inferiores en comparación. Uno se esperaría un entrenamiento creíble de la coach de competición, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que Ken posee cero experiencia en ese deporte; resulta que no hay tal, ya que el autor se quiso centrar más en la comicidad que en el profesionalismo. Suscitando por eso poco o nada de emoción por mi parte al momento de presenciar sus competiciones.

Su característico humor rocambolesco, algo exagerado por momentos: Creo que no hay mejor palabra para describir el tipo de humor presente en esta historia. La aleatoriedad se deja estar en muchos momentos, las incursiones de Jeff en las escenas (el fantasma de un viejo minero de otro siglo) fueron muy cómicas de presenciar. La forma de hablar de todos los personajes es muy actual, incluidos Jeff y Dante. Lo cual desentona por ser personas de otras épocas?, sí; se lo tomé muy en cuenta?, la verdad es que no tanto. Sólo decir que encuentro que en el caso Jeff, su humor podría haberse usado mucho más al resaltar la época de donde viene.

Elementos de la historia medianamente aprovechados: Uno de los aspectos mágicos que llaman la atención son los peinados de Ken y Karen (madre de Ken), estos tienen como gracia que poseen vida propia y lanzan palabras que ellos no logran tener la valentía de decir de otra forma. Me pareció muy innovador el concepto y quería saber como terminaba ese arco para ellos. Lamentablemente, fue usado solo para generar risa, y en mi caso fue cayéndose en picada por no haber visto algo más allá del uso que se le dio. Fue de los pocos elementos de ese mundo mágico en el que viven que me decepcionó en su desarrollo; ahondar más en las demás personas que habitan este mundo (cíclopes, esqueletos, momias; más crossover de épocas, esto no puede ser) no fue necesario debido a que sus roles quedaban reducidos a ser parte de lo que daba sentido a la ambientación meramente.

Hay subtramas como la relación de Dante con su ex, la relacionada con el compañero molestoso de Karen (que iba directamente ligado a lo de sus peinados), e incluso la del padre y el rival de los protagonistas; que son o directamente olvidadas o superficialmente tocadas en el transcurso de las páginas. Otras si son puestas en importancia, especialmente las que se enfocan en resaltar valores que se tocan mucho en esta novela-gráfica, como las consecuencias de la avaricia y las repercusiones que tiene en tus más cercanos.

A pesar de haber esperado mucho más de esta historia infantojuvenil demasiado simpática para mi gusto, no voy a negar de que igual logré pasármela bien entre sus páginas, sobretodo al inicio.

Mis agradecimientos a Edelweiss+ y a la editorial Iron Circus Comics, por darme la oportunidad de acceder al DRC de este libro

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly fast read for its size: 367 pages! (plus a few that aren't numbered but round out the total to a number that can physically exist in a book, but you get what I mean)

As per usual, I got this and read it "blind" without any preconceptions of what it would be about, so that it's about a racing-themed romance/mystery with... HEAVY paranormal element ("urban fantasy") wasn't what I expected but is definitely super cool! Ken being a very specific yokai with a mouth in the back of his head (but, a boy one) was unexpected but also makes a lot of sense, though his being gay was pretty much expected from the instant James asks about if he's found a girlfriend. (From that, his hooking up with Dante was ALSO pretty much expected, like... duh?)

What's the most fun about the book is some of the fun, unexpected twists, like how Betty is a chicken shaped like a car, which makes me think, ♪CAR WITH CHICKEN LEGS♫ ! (That might be a vaguely inside joke even despite linking to the reference, but it's still what immediately came to mind.)

The ending is a bit rough, though—I'm not sure I really "get" the reason everyone comes together in the end. Or, I do (because save a life and all), but not the why Seth killed himself to become a ghost. Then again, I don't have Mr. Orson for a parent (lucky me!), so I can't really understand the sort of life someone would have from that kind of upbringing.

A fun read for racing/paranormal fans! The romance is just icing on the cake. :)

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did end up enjoying this book, eventually. It's unfortunately way too long, or maybe just poorly paced. There's a lot about this world that could stand explanation that just never comes. Like main character Ken and his mother are hiding that they're yokai, but like... why? This is also a world where literal mummies are racing superstars. Love interest Dante is a ghost, but he's also a ghost who can conveniently touch whatever he wants, including Ken. There's also a lot of weird plot contrivances that just don't make sense at all. Ken's mother works at an elementary school with a shockingly open door policy. Not only does she bring her son to school every day to help with her class (iffy on its own) her weird friend can just walk up and hang out with her during recess. That's not how any of this works. And then there's Ken, an amateur driver with zero experience, holding his own against an undefeated champion with years of intense training behind him. Again, just not how this works. There are a lot of sports mangas that superficially have a similar setup, but the young prodigy has always been doing some form of independent practice first. Here, Ken goes directly from driving his mother back and forth to school to what is functionally stockcar racing and does great. There's just not enough believability.

[MuffinMan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content warnings for suicide, emotional abuse of a child, homophobia, car accidents, accidental transformation spells, imprisonment, bugs, death of a child.

This book has very strong Deadendia (also known as Dead End: Paranormal Park) vibes. Both are graphic novels about fat gay teens at the cusp of adulthood who get a job somewhere haunted and have moms who fail to protect them from bigoted people. There's also a plot twist later on that is similar as well. That's not to say this is a copy of Deadendia - the plot and world building are unique - but if you like one then you'll like the other. I was a little disappointed/surprised the protagonist wasn't trans, especially considering he's a type of magical creature that are exclusively women in the original mythology, but that's a personal issue.

I found this to be a delightful romp, especially for the first half. The illustrations are great, the world building is cool, and there are many funny moments. The ending was a bit confusing, unfortunately. There were a few reactions that didn't quite make sense, and a few thematic threads in the protagonist's personal life that were left hanging.

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I think I enjoyed this book, but definitely felt too long by the end of it. There is a lot developed about the Hex Americana (which is like a giant car race), but there are aspects of the world that felt confusing. There are details that are never given that take you out of the story while you're reading it, and long explanations of other things that maybe weren't needed.

For the most part, I did think the characters were well developed and were probably the most interesting part of the story. The art was also engaging and interesting, adding in the action of the car races which can't necessarily be easy to do in a graphic novel.

If you don't mind longer graphic novels that do have a strong character core, then this might be for you! It was just a bit of a miss for me.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Hex Americana’ with story and art by Bree Wolf is a graphic novel about monsters, racing and ghosts.

Ken Takamoto lives in a strange world and dreams of racing. He lives with his mother and can’t drive yet. All that changes when he meets Dante Willow, a ghost stuck inside the car he died in. With Dante’s car and help, Ken enters the big Hex Americana race. If Ken can win, Dante can move on. Things aren’t that simple, especially in a world full of witches, gnomes and weird chickens. Things get further complicated when Ken falls for Dante.

This is aimed at middle grade readers and has LGBT themes. I liked the premise and the art was ok, but at 380 pages, this was at least a third too long and the story ends up limping across the finish line.

[Unejam Xheni · Rating 1 out of 5]

My son picked this up from our local library for their summer reading program. The books main character is gay and at various points in the book discusses his first day kiss and later falls in love with the male ghost character. This is a graphic novel, aimed for the attention of a young reader. Nowhere in the description or cover does it indicate this book to be a gay love story. I do not condone homosexual relationships and do not appreciate the lack of indication of the storyline. Truly disappointing. I'm thankful my older child was reading along with my youngest and flagged my attention to the content of this book. If you are a conservative parent promoting God's plan for society, do not allow your child to read this garbage.

[Smitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book. It's fun, charming, intricate, well-told, and best of all, surprising. I picked it up blind and by page 12, when he picks up his hat to reveal his other mouth, I was hooked by the giddy weirdness of this world. The characters develop nicely, you feel for their struggles, and seeds dropped early on pay off nicely later in the book. I especially appreciated that it was long enough to really get into the story and hold my attention. A star docked because certain story elements don't make sense or could use a bit more exposition (why is he hiding the other mouth? how is he the best at driving when he's only just learned?), and because for some reason the kerning on the italic text is off, but on the whole an enjoyable read.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

An LGBTQ+ book about a teenage monster who gets involved with racing. Along the way a romance with a ghost develops. Some of this I liked quite a bit but the story was way too long at 380 pages. And even at that long, there's not really anytime spent developing the relationship between Ken and Dante. It just kind of happens out of nowhere. There's some things that never pay off either, like the racist werewolf never gets what's coming to him and the awful owner of the racing circuit just continues to be awful. If this is meant for teenagers, I'd like a few lessons to at least be learned. That said, it's still worth reading.

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this title almost exclusively because of the cover art. The cover is a beautiful piece of art; if I could get a poster size version of it, I'd hang in an art gallery. Or my basement, which is like an art gallery if those were also exercise rooms.

I pretty so-so on the book itself. It was a surprisingly long read. And I know this is the book equivalent of someone complaining about packaging in an Amazon product review, but the Mylar on the back cover of the library copy I borrowed was rough and scratchy. That was something I definitely noticed and impacted my interaction with the text.

Overall - a solid, off the beaten path graphic novel. With a great cover.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queer teen supernatural Nascar? Certainly an interesting premise! This full-color graphic novel starts out strong and quirky with highly original characters. But, it falters a bit in the second half. Particularly, I would have liked more consistent characters (mostly Karen) and less ambiguity / unresolved answers in the conclusion. What are the next steps for these characters we've spent 350+ pages with? What became of the jerk dad and coworker/comedian? Why does Ken call his mother by her first name? What are the gnomes trying to tell us!? I could see this story translating better as a children's cartoon series on television where it has more room to expand.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenaged kid (with two mouths) gets to bring the ghost of a crashed car racer back to the circuit for a redemptive look at belated victory, and possibly a bit of gay smooching as well. I gave it a go, but the first chapter was kind of adult-proof business, meaning this is for the teen audience only, and even then it seems there are issues to be had with the fantasy aspect, the racing aspect and the gay smooching aspect as well. Possibly it's still worth a try, but early indications are that is definitely far from being a classic.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid romp with heart. There were a few threads that got left hanging, a few places that the story could have been stronger. Like why didn't the werewolf get run over? And what happened to that one characters Dad during that one scene?

But over all this was a sweet queer love story and found family story between a ghost and a Yokai American set around racing cars.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warning: car accidents, death as a teenager, suicide

This was a fun graphic novel though at over 350 pages, the paperback is super heavy and unwieldy to try and read. I think this would have done better being separated out into two volumes.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was just super cute. About racing of all things. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel for younger readers. The storytelling is enthusiastic, if a bit poorly thought-out (rushed world building, a couple of unresolved subplots, etc).

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute. Pretty fun. A nice little bit of brain candy.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.  This storyline was so cute.  I think the characters were really cool, and I loved the fantasy elements that were so fully incorporated.  I also thought the racing storyline was really neat.  It's not my usual favourite premise, but it ended up being really interesting.  I loved the slowburn of the love story.  The characters were really interesting.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.