the well

I’ve had Jake Wyatt and Choo's young adult graphic novel The Well on my radar since 2022, when I was last a Cybils award judge in the graphic novel category. Its beautiful book cover and fable-esque blurb lured me in, and I bought a copy for myself (and indirectly, my classroom library). Two years later, I finally read it, and I can confirm that: the art is gorgeous, the story adventurous, the tone by turns playful and serious, and at under 180 pages, the length perfect for the lower end of the young adult crowd (13- to 15-year-olds). On the whole it’s a jewel box of a book! 

 

Li-Zhen’s life on the archipelago is simple. Known to friends and family as Lizzy, she takes care of her grandfather and their goats, she flirts with the woman who helps row the ferry, and she stays away from the fog that comes in the night—and the monsters hiding within it.

But Lizzy’s life comes apart when she steals a handful of coins from a sacred well to cover a debt. The well requires repayment, but it doesn’t deal in coins. It needs wishes, and its minions will drown Lizzy in its depths if she doesn’t grant them. Lizzy finds herself on a quest to uncover hidden memories, bestow great wealth, and face the magical secrets that nearly destroyed her family—and are now returning to threaten everything she has ever known.

In this breathtaking graphic novel, Jake Wyatt and Choo have created a modern fable based on magic and family secrets, exploring the power—and limits—of wishes.

 

Li-zhen (or Lizzy, as she goes by for much of the book) is young and excitable. She lives on a remote island with her grandfather Ah-gong, and they make their way in the world by raising goats. Life on the islands used to be very different: before the mists and sea monsters arrived, there was trade and movement. Lizzy’s grandmother, mother, and father all died in a heroic effort to defeat the Leviathan that threatened the Crescent islands, and Lizzy has inherited a tiny measure of their magic. Now as a teen, she is desperate to be out and about on her own. When a sea monster attacks the ferry to the market, and she overspends and doesn’t have enough for fare back, she takes money from a sacred well and is then cursed. To lift the curse, she will have to complete three seemingly impossible tasks, and in the process learn much about human nature and desire, and make peace with her family history.

The setting of The Well is unusual and interesting: a world post-climate apocalypse, with magical elements (the titular well holds mystical power) and modern sensibilities as far as dress and relationship and gender norms, but without electricity or connections to a wider world. The Crescent, the archipelago the story is set in, is haunted by an ever-present mist and lesser sea monsters that disrupt trade and community. The character names are a mix of Eastern and Western traditions, and there are several art elements that place the book somewhere in Asia or Asia-inspired, like the boats, aforementioned clothing styles, and inclusion of symbols (cherry blossoms, coins, etc.).

Other delightful elements: the magic, which actually plays a minor part for about half of the story. Magic is involved in the setting and set-up (and of course the curse and its follow-through), but overall minor magic does not affect Lizzy’s everyday life. The major magical events that shaped her world happened years prior. Additionally, the characters are endearing, heartbroken, resourceful, greedy, and more – in other words, they are flawed and dynamic. Lizzy herself grows over the course of the book from carefree and innocent (as much as one can be with such a weighty past) to self-aware, with a growing sense of responsibility. My favorite bit of dialogue on page 89 relates to a lesson about courage, bravery, and greed in the midst of Lizzy’s trials. Ah-gong says, “Courage is doing what is right and necessary, regardless of peril. Your parents were brave. Your grandmother was brave. Endangering yourself or others for the sake of wealth? Risking lives for a chance at ill-gotten gain? This is not courage. It is avarice.” This reminder about morally acceptable motivation is emblematic of the text’s message as a whole.

 

And the art! We mustn’t forget Choo’s fabulous art! With intricate and careful linework that is reminiscent of Tillie Walden’s work, and a color palette of purples, reds, oranges, and blues, the illustrations are the real standout of this book. That’s saying something given the engaging storyline! With mythical elements (a Leviathan, after all!), mist-shrouded landscapes, the trappings of a sea-faring society, and changes in perspective, the panels will transport the reader into the story and keep their attention until the very end.

In all, Wyatt and Choo’s The Well is an entertaining and satisfying adventure, with an unwitting (and at times unwilling) hero and heroics, an original world, and exquisite art. 

Recommended for: fans of fantasy graphic novels and manga, readers ages 10+, anyone looking to stock a bookshelf with shorter-length, high-interest fiction, and those captivated by the beautiful illustration on the book cover.