Nightlights - by Lorena Alvarez (Paperback)

About the Book

"On a school field trip to the local wetlands, Sandy wanders away from her classmates and discovers an empty turtle shell. Peeking into the shell, she suddenly finds herself within a magical new dimension. Filled with sculptures, paintings and books, the turtle's shell is a museum of the natural world. But one painting is incomplete, and the shell's mystery inhabitant needs Sandy's help to finish it..." -- Back cover.

Book Synopsis

Every night, tiny stars appear out of the darkness in little Sandy's bedroom. She catches them and creates wonderful creatures to play with until she falls asleep, and in the morning brings them back to life in the whimsical drawings that cover her room.

One day, Morfie, a mysterious pale girl, appears at school. And she knows all about Sandy's drawings...

Nightlights is a beautiful story about fear, insecurity, and creativity, from the enchanting imagination of Lorena Alvarez.

Review Quotes

Winner of the 2019 Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award from Comic Con International

A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION

"In this beautifully eerie and imaginative graphic novel, Lorena Alvarez introduces readers to a young artist named Sandy, who has the ability to create a colorful world of fantastical creatures on the page."--Barnes & Noble Kids Blog

Readers will cheer [...] The beings that inhabit Sandy's nighttime world are simply delightful. The album size, cloth spine binding, and spot gloss on the cover are the icing on the cake of this beautiful graphic novel.
--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

Alvarez's artwork is gorgeous, alternating between traditional panels and, in the dream sequences, vibrant spreads that spill from page to page with grace and fluidity. Reminiscent of the charming, cheeky protagonist of Luke Pearson's "Hilda" books, Sandy is a rosy-cheeked, pigtailed delight, solving her problems with cunning and?coolest of all?math. Readers will want to pore over this book and its many picturesque details again and again. Perhaps those who frequently find themselves with their heads in the clouds will see a little of themselves in Sandy, whose power to build new worlds will inspire others to make their own dreams come true. [...] How is this not on your shelf yet? Every library should have this gorgeous first purchase.
--School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

Colombian illustrator Alvarez has achieved something special and unforgettable with her first authorial outing.
--The Bulletin of The Center For Children's Books, STARRED REVIEW

This delightfully unsettling tale is told with humor and imagination and is illustrated with jewel-like panels and lots of white space. There are rewarding details to be found in every scene, especially in the lush landscapes, both real and imagined, and in the drawings within drawings. [...] Young readers, especially young artists, will gobble this up.
--The New York Times

[...] Alvarez's stunning, Miyazaki-like illustrations are jaw-dropping. [...] the sumptuous artwork, from the velvety palette to the invitingly rounded figures, is a pleasure to age at. Let's hope there's more where this came from.
--Booklist

Nightlights is scary, strange and wondrous stuff, its terror heightened by its luminous, polychromatic beauty.
--The Guardian

A sumptuously coloured, beautifully presented metaphor for the triumph of creativity and imagination in overcoming darkness and despair.
--Broken Frontier

Nightlights is a stunning, richly-detailed ode to the power of creativity to triumph over loneliness and self-doubt. With gorgeous illustrations that evoke the fantastic imagination of Miyazaki, Gomez builds an enchanting story full of sylphs, school troubles, and one adorable, pigtailed heroine. LOVE!
--Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop

Mesmerizing, mystical, magnificent and everything I have come to expect and love from NoBrow from the epic illustrations to the definitively whimsical yet edgy story.
--Jesica Sweedler DeHart, Wandering Bookseller

A young artist makes friends with a ghost, but at what price? This is the perfect graphic novel for fans of Miyazaki or Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Alvarez's art is spectacular, combining lush colors with a level of detail that readers will want to revisit again and again.
--Cecilia Cackley, Hooray For Books!

Nightlights is a gorgeous parable by Lorena Alvarez. [....] it is absolutely beautiful.
--Comics Worth Reading

Alvarez ability to balance panel and page compositions give the book a pleasing feel, even as she creates tension in various ways.
--Rob Clough's High-Low

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez might be one of the most beautiful comic books that I have read in a long time. Nobrow Press clearly saw the potential with this brilliant creator and have published an oversized comic book that does justice to the art within. My breath was taken away time and time again as I was drawn through the story. [...] The colour palettes that Alvarez uses to bring the illustrations to life are stunning and vibrant, and her style itself reminds me of the early days of Disney concept art by the likes of Mary Blair.
--Rogues Portal

About the Author

Lorena Alvarez was born and raised in Bogotá, and studied Graphic Design and Arts at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She has illustrated for children books, independent publications, advertising and fashion magazines. Since 2008, she has been part of "La Procesión Puppet Club", an experimental puppetry group of illustrators and visual artists.