The Princess That Looks Like Me (Into the Fire – A Book Review)

Stranger Things: Into the Fire

Author: Jody Houser

Published: 2020

On Goodreads

My Rating:

Rated F for fiery fairytales and mind tricks.

“Good girl.”

“If I was I wouldn’t be here.”

Years after the events of Six and following season 2 of Stranger Things, Ricky and Marcy are on the road, search for answers and discovering more than they bargained for. The two encounter new and old acquaintances as they journey to get Marcy’s sister Jamie back. When they find her they realize her psyche’s been manipulated into something dangerous and her pyrokinesis threatens to destroy them all.

Stranger Things is 1 of 4 graphic novel series that I’m doing for my New Year’s Resolution.

This felt like the beginning of a season of Stranger Things and I was amped up for it! Both Marcy and Ricky have grown and become like siblings. They’ve had a long and hard life as they work to get Jamie back. This story was just as strong as, not only the show, but the previous volume.

The way they take of each other makes my heart ache. They live a hard and complicated life and while they aren’t as lucky as Eleven to have so many people care about them. and have a place to call home. Still, they have each other. More so, their character growth was amazing and realistic! Anybody would be cranky if they lived on the run the way those two did. Ricky, in his 20s, became quite the looker and his power has expanded and grown, and Marcy is now a dramatic teen. The time jump was decent in getting for getting the characters caught up to the end of season 2 oof the show, which I can appreciate. Every once in a while it’s called for and this one was also perfectly placed.

The villain isn’t the villain. Jamie became a victim turned villain. She is a perfect example of what Dr. Brenner had tried to do to Eleven. The way her mind twisted and darkened with the was tragic. Using fairytales as an escape from the dreadful testing was understandable but also creepy with how messed up the illusion was. The talking penguin was pretty funny though and its representation as a servant wasn’t missed. Getting to Jamie’s fiery abilities in action was awesome! A totally wicked and raw show of power, much like Eleven when she was still working to gain control of her abilities.

The glimpses of character we know and love like Eleven and Kali had me absolutely giddy. That really tied this story into the show’s, making the ST universe even bigger and more in-depth. While the adventure and horror is such a big part of this universe, this really pushed the story itself to the forefront.

Overall

Great storytelling and wonderful artwork that really dove into the mind. Classic and vibrant. I still hope to see Marcy, Jamie, and Ricky on the show in the future. Heck a powerhouse reunion would be intense. It could definitely mean the end of the Upside Down that’s for sure. While this ended on a sad and broken note, it’s official that everybody has changed. It’s unclear what the future holds for them now, but my hope is that they can stop and find a normal life themselves similar to Eleven. They deserve it. I’ll be putting this volume with my other ones.

More to come soon…

-K.

Song Today? Aftermath by Adam Lambert.