November 5, 2020

NEIGHBORS

Neighbors by Kasya Denisevich contemplates what goes on behind closed doors in a neighborhood.


A young girl has just moved into a apartment building and is thinking about her relationship to everyone else. Though she has her own room, she still shares a space since she has neighbors below her and above her, as well as to the side of her. But being new to the building, she wonders about her neighbors. Are they home? Are they also getting ready for bed? Or is the entire building empty and she's the only one around? She won't know until she wakes up the next day, but when she does she finds the answers she's been looking for, as well as a whole new set of questions to ask.


Until an emotional turning point toward the end of the story, the inked images are depicted entirely in reds, grays, and blacks. Denisevich even uses the color red on select parts of the text in order to emphasize words or emotions. The first time we see a color other than red is during the sunrise of the next day, wherein future friendships are foreshadowed with other colors dancing amongst the reds in the sky. With a heavy emphasis on yellow, the sunrise leads readers directly toward the yellow beam of light from the neighboring apartment and the girl dressed in yellow who ultimately becomes the young girl's friend. 


Neighbors published from Chronicle Books in September.



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