Review by Frank Plowright
Damian is the new kid at school and not great at making friends. We’re soon told there’s considerable sorrow in his life, and this isn’t the world as we know it. Damian has saved a lot of money to buy a spirit flower, which is a means of summoning his mother’s ghost. Instead of his mother, however, Damian summons Saskia, a little younger than he is when she died, and lively and annoying. Could it be, though, that she’s his path to a better life? Either way, she’s returned and Damian is stuck with her until the spirit flower dies. Only he can see her.
Showing very different people finding common ground and getting along is a frequent topic for young adult fiction, whether as TV shows, novels or graphic novels, but Moore writes well in making it seem there’s no chance of that in Ditching Saskia. Saskia is impulsive, curious and seemingly without boundaries, while Damian prefers to keep to himself, although has one friend in Frank. Gradually, though, Saskia eggs Damian on and draws confidences from him through incessant questioning.
Her vibrant personality is well expressed by artist Neetols, and while Saskia is the attention-grabber, noticing her means we also notice how well Damian is characterised as always sad-looking, People dominate, embedded in simple backgrounds, but occasionally there’s the surprise of a beautifully drawn scene such as a sunset, resonating even although it’s black and white. As seen by the cover art, beguilingly embossed, Neetols is equally good with colour. It’s used extremely sparingly within, but to good effect.
Having introduced the spirit flower, Moore also discusses possibilities in passing, and they become key around halfway through. Damian might not have known the grave he selected wasn’t that of his mother, but plenty of others in the neighbourhood do, and lies become an ongoing theme. Damian being rushed for an answer tells a big one early in Ditching Saskia, but he’s not the only liar in his school. People have been pretending they’ve summoned Saskia, and online videos show a representation of her personality wildly diverging from the truth. She’s not happy about it and wants Damian to set the record straight. Her past is eventually revealed and tugs at the heartstrings even more than Damian’s circumstances.
It seems Damian needs to put some effort into sorting his life out, and Moore puts further stumbling blocks in his way, although also introduces a possible salvation in the form of Elijah. There’s one hell of a shock near the end, and it forces Damian to confront matters.
Ditching Saskia requires a gimmick to set things in motion, but it’s well used in spurring Damian on to where he needs to be. The characters are true to life, and it’s shown that progress isn’t stalled by a single mistake. All in all, very satisfying.
