A well-plotted, well-illustrated graphic novel for young adults. I wasn’t aware it was the second in the series and really wish I’d read the first as I didnt’ have the character background that would flesh them out. As always, Westerfield creates characters who do more than simply react to circumstances. There are enough plot lines coming together to keep the reader turning the pages.

Thanks, Netgalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

DAAAAAAAAAAAANG. DAAAAAAAAAAANG.

Better than book 1? Hard to say - creepy, dark, and insightful. The world of Spill Zone is uncomfortable in the best of ways.

This was a pretty good continuation of the story, but this is just a weird story arc all around. A possessed doll, a weird nuclear spill, a North Korean guy who can fly, a camera that can kill magic, and some nondescript old lady make for a weird and haphazard sci-fi adventure. There is nothing of note in this, though. Nothing that will make me remember it three weeks from now. It's meh.

3.5 stars.

Events begin immediately after the first Spill Zone – e.g., visitors from North Korea (as well as the mysterious, levitating Don Jae) are under surveillance by the government, National Guard member Wiley is now wise to Addison’s photography trips, and Lexa is still sugarcoating her conversations with Vespertine, the entity inside her doll. Addie feels different, but the ramifications of having “touched the bad stuff” are unknown.

After a successful rendez-vous to deliver the Zone item (the “dust”) to the art curator (and a less successful attempt on behalf of Addison’s former agent to extort her), Addison is roughly one million dollars richer and ready to beat it out of Poughkeepsie.

Lexa, however, is a tough sell, scared of what moving will mean for Vespertine (who needs to “charge” periodically by visiting the Zone). Addison burns her Zone photography and throws the doll into the fire. Addison’s Vespertine problem increases exponentially as the displaced entity finds a new vessel in Lexa. Creatures from the Zone – including Vespertine’s betrothed – demand Vespertine return and be wed . . . which means that, if they get their way, Lexa is along for the ride as well.

To his credit, Westerfield does reveal many things readers of the first Spill Zone have probably been chomping at the bit to see: Don Jae’s origin. The secrets of the mysterious Korean Spill. The fate of Addison’s parents. The catalyst for Vespertine crossing into this world. No stone is left unturned, and, per usual, Addison’s neverending reservoir of intrepidness, quick-thinking, and general badassery propel the story along to a satisfying conclusion.

There is a lot of story here – and it goes by so quickly that you may not truly appreciate how much is packed into this volume at first glance. As soon as you’re introduced to a new scene, appreciate it: you only have a few panels before we jump to the next. I like the tension dialed up a little more throughout, but true to comic format, the true cliffhanger turns-of-the-screw are saved for the end of each segment, and are true back-against-the-wall, Oh, shit! NOW what are they going to do? moments.

Part of why the Zone is so deliciously creepy in the first Spill Zone is because its elements are mixed with elements we recognize: floating people, rats, distorted wolf-looking creatures with impossible joints. When Don Jae and the curator interact with the dust and view the origin place of the Spill, color is well-used to demonstrate two factions, but the forms created by the lines and shapes are a little too vague, leaving the supposed turmoil and insurrection a challenge to visualize.

I generally don’t wish for something to be more slowly paced, but the Spill Zone is something I want to savor, and it felt like the content of a trilogy was crammed into a duology. Critical moments weren’t foreshadowed (c’mon . . . gimme a through-the-bushes stalker POV view of Addison, cut to a zoom-in on sinister eyes, then reveal that her former agent is coming for her . . . don’t just have him appear casually coming down the street against a backdrop of sunshine). Similar for when Addison sees her parents: I loved the panel work of that moment, but I would’ve rather seen more internal conflict from Addison as she weighed her decision, not just a simple point-and-shoot. She also never seems at odds with her Zone powers, which would’ve given a little more depth to her journey. Toward the end, when the gigantic, ominous white wolf-creature speaks with Vespertine, the “your parents killed mine” seems more like an aside than a climactic reveal.

Overall, a worthy sequel, although not quite as ominous as the first.

So it’s been awhile since I read the first volume in this story and I wasn’t sure how much I’d remember. Thankfully the story picks up in such a way that all the important things came back at least and I didn’t feel lost in returning.
Addie has returned from the Spill Zone and finally gets some answers to questions she and we as readers have had. She makes a new... friend? Can we call Don Jae a friend? They have a vested interest in each other at least, someone like themselves.
We get a little more on Vespertine and her connection to Lexa, though I still have so many questions about that and with that ending? Yeah, answers are still needed, Addie claims her contact with the Spill Zone is over after her last trip there and she’ll never go back but I have a feeling the Spill Zone isn’t done with her... also the ending told me as much. Can’t wait for the next volume.
Also, kudos to the artist doing the colors, Hilary Sycamore. They have a great eye and the use of color, especially pertaining to the Spill Zone does a great job showing how wild and unnatural everything about it is. Fantastic and beautiful.

The second Spill Zone picks up right where the first one ends, and while we still don't REALLY know the exact cause of the Spill, many questions were answered in this sequel. Addie must save her sister, Lexa, from whatever Verspertine is, while the Koreans want to know more about the Spill in P-Town. This time, though, Vespertine needs to make a choice, and the Koreans need to learn more for the "Brilliant Comrade." With the help of a Korean boy who has also been changed by the Spill, Addie has much bigger problems than just taking pictures. Much more action in this one than the first one, and definitely much less confusing. I gave it 5 stars for the action and even more gorgeous drawings this time. While some of the monsters look like they were drawn quickly and hastily, the use of coor was beautiful and something I haven't seen in another graphic novel.

Volume 1 was my favorite graphic novel on 2017. And while I like volume 2, it doesn't live up to its creator. Strange things are happening in the zone. Vespertine is a princess who has run away from her betrothed. Addy can now fly, and North Korea, who had their own Spill Zone is getting in on the action. This could be an end, but it could also be the beginning of a new chapter.

Wooooo Boy! I've been waiting for this graphic novel to become available. During an ALA midwinter conference a couple years back, I met Scott Westerfeld and got an ARC of Spill Zone #1. Creepy lit generally isn't my thing, but I really enjoy the Spill Zone story.

The Broken Vow begins just where Spill Zone left off. Addie has discovered that Lexa's doll has been possessed by something that came from the Spill Zone and her name is Vespertine. In an effort to save her sister, who has been utterly silent for three years, Addie destroys Vespertine's doll body only for her to possess Alexa instead. But forces from inside and out of the Spill Zone are soon about to collide. Addie must find a way to save her sister and herself from both.

While I could forgive Spill Zone for what it lacked in exposition, I can't extend the same courtesy to The Broken Vow I really think more set up about what the Spill Zone is should have been added. As it is, these two GN novels are very character driven. I like Addie, but she and Don Jae, are the only half fleshed out characters. Most everyone else is forgettable. I think a third part in the series would have been great.

I'm glad they toned down the brighter colors from the last completed volume. The shades in The Broken Vow make more sense with the atmosphere. Though I think it would have been really interesting if the author, illustrator, and color professional had stayed with the monochrome motif of the first ARC with only inside the Spill Zone being colored.

Very solid 4/5 from me.

There wasn’t quite as much holding this volume together as the first one, or maybe it just wasn’t as new to me. Still, a good YA graphic novel that walked the line between creepy and super creepy.

I am enjoying Scott Westerfeld's new series Spill Zone. This sequel definitely lived up to the first one and I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

I absolutely loved Spill Zone! Scott Westerfeld is one of my favorite writers ever and I was immediately addicted to the story of Spill Zone - how Poughkeepsie was mysteriously destroyed/overrun with strange phenomenon after an event known only as a "spill." The problem with graphic novels, though, is that they tend to be short, and volume 1 of Spill Zone was no exception. Waiting for Volume 2 was agonizing, even though I got to read ARCs of both volumes. I need a volume 3. I have so many questions: what will the "spill" be like in New York City? How are Addison and Don Jae effected? Also, why on Earth is Addison allowed to live quietly after the military saw her fly? She flew. In front of witnesses. What kind of deal did she strike after that? And Vespertine: are we ever going to get a complete backstory on her? Is she good? Is she evil? Is she still connected to Lexa somehow? I NEED TO KNOW!

Same problem as before: the ascm file opens, but it's too distorted to read. I loved the first in the series, so I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt.