Hyo the Hellmaker by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

Hyo the Hellmaker, by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh came out this week, from Scholastic! It’s got intricate world building, noir vibes, and atmospheric illustrations by the author for any manga-loving teen of your acquaintance.

Hyo is a “hellmaker,” which means she is able to make bespoke curses for your enemies. Once you commission her, she can curse someone who you specify with anything from a bad day to death. She lives in a world plagued by a magical poison, and the only known antidote comes from the island of Onogoro. When Hyo and her brother (who was raised as a living weapon) are confronted with a dead body on Onogoro, they are plunged into the seedy underbelly of the island—where both humans and gods have a lot to hide.

Hyo and her brother, new in town, navigate this situation warily. They acquire some new allies, but are not sure how much anyone can be trusted as they meet people and gods in different social positions. The way they balance favors to and from different factions, as the reader learns about the political machinations of the town, feels very noir to me, which I enjoy.

Since these siblings are new to Onogoro, the reader can learn about it along with them. And there’s a lot to learn. Between the poison premise for the fantasy world building, the characters’ backstories which we learn gradually, and the Japanese concepts and terms with which I was not familiar, I felt there was a steep learning curve in understanding the first half or so of this book. Once I had a handle on it, the rest of Hyo the Hellmaker went more smoothly, and there is a helpful glossary provided. I now have a rudimentary understanding of the concept of an “en,” kind of like fate or connection, as well as an understanding that in Hyo’s world, a hellmaker’s en is a kind of “chaos compass.”

Further, I think it will reward rereading, since in addition to a fun premise and plot, it also raises a lot of meaty issues, such as: how can siblings come to terms with each other’s experiences of their shared childhood, if their parents treated them really differently? And, in a town that values community support, how is it possible for some people to still fall through the cracks? And, can actors ever shut up? These are the real questions.

The manga-style illustrations do help convey tone, but I think the author’s real strength there is in the dialogue. Hyo’s brother talks in a way that often reminded me of Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and characters talking to each other provided almost all of my favorite parts of Hyo the Hellmaker.

I did also really appreciate the epigraphs, such as the one at the start of Chapter 10, which proclaims:

Getting a divorce? Leaving your job? Removing those polyps? Then why not consult an en-giri god? These righteous fate-cutters will see that rotten en cut as cleanly and painlessly as possible—although who keeps the dog is down to you! —From “Don’t Worry, They Can’t Kill You Unless You Ask for It: A Beginner’s Guide to Co-existing with the Earthbound Divine”

If that tone appeals to you, I heartily recommend Hyo the Hellmaker.