Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Quack!: A Fowl Love Story is an inspirational graphic novel written by Paul Burton. It's the story of Elena, an eight-year-old girl, whose life is lived under a fog of doubt and fear. Everywhere she goes, she carries along that stifling fog. One day, she meets a duck who makes her smile, and suddenly the fog begins to lift. They become the best of friends, and splash and play in the water together. Elena becomes happy for a while, but then her old doubts and fears begin to resurface, and Elena finds herself trapped in the fog again. When she looks for her friend the duck, he's nowhere to be found.

I've been smiling ever since I sat down and read Quack!, Paul Burton's inspirational graphic novel. I loved the pen and ink artwork and designs that adorn each page. There are fabulous curves and scrolling, and the equations Elena uses to try to understand life are very appealing to the techie side of me. While I'm not usually overfond of rhyming stories, Burton's rhymes are playful, flowing and never forced -- and they work brilliantly with the illustrations. I had at first thought that Quack! was a children's book, especially given Elena's age, and I wouldn't hesitate to share it with a child, but it's much more than that. Its gentle, unassuming appeal is meant, I think, for people of all ages, even those who carry about their own fog, or, perhaps, especially for them. Quack!: A Fowl Love Story is marvelous, and it's highly recommended.