Two characters, mysterious pasts, problems with fathers, and murders. This is what is happening in Annabel Lee and Jazz’s worlds. These two are shrouded in secrets, and it will take everything they have to figure out what is happening. Annabel Lee is from Jessica Verday “Of Monsters and Madness” and Jazz is from Barry Lyga “I Hunt Killers” and how these two are alike and different.
Jessica Verdays novel “Of Monsters and Madness” is a twisted retelling of gothic romance with characters such as Edgar Allan Poe and Annabel Lee. Set in the 1820s Philadelphia, Annabel Lee is the main character with a secretive past, sailing from Siam after her mother passed away to live with her father. The thing is that Annabel Lee’s father is now a crippled, mean, cold ex-doctor who, with the help of his assistants, do secretive things in his laboratory.
Annabel Lee soon becomes enamored with one of her father’s assistants Allan Poe. But Allan’s cousin Edgar, who looks strangely like Allan, creeps out Annabel. Annabel’s father crushing is crushing her dream of becoming a physician. Her only comforts are her mother’s scarf, a book, and her two friends Marry, her maid and her grandfather. Annabel will soon learn the secrets of everyone in the house and the strange murders.
Barry Lyga “I Hunt Killers” is set in a more modern time. Jazz is the main character who lives in a town called Lobo’s Nod. The story of Jazz though is a more twisted one; his dad was a notorious serial killer. Jazz is now a teenager with a best friend with hemophilia and a girlfriend. Murders have started up in Lobo’s Nod and Jazz, to disprove like father like son, he joins forces with the police. Jazz and his friends end up breaking into mourges and finding out something bigger than anyone ever thought.
Annabel Lee is a sweet girl with a secretive and chaotic life. She has many problems with her father and only has a few friends. She wants to do something but her father does not approve of it. Annabel is a strong lead who fights for what she believes in and does not let people’s opinions influence her decisions. Jazz has two friends and his past for most of the novel is shrouded and only a few clues are given about it. His dad also was an unconventional one being a murderer and teaching his son things that no one should know.
Jazz wants to not become like “Dear Old Dad” and so he choses a different path. Jazz has his own path that he wishes to follow and does not want to be shrouded in his father’s past. Both characters have a lot to work through and figure out but they have support and are determined not to let people put them down and to do what they want.
Annabel Lee’s story is in the 1800s whereas Jazz’s is in modern times. Annabel is a strong heroine with a love interest that develops over the course of the novel. She also creates a bond with her father over time because of what is happening in the town and she figures out who he is and what he does. Jazz is a strong male lead with his love already there. Jazz breaks bonds with his father and his past life because he realizes how it is not right everything that is being done.
Both characters may be from different times but they are both similar and different in their own ways. Annabel Lee over time gains newfound friendships and a father she had never know. Jazz breaks his bond with his father and developed new friendships so that he can move on from his past.
