Jordana Globerman’s debut graphic novel, Soul Machine, is a thought-provoking science fiction tale perfect for young adult readers aged 12 to 16. In a haunting post-apocalyptic world, teenage sisters Chloe and Lacey are among the last who can handcraft souls from a rare plant called breth. When their supply disappears, the monolithic MCorp steps in, forcing them to produce a synthetic substitute. Unwilling to compromise, the younger sister, Chloe, embarks on a dangerous journey to the corporate city of M-tropolis. She hopes to find genuine breth but instead uncovers a hidden resistance and confronts secrets about her family’s past that make her question everything she knows about her world and her own identity.
Soul Machine is a fantastic find for classrooms with a mix of reading abilities, especially for students who are reluctant readers or learning English. As a graphic novel, the story is powerfully driven by its illustrations. Globerman expertly uses changing color palettes to signal shifts in setting and mood, giving students strong visual anchors to track the narrative, which is a huge help for visual learners trying to grasp emotional undertones. The language itself is purposefully accessible, with dialogue built from simple and compound sentences that are easy to process. You won’t find students getting tripped up by confusing idioms; the text is refreshingly direct and literal. New vocabulary, like the synthetic soul “Digibreth,” is always introduced with strong visual context, allowing readers to infer meaning naturally. With its mature themes of corporate exploitation and personal identity, Soul Machine offers the depth that teenagers crave, packaged in a highly engaging and readable format. It’s no surprise that it has already earned high praise, including a starred review from School Library Journal, making it a smart and compelling addition to any school collection.
