Hi all!
As we tend to read quite a few graphic novels but don’t want to do a full post for each one of them we decided to do weekly mini reviews to sum up the ones we’ve read recently and hopefully get more people interested in this fascinating genre. We’ve noticed that graphic novels go quite unnoticed in the book blogging community but some of them are phenomenal and deserve to be shared. Just as audio books can be an acquired reading format, so too are graphic novels.
We hope to share some of our thoughts and favourite reads with you in the hopes that it inspires more people to try this genre!
IN A WORLD OF BLUE
Skyward – One day, gravity on Earth suddenly became a fraction of what it is now. Twenty years later, humanity has adapted to its new low-gravity reality. And to Willa Fowler, a woman born just after G-day, it’s…well, it’s pretty awesome, actually. You can fly through the air! I mean, sure, you can also die if you jump too high. So you just don’t jump too high. And maybe don’t get mixed up in your Dad’s secret plan to bring gravity back that could get you killed…
My review –
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ /5 STARS
This story had such a simple premise of ‘Low G’ but it created a completely new world. One in which the fear of drifting away was inherently real and a daily fear. The dangerous nature of the world without gravity resulted in a society split apart in to the reckless fliers, agoraphobic safety-conscious folk and the rich ground walkers (capable of affording magnetic boots). It was very easy to get immersed in this new world and the GN was packed-full of action to keep me interested.
What let this GN down in my opinion was the inclusion of a trope of the duplicitous bad-guy being an old family friend who was a scientific researcher with Willa’s father. Their prediction that the earth would suffer Low G was laughed at but the subsequent occurrence Low G life on Earth solidified their scientific work as a legitimate theory. With Skyward’s perfect simplicity of a premise, I was expecting something a bit more unique for the ‘dangerous’ aspect of the story and this felt a bit overdone. However, it didn’t hamper the story completely. The plot line for this was developed well and still kept me interested through to the end.
While the main character Willa was such a capable young woman and deserved my full appreciation, the disability rep in Skyward completely captured my attention. My favourite character was Edison, a quadriplegic young man who had embraced the freedom offered by a Low G lifestyle. His witty humour and innate kindness completely stole my heart and had me excited to read the next volume in this series!
Worlds Unseen – 1906. William is ten years old when his family leaves London for Barellito, a small Italian fishing village. The quiet of the village will not last long, however, thanks to the ripples created by the arrival of William and his family. His own life, too, is about to be upturned, in this remarkable and wondrous new land where he will find new southern landscapes, a new kind of liberty, and above all new friends: Paolo, Nino, and the charming Lisa, united forever by an extraordinary event and a strange object…
My Review –
☆ / 5 STARS
The cover of this GN looks so cute. I was imagining that it would be an exciting adventure of childhood experiences and whimsy set apart by deeper themes of technology’s impact on the fishing trade and cultural assimilation. What I got wasn’t nearly as good as that sounds.
The story itself was pieced together in an almost incoherent manner that left the main character arc quite confusing to follow. The setting and culture were described quite well and were easy to imagine however, throughout the story there were so many elements that left me completely clueless that it took away my ability to understand the deeper messages in the text. Worlds Unseen spoke of technology’s impact on fishing as well as a small town that refused to accept outsiders however, I couldn’t tell which way the story lent in terms of approval for these factors.
There were instances in which absolutely random events happened in the midst of the story, as if to create a side-story of which we were not told the characters, events or time period. There was absolutely no connection or relevance to the main story line, that I could gather, and so this completely confused me.
The artistic aspect was the best part of my reading experience. The colours were vivid, the lines strong and the speech was well balanced on the page as a ratio to graphics. The panels were well placed and easy to follow.
ARC provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
// have you read any of these GNs? what were your thoughts on them? //
Skyward looks pretty good! Great review!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Thanks Evelyn! It was surprisingly good. I think they’re even looking to make a tv show on it? Although that’s been in development for a while now 🙂
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Awesome mini reviews, Jen! I was going to say that both of these look amazing but it’s too bad that the execution of Worlds Unseen didn’t match the beautiful cover. Incoherent storylines in graphic novels are the worst. It just throws everything off 🙈I’m definitely gonna check out Skyward though; it looks and sounds awesome!
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Thanks Dini! It was such a shame about Worlds Unseen. The story had so much potential and the graphics were so pretty. Hope you enjoy Skyward if you try it 🙂
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Both of the graphics for these look amazing! I love a good graphic novel and these look wonderful. Great review as always, Jen!
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The graphics were really great in these ones! Sometimes they’re not always as colourful and imaginative. Thanks Joanna! 😀
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[…] month I had the pleasure of buddy reading These Broken Stars with the gorgeous Jen from Nen and Jen – this book sounded like it was exactly my cup of tea. Star-crossed love? A hunky war […]
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I definitely think you’re right about graphic novels not getting talked about often in the book blogging community! Usually when I DO see them, it’s the ones that have been hyped up a lot recently. Skyward looks like it was really good! Great reviews!!
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Thanks Brittany! I completely agree 😀 I get a few ARCs on Netgalley and quite a few of them are SO GOOD but practically no one has ever heard of them. I’m hoping to help spread the word 😀 Jen
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Very pretty art and nice mini-review! Mini reviews are a great idea for graphic novels. Sometimes all I have to say about one can fit into a paragraph or two lol.
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Thanks Kitty Marie 🙂 This was my first mini review but it was fun! Graphic novels are great to read but you’re right that there’s not always that much to say about them 🙂 Jen
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Mini reviews are a great idea!!! Such a shame about that last one!!! The graphics looked super pretty though.
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The minis were quite fun! I’m keen to keep doing them every week or so when I have a few extra books I want to review and not enough days 😛 The graphics keep my attention even when a story’s bad so that’s always a positive in reading them. Thanks Emer!
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