Tag: graphic novel

Book Review

Moon Reads: Squire

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Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: A copy of this book was provided upon request from the publisher but I also bought a final copy, which is packed somewhere in a box currently.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

I’ve been following Sara and her artwork for ages, and when I found out Squire was in the making, I was super excited about it.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint and I can’t wait for more of it to come!

Squire follows Aiza, who dreams of becoming a Knight because it is a huge honour and also because it will probably mean people bully her less and she will be popular and a heroine. And finally, because she can then achieve Knighthood and have full citizenship. Initially, her parents are against it, reminding her of her heritage and why she is shunned, but in the end, they let her go.

At the training, she meets up with a few rivals and several other hopeful youngsters wanting to be knights. But as much as the training is hard, she is keeping her identity secret and this causes tensions.

To say much more would be to spoil the plot but I loved the many characters shown through it and their own unique stories and motivations, but not only that, the artwork is fun, the story has a lot to tell and it is, in general, a good read that I breezed through.

If you want new adventures of someone dreaming of becoming a Knight, of defending their country and the conundrum of their identity against what the values of this knighthood are, look no further, with fascinating and intricate artwork [some of those backgrounds are stunning] and a cast of characters that would provide you, someone to cheer for regardless of what your personal favourite type of character is, this I a book not to miss and read as soon as possible.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Horizon Zero Dawn Liberation

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Horizon Zero Dawn: Liberation by Anne Toole, Elmer Damaso, Bryan Valenza and Jim Campbell

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: A friend requested it form the publisher for me because I love Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Frobidden West and the whole story and world.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

If you have read the first main book on the Sunhawk and a little bit of a taster before Horizon Forbiddne West came out, I reviewed the volumes here. It was a good book delving on Tallanah and finding new beasts, which gave a good introduction to what the new game would bring.

Liberation is different in that it is instead giving us more backstory, the parts of Erend’s story and how his sister became the amazing person she was, how they ended up being part of the Oseram who helped Sun King Avad dethrone his father, and all that. The art as usual is amazing, and the story was interesting as we have Erend trying to tell his story while they track one of the relevant characters to the past of him and his sister. Aloy is being very much herself, which I liked because she definitely sometimes feels like she has bigger priorities and bigger things, and then it is her friends who love her who bring her down back tot he world and go “hey, you have things to worry about, but so do we, and we can help each other, no one is an island”.

It was just a very very nice comic for me to read, it added to the lore, explained the relationship and love Sun King Avad had for Ersa, and just how much everyone could admire her and why. It showed too why Erend has big shoes to fill and how unfit for it he is and yet how hard he tries. And of course, it shows us how different Aloy is to this and how much she tries to understand this part fo the story and world that she was never a part of because of how she was an Outcast and set aside and then suddenly had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders without really choosing to. And yes, we know she could have said no, but that would not be true to herself. She ahs a big heart despite sometimes forgetting it.

Highly recommend adding this book to your comic collection and to your Aloy and her friend’s collection. It is as good or even better than the first one.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Fox & Rabbit

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Fox & Rabbit and Fox & Rabbit Make Believe by Beth Ferry and Gergely Dudas

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Series: Fox & Rabbit, first two volumes

Read before: No

Ownership: Found the first in Forbidden Planet, could not resist, read it ordered the second one and third.

This was an impulse buy because it had a fox and a rabbit on the cover and they are the main characters, plus they are relatively small books and easy to read. What can I say? In the same line of comics like Jelly & Narwhal, we have Fox and Rabbit who are best friends and have adventures together.

The very first one has a few episodes of stories of them having adventures and it also introduces us to other friends like the robin who is always thinking about food. I really loved the robin. Or the turtle that is always late and asking what they have missed. But overall the adventures are wholesome and sweet, and they just were a nice pause and lovely to read.

The second book picks up a little after the first and is all about using your imagination and having adventures in a variety of ways which was adorable, a bit more “fast” paced than the first book but still good.

As much as they are simple books and easy to read, they are good at touching on confidence, friendship and how to navigate certain situations, so it was lovely to read, plus I accidentally shared this with my best friend and there was a chapter that was perfect for our friendship so it felt particularly fated to be a good book.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Last Witch

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The Last Witch by McCreery, Glass and Nesterenko

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Saw it in Forbidden Planet last month, couldn’t resist it, bought it.

Ok, so apparently this was initially released in smaller episodes, but now it is a full book and honestly, it is a very interesting story of a young girl who goes on a dare to a tower where a witch lives, but I mean, it’s all a tale, right? right?

It gets even better, or should I say worse, when her little brother joins in and lo and behold the witch was not a story, so there is danger. Turns out this sets a chain reaction kinda thing that turns into a quest to become a witcha nd defeat a big enemy that is trying hard to destroy the world, and so we follow our main character around the “world” and on her quest to learn, master her powers, and save as many people as she can.

The reason it is not a five fox is that it has some continuity problems that kept me scratching my head or absolute blanks in the story where I genuinely had no clue where it had gone. But the story is good and the artwork interesting, it does start quite slow and then suddenly everything is happening. That was also a downside. We get so many pages of slow world-building and her friendship with townpeople, but once she is on her quest you barely get some pages of some parts of the action and this upset me, because I get you don’t need a blow by blow breakdown but there is just not enough to understand fully what is going and it was just a bit like “hey, you could put more details since we had a lot of prologue”.

But it is still a fun story, so if you need a witchy graphic novel with old story kinda legend vibes, then this is a good choice.

Book Review

MoonReads: Garlic & the Vampire

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Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulsen

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Ordered on my own

This was an adorable little graphic novel. The premise is that a witch has enchanted her vegetable switch personality and they are sentient and her children, so we have Garlic who wants to be brave and a few others. Everything is as normal until they see smoke coming out of the castle and the legends of a vampire being there crop up into the gossip thread running through the town and among the vegetables and fruits the witch has.

So Garlic ends up being volunteered to help fight the vampire or at least confront it because you know, everyone knows that vampires don’t like garlic. Or so is the overall logic.

The story basically covers how garlic goes on her little adventure. And honestly, this was a very enjoyable sweet book. The artwork gives it a magical but like old school matter of fact feel while the plot makes it even better. Each of the vegetables has an interesting personality and the overall town and witch and vegetable interaction are brilliant.

To say if garlic actually finds a vampire and what happens would be to spoil the story but I honestly loved the idea of it and the execution of it. But I can definitely say it is an underrated read and worth exploring as a graphic novel for all ages.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow

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The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered

A while ago I reviewed The Okay Witch, which was a refreshing new graphic novel with a lovely story about family and coming into your magic powers. And then, when I saw there was a second one, I immediately preordered it.

In this sequel, Moth Hush already has magic powers, but as much as it has changed her life, in the same way it hasn’t changed her life much. She is still getting bullied at school, still a misfit and no one seems to even know she saved the day in summer because she saved it so well no one knew about it.

What is even worse is that she starts her first day to school matching with the dorkiest most ridiculous teacher, who then catches her mum’s attention and they start dating, making it even worse for poor Moth. She is so tired of magic being so awesome and yet being quite useless and not making her life better, why cant she have a better life?

So when a mysterious charm promises to help her become a new version of herself, more confident, cool and popular, Moth is attracted to it like a moth to the flame [yes, I couldn’t resist that, sorry for the bad pun use]. But is magic really the answer to her problems or is it maybe a little more complicated than that, and what could go wrong by this suddenly very well timed and placed charm making it to her life just then?

Avoiding spoilers I have to say that the book was lovely, it comes with a refresher of what happened previously and then gives you the story. The biggest thing for me was that there was a lot of tell in the first half of the book, adding lore and stories but most of it is spoken by the characters and therefore it felt a bit slow to read through it when it was just characters walking through a museum kind of thing.

However, it does pick up quite well and recover from this by the second half of the story and then it gets very interesting, and I liked the whole development of the charm and everything else, worth a read, and I recommend that if you haven’t read the first one yet, you should buy both and enjoy some witchy magical stories!

Book Review

Moon Reads: I am NOT Starfire

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I am NOT Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read Before: No

Ownership: Preordered because I like Starfire and the art fo Yoshi Yoshitani

Spoilers: Free of spoilers but will discuss plot.

I was really into Teen Titans when I was younger (the original Cartoon Network ones were so cute) and therefore I have a soft spot for them and when I saw Yoshi Yoshitani was the artist for this I had to get it.

The premise is that Starfire’s daughter is most certainly not like Starfire. Mandy is more of an outcast, less of an extrovert, prefers black and darkness and not the fame and bubbly spirit that her mum is. And also, she is keeping secrets form Starfire who is trying to save the world and keep her daughter well.

Things suddenly get in motion when Mandy gets paired up with other class crush, Claire for a project and therefore starts to feel like she’s making friend,s but also, Starfire’s past is catching up with her and may affect Mandy, and Mandy may have to make big decisions before she feels ready.

If anything this comic is a love letter to Starfire, to not knowing fully your identity, maybe of being first-generation and trying to figure out how to fit in the world but also with the expectations of your family. And it is about being mixed and having doubts, cracks in your identity. It was a very interesting exploration of various themes and at the same time you could see it as a very cute romance and fun superhero book. To me it was both and the art was amazing, alongside a very interesting plot.

Recommended for Teen Titans fans, and anyone who wants a wacky fun superhero and family, and identity graphic novel. I sped through this one and then shared with my friends so they could enjoy it too.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Incredible Doom [vol 1]

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Incredible Doom [vol 1] by Matthe Bogart and Jesse Holden

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself

Content warnings: Violence, domestic abuse, drugs, alcohol, gaslighting, manipulation, bullying, the list is quite long

Accidentally I am doing a theme for the past few weeks of the choice of books to review, and Incredible Doom fits well as a graphic novel counterpart to Run Rebel.

Incredible Doom focuses on four teenagers discovering the power of the internet, old-style forums, and friendship in a harsh world.

If you wonder why a lot of people connected through the internet and it boomed quickly, or if you yourself used to spend your nights messaging virtual friends in forums and finding connections to them, this is a graphic novel for you.

We have Allison who has a manipulative abusive father that tries to keep her as a child and unable to leave, so she finds friends through the internet and her computer while complying with the demand of her father, until ti becomes too much and her new online friend agrees to run away with her, trying to escape her father.

On the other side of the story, we have Richard who has just joined a new school and makes friends with Tina, who is small but fierce and punk, and this will shake his whole world, the place he fits and potentially even more, but in turn, he will shake the world he’s been introduced to back.

A story that is in a way about old times but also that lives through time in the internet and may still apply even if it isn’t now forums but other apps and means to communicate, you may still find the connections that keep you alive while your world falls apart.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Séance Tea Party

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Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Owned

Spoiler Free: Not entirely, major plot points will be mentioned or touched on but not the ending.

I have a fondness for graphic novels, and one about ghosts and tea parties sounded right up my street! Plus just look at the artwork and it becomes clear it was irresistible.

Séance Tea Party is in broad strokes about friendship, identity and that awkward stage between still being a child and becoming a teenager.

Lora is slowly seeing her circle of friends disappear as their interests just do not coincide. She prefers playing on the swings and using her imagination, while her friends suddenly are interested in romance and looks and other things she has no interest in. Tea parties are better, so why not host one for ghosts and maybe try to invite one to the tea party?

When this actually works and Lora discovers Alexa, the ghost of a young girl, her friendship problems are solved, or at least that’s what Lora thinks, but is a ghost that will not be able to grow up ever the kind of friend Lora really needs, or is there maybe more to just tea parties that make up a friendship?

As Lora and Alexa explore their identity, their past, present and future together and on their own, the story takes us through finding our place in that stage of growing up when we don’t want to grow up and yet we also want very much to be a grown up, and such contradictions can wreak havoc.

It is a sweet story with a hint of magic, ghosts and a lot of tea and imagination, which makes it an adorable read that will make you want to bake a cake and invite your friends over for a cup of tea.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Quarantine Comix

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Quarantine Comix by Rachael Smith

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered since it sounded interesting and I was ina comic/graphic novel mood.

Quarantine Comix was born out of the dread created by the pandemic and being put into quarantine/lockdown, so Rachael started drawing. The first few comics are more or less about how the pandemic hit her and her life and how much she misses her boyfriend, and to be honest those first few pages weren’t that good or entertaining, but I could understand the feeling behind them and therefore I kept going.

The comics and panels get more relatable and you can see she starts looking back and making it a bit more fun and interesting rather than just staying in bed and being filled with existensial dread. Whcih meant I ended up taking pictures of the pages and sharing them with friends because I found them relatable but also amusing and I could sympatise.

Like for example the above made me laugh, in all honesty I didn’t feel I had to go back to bookshops and have not gone back to one just yet because I do not deem it essential. I do deem essential having books, so I kept well stocked. But I did completely relate with the “what am I meant to read?” and then being surrounded by books. At times nothing I owned seemd to do the trcik but slowly that is getting easier as life becomes its own new normal.

And I think that is what makes the comics work, they shift to a new normal, and you can relate to them in one way or they remind you of a friend or family member and a situation experienced in the last year or so, and therefore I feel like this would be a fun gift to give to some friends as a “meet up after the quarantine” in a share the feelings way, but it is also a nice little graphic novel about how normal has changed and we adapt.