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aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
MS appropriate, fun story with great illustrations.
Themes: importance of family and friends, class structure (rich vs. poor), technology vs. humanity, energy issues
Themes: importance of family and friends, class structure (rich vs. poor), technology vs. humanity, energy issues
bibliovolubile's review against another edition
4.0
Je me suis plongée dans «Space Boulettes», le sourire à l'âme, prête à me laisser délicieusement surprendre par l'univers de Craig Thompson (j'ai adoré «Blankets» et ai été soufflée par «Habibi»). Or, si, cette fois encore, l'audace et le farfelu étaient au rendez-vous, j'ai été freinée dans mon enthousiasme par le fossé linguistique creusé par la traduction vers un français franchouillard. Ça m'a fait décrocher instantanément, et j'ai dû déployer tout mon courage de lectrice invétérée pour poursuivre ma lecture jusqu'à la fin (les personnages sympathiques m'y ont bien sûr aidé).
J'ose donc une évaluation plutôt sévère, mais tiens à préciser qu'elle est due en grande partie au fait que la traduction française, même résultant d'efforts soutenus tels qu'expliqués longuement en fin d'ouvrage, n'était pas à la hauteur de la subtilité de l'humour de Craig Thompson.
J'envisage de le lire dès que possible en version originale, afin de voir si ma perception sera différente...
MISE À JOUR, suivant la lecture de la version originale anglaise.
En langue originale, le ton de Thompson regagne toute sa verve et son fin humour! Une heureuse relecture donc, qui m'a fait ajouter sans hésiter une étoile à mon évaluation.
Pour lire le billet que j'ai écrit au sujet de ce roman graphique, sur lililesmerveilles.com, c'est par ici!
http://www.lililesmerveilles.com/2017/04/space-dumplins.html
[To read my lililesmerveilles.com's blog post about this graphic novel, follow the above link - post is in french]
J'ose donc une évaluation plutôt sévère, mais tiens à préciser qu'elle est due en grande partie au fait que la traduction française, même résultant d'efforts soutenus tels qu'expliqués longuement en fin d'ouvrage, n'était pas à la hauteur de la subtilité de l'humour de Craig Thompson.
J'envisage de le lire dès que possible en version originale, afin de voir si ma perception sera différente...
MISE À JOUR, suivant la lecture de la version originale anglaise.
En langue originale, le ton de Thompson regagne toute sa verve et son fin humour! Une heureuse relecture donc, qui m'a fait ajouter sans hésiter une étoile à mon évaluation.
Pour lire le billet que j'ai écrit au sujet de ce roman graphique, sur lililesmerveilles.com, c'est par ici!
http://www.lililesmerveilles.com/2017/04/space-dumplins.html
[To read my lililesmerveilles.com's blog post about this graphic novel, follow the above link - post is in french]
the8th's review against another edition
3.0
Craig Thompson's attempt at a not-miserable graphic novel is quite cute, strange & light-hearted. Though not his best work (because I love 'miserable'), it's worth the read for sure.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
3.0
Aside from the whale diarrhea, it was pretty good.
Seriously. Whale diarrhea.
I loved the strong family dynamic, the quirky characters, the friendships formed, the sense of adventure and the setting. Strong female characters, especially in graphic novels, are the BEST!
sqeeker's review against another edition
2.0
- I think younger audiences would enjoy this one, but it wasn't for me.
- It was weird, but not good weird.
- I wasn't into any of the characters.
- It was weird, but not good weird.
- I wasn't into any of the characters.
amandawije's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe I'm just not a graphic novel person. I continue to be underwhelmed by the few I choose to pick up. I thought this was a strange storyline and I didn't like some parts that were in-your-face political and was at times offended.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Professional Review:
Craig Thompson is known in his field for sprawling and complex graphic novels. Here, he leaves the adult content of [b: Blankets|25179|Blankets|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327627384s/25179.jpg|781193] and [b: Habibi|10138607|Habibi|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327899014s/10138607.jpg|15036678], and goes back to the narrative territory of his earliest published work, [b: Goodbye, Chunky Rice|37264|Good-Bye, Chunky Rice|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386928437s/37264.jpg|1931692]. Violet is the child of working class parents, struggling to survive in a space-based society. They live in a mobile-home park – in space. Her dad works in logging – of space whale poop. Her mom works in a factory – on an asteroid. One day, a galaxy-level crisis erupts – whale diarrhea is flooding the locations in space where sentient beings live and work. Then, Violet’s dad goes missing. Thompson’s illustrations are famously detailed – he draws out every item in a trash heap, every thrill-seeker in a water park – and this dense style feels almost like a [b: Where’s Waldo|344189|Where's Waldo?|Martin Handford|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388188944s/344189.jpg|1760187] page in some panels. Parts of this story are familiar – the outer space setting, the plucky female protagonist, the alien sidekicks, the stereotypically attractive adult human characters, the epic quest... And when compared with similar stories – Ben Hatke’s [b: Zita the Spacegirl|8879121|Zita the Spacegirl (Zita the Spacegirl, #1)|Ben Hatke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388260704s/8879121.jpg|13754899] is a prime example – this venture into children’s graphic novels does not necessarily break new ground or bring the genre to new heights. However, expectations are inflated for a giant like Thompson, and this is excellent addition to the ranks of high quality graphic novels for kids. Best suited to elementary, middle school, and public libraries.
My own private thoughts (internet-version):
As I hint at in the review above, I couldn't help being struck by the similarities between this and Zita. The covers are eerily alike. The general setting is the same. The plucky young protagonist and her band of nonhumans ring familiar.
And it feels odd that such a monster in the GN universe would create something SOOO similar to something already out there. Granted, it's not like THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE, but it feels too much like a copycat situation, regardless of the actual provenance of the story. Which is all beneath my expectations for the dude who showed me that I could be a professional GN appreciator as a grown-up.
And when I do accept that this is just Thompson's take on a genre, it still falls a little short. It feels like a story written from an adult gaze. The young characters are a bit caricatured, like the author is winking at us about how cute they are. There are political undertones. And we're a bit too concerned with how the adults are feeling through it all.
I also want to reemphasize the heteronormativity, all-white cast, and stereotypically-attractive bodies of the human characters. This is not only counter to the political messaging of the book, but - on the race side - an unrealistic view of what skin tones would be like in a future in space.
All of that stuff is under the surface, though. The kids will like it. I enjoyed reading it.
In keeping with Thompson's jam, this is hefty. I'm trying to remember EVER reading this long of a standalone GN for kids. That's a niche. Which is good.
I just wish it blew me away a bit more.
Craig Thompson is known in his field for sprawling and complex graphic novels. Here, he leaves the adult content of [b: Blankets|25179|Blankets|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327627384s/25179.jpg|781193] and [b: Habibi|10138607|Habibi|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327899014s/10138607.jpg|15036678], and goes back to the narrative territory of his earliest published work, [b: Goodbye, Chunky Rice|37264|Good-Bye, Chunky Rice|Craig Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386928437s/37264.jpg|1931692]. Violet is the child of working class parents, struggling to survive in a space-based society. They live in a mobile-home park – in space. Her dad works in logging – of space whale poop. Her mom works in a factory – on an asteroid. One day, a galaxy-level crisis erupts – whale diarrhea is flooding the locations in space where sentient beings live and work. Then, Violet’s dad goes missing. Thompson’s illustrations are famously detailed – he draws out every item in a trash heap, every thrill-seeker in a water park – and this dense style feels almost like a [b: Where’s Waldo|344189|Where's Waldo?|Martin Handford|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388188944s/344189.jpg|1760187] page in some panels. Parts of this story are familiar – the outer space setting, the plucky female protagonist, the alien sidekicks, the stereotypically attractive adult human characters, the epic quest... And when compared with similar stories – Ben Hatke’s [b: Zita the Spacegirl|8879121|Zita the Spacegirl (Zita the Spacegirl, #1)|Ben Hatke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388260704s/8879121.jpg|13754899] is a prime example – this venture into children’s graphic novels does not necessarily break new ground or bring the genre to new heights. However, expectations are inflated for a giant like Thompson, and this is excellent addition to the ranks of high quality graphic novels for kids. Best suited to elementary, middle school, and public libraries.
My own private thoughts (internet-version):
As I hint at in the review above, I couldn't help being struck by the similarities between this and Zita. The covers are eerily alike. The general setting is the same. The plucky young protagonist and her band of nonhumans ring familiar.
And it feels odd that such a monster in the GN universe would create something SOOO similar to something already out there. Granted, it's not like THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE, but it feels too much like a copycat situation, regardless of the actual provenance of the story. Which is all beneath my expectations for the dude who showed me that I could be a professional GN appreciator as a grown-up.
And when I do accept that this is just Thompson's take on a genre, it still falls a little short. It feels like a story written from an adult gaze. The young characters are a bit caricatured, like the author is winking at us about how cute they are. There are political undertones. And we're a bit too concerned with how the adults are feeling through it all.
I also want to reemphasize the heteronormativity, all-white cast, and stereotypically-attractive bodies of the human characters. This is not only counter to the political messaging of the book, but - on the race side - an unrealistic view of what skin tones would be like in a future in space.
All of that stuff is under the surface, though. The kids will like it. I enjoyed reading it.
In keeping with Thompson's jam, this is hefty. I'm trying to remember EVER reading this long of a standalone GN for kids. That's a niche. Which is good.
I just wish it blew me away a bit more.
adru's review against another edition
Kyllap on asi unisuses, aga see oli nii kirev ja energiline, et kõrvus hakkas kumisema. Siiski tore paralleel "Leviathan wakesile".
danicamidlil's review against another edition
1.0
I'll admit the artwork is fun. The story... let's see:
Poop
Moby Dick
Poop
Bible
Poop
LSD-type of dream "visions"
...
...
Yeah, you can skip it.
Poop
Moby Dick
Poop
Bible
Poop
LSD-type of dream "visions"
...
...
Yeah, you can skip it.