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readthesparrow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I am not much of a YA or graphic novel reader. I'm just not the target demographic for YA and high school is typically not a super interesting setting for me, and graphic novels typically are paced in a way I do not really enjoy. Blackwater, however, did everything right for me.
The characters are wonderful. Their designs are not terribly complex but they are super fun on the page--I love Tony's pomp and little fangs especially. Every character, while obviously inspired by or referencing certain high school stereotypes, is given depth and nuance (including the bully). The excellent characterization and focus on character relationships is what really carries this title for me, I think; the plot itself is fine, but it's certainly not the star of the show. In this case, I think that's a good thing--a simpler, easy to follow (but still interesting) plot using familiar supernatural creatures whose lore broadly follows about what the reader is familiar with allows for more focus to be given to the characters.
Connected to the writing is the pacing. Again, normally pacing in graphic novels isn't my thing; it either feels rushed or over too soon. Blackwater, however, felt very well-paced. The story in this volume wrapped up on a satisfactory note, leaving me feeling like I had gotten a fully developed and well-executed story while still leaving possible openings for more to follow.
I look forward to more of Blackwater. The authors did a fantastic job and I would love to see where the character's story goes next. I would really advise anyone who is interested in queer YA to pick it up, even if they're not interested in horror (As the horror is present in elements but the goal of the story certainly isn't to horrify).
This graphic novel firmly lands itself in the catergory of "god, I wish I had this in high school." I'm glad it's here now.
The characters are wonderful. Their designs are not terribly complex but they are super fun on the page--I love Tony's pomp and little fangs especially. Every character, while obviously inspired by or referencing certain high school stereotypes, is given depth and nuance (including the bully). The excellent characterization and focus on character relationships is what really carries this title for me, I think; the plot itself is fine, but it's certainly not the star of the show. In this case, I think that's a good thing--a simpler, easy to follow (but still interesting) plot using familiar supernatural creatures whose lore broadly follows about what the reader is familiar with allows for more focus to be given to the characters.
Connected to the writing is the pacing. Again, normally pacing in graphic novels isn't my thing; it either feels rushed or over too soon. Blackwater, however, felt very well-paced. The story in this volume wrapped up on a satisfactory note, leaving me feeling like I had gotten a fully developed and well-executed story while still leaving possible openings for more to follow.
I look forward to more of Blackwater. The authors did a fantastic job and I would love to see where the character's story goes next. I would really advise anyone who is interested in queer YA to pick it up, even if they're not interested in horror (As the horror is present in elements but the goal of the story certainly isn't to horrify).
This graphic novel firmly lands itself in the catergory of "god, I wish I had this in high school." I'm glad it's here now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Medical content, Violence, and Body horror
bookishpriest's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Gun violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcohol
kj468's review against another edition
I received an arc from netgalley.
I had a hard time reading this, and ultimately won't be finishing. I read this through the netgalley shelf app, which
seemed to be the only option for reading it. However, lots of the pages had big white bars going horizontally across the
screen, even after I quit the app and restarted it. About 40 pages in it happened so frequently (pages 39, 41, 42, 44, 49-51, and more afterwards
all had the white bars), that I was completely unable to follow the plot.
Additionally, my copy of the arc was only 131 pages, despite Goodreads and StoryGraph listing the page number as 304, so I suspect this is a sample despite not being listed as such on netgalley.
This problem making the copy illegible began shortly after a troubling scene where one character (I presume a bully)
forcibly grabs a disabled character's wheelchair and pushes him in a lake. I am not a wheelchair user, and found this
extremely alarming; I understand this character is supposed to be a bully, but I wasn't prepared for blatant ableism.
As a result of these two issues, I will not be finishing this book. If my copy were legible, I would likely muddle through
until the end (at least of the sample) but because the content was uncomfortable, I won't be going through the trouble of obtaining a more legible copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an arc to review.
cw: ableism
I had a hard time reading this, and ultimately won't be finishing. I read this through the netgalley shelf app, which
seemed to be the only option for reading it. However, lots of the pages had big white bars going horizontally across the
screen, even after I quit the app and restarted it. About 40 pages in it happened so frequently (pages 39, 41, 42, 44, 49-51, and more afterwards
all had the white bars), that I was completely unable to follow the plot.
Additionally, my copy of the arc was only 131 pages, despite Goodreads and StoryGraph listing the page number as 304, so I suspect this is a sample despite not being listed as such on netgalley.
This problem making the copy illegible began shortly after a troubling scene where one character (I presume a bully)
forcibly grabs a disabled character's wheelchair and pushes him in a lake. I am not a wheelchair user, and found this
extremely alarming; I understand this character is supposed to be a bully, but I wasn't prepared for blatant ableism.
As a result of these two issues, I will not be finishing this book. If my copy were legible, I would likely muddle through
until the end (at least of the sample) but because the content was uncomfortable, I won't be going through the trouble of obtaining a more legible copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an arc to review.
cw: ableism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Thank you to net galley and Macmillan children publishing group for this arc in exchange for an honest review:
3.5 stars
Tony is the track star everyone loves and adores, Eli is the kid with a chronic illness who no one knows or cares to know about. He is always missing school because of the pain. Through unlikely circumstances the Eli reaches out an olive branch to Tony and the two become friends. But there is a something curious about Eli, and something even more mysterious going on in their small town of Blackwater.
I'm not sure I was able to see all of the graphic novel. From what I did read I really enjoyed the story of Tony and Eli. Tony being the tough track star, but really deep down is a nice guy is always one of my favorite characters. I also really liked how asthma was depicted in the graphic novel. Eli was also another great character. Myself growing up with a chronic illness I missed school a lot, lost friends left and right. so relating to him was very easy. And he is jewish!! The rep in the graphic novel was awesome to see. There was ableism and bullying, but you do see Tony working away from it during the novels progression.
Cw
Bullying
Ableism
chronic illness
animal death
emotional abuse
homophobia
3.5 stars
Tony is the track star everyone loves and adores, Eli is the kid with a chronic illness who no one knows or cares to know about. He is always missing school because of the pain. Through unlikely circumstances the Eli reaches out an olive branch to Tony and the two become friends. But there is a something curious about Eli, and something even more mysterious going on in their small town of Blackwater.
I'm not sure I was able to see all of the graphic novel. From what I did read I really enjoyed the story of Tony and Eli. Tony being the tough track star, but really deep down is a nice guy is always one of my favorite characters. I also really liked how asthma was depicted in the graphic novel. Eli was also another great character. Myself growing up with a chronic illness I missed school a lot, lost friends left and right. so relating to him was very easy. And he is jewish!! The rep in the graphic novel was awesome to see. There was ableism and bullying, but you do see Tony working away from it during the novels progression.
Cw
Bullying
Ableism
chronic illness
animal death
emotional abuse
homophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Toxic friendship
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
2.0
I don't even know how to review this, because apparently the NetGalley eARC I got is only a sampler, even though I can't find anywhere that states this on NetGalley? I can only assume this based off of the fact that the GR listing says it's 304 pages, while my copy was barely over 100 pages and ended very abruptly. On one hand, I hesitate to rate it based on the fact that, by that logic, I only got to read about 33% of it; on the other hand, I strongly disliked the 100-ish pages I got to read of it and have no interest whatsoever in the finished product.
I appreciate the immensely diverse character cast, but disliked every character I met so far besides Marcia, and found the plot difficult to follow and extremely rushed. This isn't for me, but I'm sure it will better suit a lot of other readers.
✨ Representation: Tony is queer, BIPOC (I saw other reviewers say Afro-Latinx but did not see this for myself & cannot ensure it), and has asthma; Eli has a chronic illness and is trans (according to other reviews - again, haven't seen it for myself & cannot ensure it)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Ableism
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s for an advanced copy of this to review! Always on the lookout for new YA graphic novels, so I was excited to start this one. If you’re a fan of slow burn horror, this one should definitely be on your TBR!
What I appreciated about this book is the way the spookiness kinds of winds its way into the story. It doesn’t happen outright, it’s subtle. Little things here and there put into the frames. It’s definite a slow build, which is okay in graphic novel format! I was intrigued about where the story was going to go, even if a lot of the other characters seemed oblivious.
I don’t think I read the entire graphic novel because the ending felt kind of abrupt. The story was over too soon! For that reason, I’ll definitely check out a final copy when it comes out to give it my full opinion. I also wanted a bit more interaction between Eli and Tony. It’s clear there’s something there, but their relationship isn’t at the forefront. There should be more of it!
All in all, I think there’s a lot of potential here, and I’ll definitely check out the final version when it comes out later this month.
-------
-------
There's a lot of build up in this, and then it ends on a cliffhanger. Hopefully that's not where it's actually going to end? But stayed tuned for a full review to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Ableism, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Homophobia
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book and then to Henry, Holt, and Co for sending me a finished copy!
In the town of Blackwater, Tony is a popular track star with a crush on the quiet, nerdy Eli. But something is happening in the woods, and Eli might know what it is.
So, weirdly enough, the netgalley arc of this that I got only had half the book? Either that or it didn't download properly. So I read the e-arc and thought...what a terrible ending! It felt like it was the middle of the story. I was so disappointed because I felt like it had so much potential...Then, the publisher sent me a finished copy and I was like, "wow, this sure is bigger than it seemed." Cue me realizing I had only read half the book. So I read the second half, and my disappointment went away because this was fabulous!
Creepy and cute--I love the budding relationship between confident Tony and shy Eli. I love the chronic illness rep with Tony's asthma and Eli's autoimmune disease. I love the character development that happened in this book! The plot was interesting and I liked how it turned out. I wish the werewolf aspects had been developed a little more, but I did like that part overall!
The characters are really what made this book stand out to me!
In the town of Blackwater, Tony is a popular track star with a crush on the quiet, nerdy Eli. But something is happening in the woods, and Eli might know what it is.
So, weirdly enough, the netgalley arc of this that I got only had half the book? Either that or it didn't download properly. So I read the e-arc and thought...what a terrible ending! It felt like it was the middle of the story. I was so disappointed because I felt like it had so much potential...Then, the publisher sent me a finished copy and I was like, "wow, this sure is bigger than it seemed." Cue me realizing I had only read half the book. So I read the second half, and my disappointment went away because this was fabulous!
Creepy and cute--I love the budding relationship between confident Tony and shy Eli. I love the chronic illness rep with Tony's asthma and Eli's autoimmune disease. I love the character development that happened in this book! The plot was interesting and I liked how it turned out. I wish the werewolf aspects had been developed a little more, but I did like that part overall!
The characters are really what made this book stand out to me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Ableism, Animal death, and Bullying
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Chronic illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Body horror
armontheroad's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Blackwater was a very fun time! If you’re looking for a YA supernatural graphic novel with ghosts, werewolves, and an Achillean romance, this is for you! I adored the fact both our protagonists were chronically ill. We have Eli who is a trans boy with an autoimmune disorder that leaves him isolated from his family and peers. Then there is popular Tony who is an asthmatic Boricua hiding his chronic illness at school so he can continue to be popular. Eli can see ghosts and Tony becomes a werewolf after being bitten by one in the woods.
Not going to lie, I didn’t know if I could get on board with the romance after something Eli does at the start of the book, but I’m really glad I could. Romance aside, I really appreciated the friend group that is formed!!
My only criticism is the art style. The art style isn’t for me but that has no impact on my review. However, the graphic novel is in black and white. This usually isn’t an issue but in this volume, it was very difficult to see what was going on, especially when we were following our characters of color. Other than that, I think this is worth your time! Cannot wait to have this in my book collection and desperately hope we get another volume in this world!
CWs/TWs: Gun violence, animal death, homophobia, ableism, bullying, alcoholism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Gun violence and Bullying
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, and Ableism
bookish_burrow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I received an e-ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review from the publisher and NetGalley
Wow?? I finished up the first volume and was left a little in shock! The ending of the e-ARC was on a MAJOR cliffhanger. This story has queer, chronic illness, and POC rep which I absolutely love to see in literature. The illustrations matched the spooky vibe of the story SO SO WELL! I also am a massive enemy to lover trope fan so this was right up my alley. My only disappointment with the story was that I felt it ended so abruptly, the characters stories were unfolding little by little, and then suddenly the story ended. I really wish we would have gotten to see the characters' stories unfold and see the characters built up more before the cliffhanger. Either way, the story did leave me wanting more. I am interested to see where this story goes however because the ending was so abrupt it was tough for me to be able to really connect with the characters because I felt like I was in the dark about who they were, I really liked how there was quite a bit of frame with no dialogue but I really struggled to connect those frames with the bigger picture of who the characters were and their intentions that I was reading in the dialogue between the characters. That being said, I am still excited to see how this story unfolds
Wow?? I finished up the first volume and was left a little in shock! The ending of the e-ARC was on a MAJOR cliffhanger. This story has queer, chronic illness, and POC rep which I absolutely love to see in literature. The illustrations matched the spooky vibe of the story SO SO WELL! I also am a massive enemy to lover trope fan so this was right up my alley. My only disappointment with the story was that I felt it ended so abruptly, the characters stories were unfolding little by little, and then suddenly the story ended. I really wish we would have gotten to see the characters' stories unfold and see the characters built up more before the cliffhanger. Either way, the story did leave me wanting more. I am interested to see where this story goes however because the ending was so abrupt it was tough for me to be able to really connect with the characters because I felt like I was in the dark about who they were, I really liked how there was quite a bit of frame with no dialogue but I really struggled to connect those frames with the bigger picture of who the characters were and their intentions that I was reading in the dialogue between the characters. That being said, I am still excited to see how this story unfolds
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Ableism
Moderate: Chronic illness
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