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ljrinaldi's review
2.0
Lois Lane, to me, is the hero for little girls to look up to. A strong, independent journalist, with strong skills in sleuthing. And, I suppose she had to start somewhere, but this story, of where she started being interested in journalism just felt off to me. There was nothing of the future Lois here, nothing at all. Yes, she was forceful, but in a very, very annoying way. This took me a while to read it, I kept starting and stopping, because I didn't like this version of Lois as a young girl, and I was bored with it, frankly.
The basic story is the Lois wants to win a contest, and her best friend just want to hang out with her, and solve mysteries. There are also a few other people thrown in for good measure, but Lois misunderstands everything, and is super annoying.
When the writers wrote about young Wonder Woman, that was a growing story, and she was generally good at heart, and you could see the woman she would grow up into. In this, I didn't. Added to this, that Lois was annoying, did I mention how annoying she was, and I didn't want to finish reading this, even to figure out who the villain, so to speak was.
So, unless you are a completeist, on this young versions of future comic characters, I would pass on this one.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
The basic story is the Lois wants to win a contest, and her best friend just want to hang out with her, and solve mysteries. There are also a few other people thrown in for good measure, but Lois misunderstands everything, and is super annoying.
When the writers wrote about young Wonder Woman, that was a growing story, and she was generally good at heart, and you could see the woman she would grow up into. In this, I didn't. Added to this, that Lois was annoying, did I mention how annoying she was, and I didn't want to finish reading this, even to figure out who the villain, so to speak was.
So, unless you are a completeist, on this young versions of future comic characters, I would pass on this one.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
meredithmc's review
3.0
I was so excited to see a Lois Lane graphic novel being added to the DC Zoom line-up. Unfortunately, I didn't really like this as much as I expected to. Lois was rather annoying and unlikeable at times. I do think it's a good starting point for more Lois graphic novels, especially with the ending. The art is the highlight of the book! It's bright, fun, colorful, and extremely engaging.
nushrika's review
2.0
This rating is based on an ARC provided by Netgalley / DC Comics. I thought I would enjoy this as much as it’s predecessors but I found Lois Lane to be a terrible character. I understand how her personality ties into the plot and mystery but she’s so cruel to her friends. I did love the illustrations, just didn’t care for the story.
jmbz38's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
panda_incognito's review
1.0
In this juvenile graphic novel, Lois Lane is a toxic, abusive friend who yells at, lies to, interrupts, steamrolls over, and sabotages the people around her. She wants to win a social media Friendship Challenge, but her obsession with her world's version of YouTube just alienates her friends, and she refuses to listen or care. She is also petty, jealous, and vindictive. This is not the Lois Lane that anyone knows or loves, but is a child who could easily warrant a psychiatric intervention.
The mystery is extremely shallow and light, and the book mostly revolves around unresolved friend drama. Lois is absolutely horrible, and her friends should not accept her behavior. Kristen, her supposed best friend, takes the brunt of everything, to the point where Lois deliberately sabotages This book had already completely lost me, but that was the final straw.
Kristen needs help. Someone needs to help her get out of this toxic relationship. The way that Lois treats her is completely unacceptable, and the fact that Kristen feels a need to change her own emotions and abruptly change her mind about a strong personal desire in order to satisfy her abuser is a gigantic red flag. If this part of the story had led Lois to recognize her grave faults, as I had anticipated, this could have been different. However, Lois still gets what she wants at her friend's expense, and never faces a reckoning with what a horrible person she is.
The only semblance of conflict resolution that this book offers is images of Lois and Kristen hugging each other and exclaiming, "I LOVE YOU!" more than once. Unfortunately, declarations of love do not resolve abusive relationships. Lois never takes responsibility for her behavior, and the friendship is completely dependent on Kristen's choice to be long-suffering and put up with the interruptions, the demands, the sabotage, the yelling, the jealousy, the exploitative emphasis on social media, and the complete disregard for her feelings.
The only possible use I can see for this book is as an example of bullying and toxic friendships. Adults and children could read this together to discuss the problematic dynamics and what the girls could have done differently, but this is not a book that I would ever recommend to any demographic. Readers could recognize the book's flaws and be discerning, but there isn't much story apart from them to make it worthwhile, and some children may see abusive dynamics from their own lives reflected here without any positive message or example of how to handle a friend or family member who behaves like Lois does. I would also hate for a child to read this and thereby justify their horrible behavior to someone else, thinking that their friend should just be as understanding as Kristen is.
I honestly do not understand how this book ever got published. It is full of gigantic red flags and awful messages, and even though the art is cute, absolutely nothing can make up for what a controlling, abusive jerk this version of Lois Lane is. People who are interested in reading about the character in a modern setting are much better off pursuing Gwenda Bond's fabulous YA series, which begins with the book [b:Fallout|23110163|Fallout (Lois Lane, #1)|Gwenda Bond|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418907660l/23110163._SX50_.jpg|42657804]. Bond portrays a teenage Lois Lane in an interesting, authentic, relatable way, and the books are so clean that they are appropriate for middle grade readers as well. The YA series also focuses on the journalistic elements of Lois Lane's story, whereas this book only includes a journalistic angle by incorporating a side character with an internship. Please check out Gwenda Bond's series, and don't waste your time with this book.
The mystery is extremely shallow and light, and the book mostly revolves around unresolved friend drama. Lois is absolutely horrible, and her friends should not accept her behavior. Kristen, her supposed best friend, takes the brunt of everything, to the point where Lois deliberately sabotages
Spoiler
Kristen's chance to go to summer camp, just because she wants her home for the summer. Kristen is devastated, because she desperately wanted to go and had worked very hard to convince her parents to let her go in the first place, but then she abruptly changes her mind, acting like she is 100% fine with having adventures with Lois as she stays home that summer.Kristen needs help. Someone needs to help her get out of this toxic relationship. The way that Lois treats her is completely unacceptable, and the fact that Kristen feels a need to change her own emotions and abruptly change her mind about a strong personal desire in order to satisfy her abuser is a gigantic red flag. If this part of the story had led Lois to recognize her grave faults, as I had anticipated, this could have been different. However, Lois still gets what she wants at her friend's expense, and never faces a reckoning with what a horrible person she is.
The only semblance of conflict resolution that this book offers is images of Lois and Kristen hugging each other and exclaiming, "I LOVE YOU!" more than once. Unfortunately, declarations of love do not resolve abusive relationships. Lois never takes responsibility for her behavior, and the friendship is completely dependent on Kristen's choice to be long-suffering and put up with the interruptions, the demands, the sabotage, the yelling, the jealousy, the exploitative emphasis on social media, and the complete disregard for her feelings.
The only possible use I can see for this book is as an example of bullying and toxic friendships. Adults and children could read this together to discuss the problematic dynamics and what the girls could have done differently, but this is not a book that I would ever recommend to any demographic. Readers could recognize the book's flaws and be discerning, but there isn't much story apart from them to make it worthwhile, and some children may see abusive dynamics from their own lives reflected here without any positive message or example of how to handle a friend or family member who behaves like Lois does. I would also hate for a child to read this and thereby justify their horrible behavior to someone else, thinking that their friend should just be as understanding as Kristen is.
I honestly do not understand how this book ever got published. It is full of gigantic red flags and awful messages, and even though the art is cute, absolutely nothing can make up for what a controlling, abusive jerk this version of Lois Lane is. People who are interested in reading about the character in a modern setting are much better off pursuing Gwenda Bond's fabulous YA series, which begins with the book [b:Fallout|23110163|Fallout (Lois Lane, #1)|Gwenda Bond|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418907660l/23110163._SX50_.jpg|42657804]. Bond portrays a teenage Lois Lane in an interesting, authentic, relatable way, and the books are so clean that they are appropriate for middle grade readers as well. The YA series also focuses on the journalistic elements of Lois Lane's story, whereas this book only includes a journalistic angle by incorporating a side character with an internship. Please check out Gwenda Bond's series, and don't waste your time with this book.
aqilahreads's review
2.0
was really looking forward to this one but its v flat w/ not so memorable characters. really love the art + colours in this one tho, its kinda disappointing how the story didnt live up to my expectation.
nerfherder86's review
4.0
This is a cute friendship story that also serves up a possible way that the intrepid reporter Lois Lane might have been inspired to go into journalism, at age 13. Lois as seen here is very very energetic and impulsive, but her interest is in becoming a popular "MeVid" (like YouTube, haha, get it) star. right before her best friend Kristen is going to go away to camp, they stumble upon a mystery: who stole the fireworks for the town's annual fireworks display, that is always one of the girls' friendship rituals? There's also a citywide bike race that they both end up signing up for, though Lois somewhat reluctantly. (A funny gag is that she is always huffing and puffing and slowly riding her bike around, with her cat in a basket on it, so there's no way she would want to RACE a bike.) As shenanigans ensue, you see that Kristen just wants to spend time with Lois, but Lois gets too wrapped up in the mystery and then gets jealous when Kristen befriends a new girl, Izzy. Their older friend, maybe high school or college age?, Henri, works for the local paper and it's through her that the spark is lit in Lois to switch from "detecting" to investigative journalism. It's a little bit farfetched, and I thought Lois acted pretty immaturely for a 13 year old, but, what do I know really about 13 year olds. ;-) It's a cute small-town story of friendship and jealousy. I read this via a digital edition from NetGalley.com
jbrooxd's review
3.0
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
This one was hard to enjoy. Lois comes across as obnoxious and exhausting. I know it's supposed to be earnestness, but it crosses over the line for me. There are some good friendship issues to address, though, thanks to Lois - listening, bossiness, the give-and-take required in good friendships, etc. I enjoyed the things Lois learns about journalism in this - like let the facts drive the story rather than decide for yourself what the story is and try to make the facts fit. My favorite character was the mentor/journalist Henrietta ("Henri"). She was fantastic and really helped make the story more enjoyable.
Kids who love graphic novels and DC stories will want to pick this one up. And I think there's a lot here to talk about, especially with Lois and the friendship issues. For readers looking for more Lois stories, I HIGHLY recommend the Lois Lane series for teens by Gwenda Bond.
This one was hard to enjoy. Lois comes across as obnoxious and exhausting. I know it's supposed to be earnestness, but it crosses over the line for me. There are some good friendship issues to address, though, thanks to Lois - listening, bossiness, the give-and-take required in good friendships, etc. I enjoyed the things Lois learns about journalism in this - like let the facts drive the story rather than decide for yourself what the story is and try to make the facts fit. My favorite character was the mentor/journalist Henrietta ("Henri"). She was fantastic and really helped make the story more enjoyable.
Kids who love graphic novels and DC stories will want to pick this one up. And I think there's a lot here to talk about, especially with Lois and the friendship issues. For readers looking for more Lois stories, I HIGHLY recommend the Lois Lane series for teens by Gwenda Bond.
antlersantlers's review
2.0
This rating/review is based on an ARC from Netgalley and DC Comics.
I had high hopes going into this because I like what DC has done with Wonder Woman middle grade comic. This is bad though! Lois Lane is a terrible friend, a bully, and just an overall turd! She steamrolls everyone in her life and treats people who care about her like crap. It was honestly really hard to read!
I give the writing one star, but I can’t rate the book overall that low because I really like the illustrations by Brittney Williams. The characters are really expressive and fun, and literally ever scene with people in the background looks like a real community and not just some cut and paste (white) faces. I love how she drew Henri, especially her fashion. The character wears a blue and black polka dot jumpsuit at the end which is absolutely *chef’s kiss* incredible. I honestly felt really bad for most of the characters because they have to put up with such a horrible (fictional) person.
I definitely will not be recommending this to the kids at my library. I don’t want anyone to think that this is an ok way to treat people!
I had high hopes going into this because I like what DC has done with Wonder Woman middle grade comic. This is bad though! Lois Lane is a terrible friend, a bully, and just an overall turd! She steamrolls everyone in her life and treats people who care about her like crap. It was honestly really hard to read!
I give the writing one star, but I can’t rate the book overall that low because I really like the illustrations by Brittney Williams. The characters are really expressive and fun, and literally ever scene with people in the background looks like a real community and not just some cut and paste (white) faces. I love how she drew Henri, especially her fashion. The character wears a blue and black polka dot jumpsuit at the end which is absolutely *chef’s kiss* incredible. I honestly felt really bad for most of the characters because they have to put up with such a horrible (fictional) person.
I definitely will not be recommending this to the kids at my library. I don’t want anyone to think that this is an ok way to treat people!
bonnysweetrobin's review
4.0
Really cute art, silly, but fun. Good for fans of the Baby Sitters Club GNs. Feels more Nancy Drew than Superhero, so keep that in mind. Tons of great female characters.