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ljrinaldi's review against another edition
3.0
When I finished reading this, I felt as though I had read it before, and perhaps I have, different versions, different ways of telling this same story, which is, what would you do if you could change your future? Would you change it? And how much would you change it?
The characters are all Mean Girls™ types, and of course the heroines are the underdogs, the nerds and the dull. There is even a love interest among the unloved.
The artist writes, at the end of the book, how long she has been working on this story, and rewriting and redrawing it over the years, and the illustrations are quite professional, but the ending, as others have mentioned, seems a bit quick, and the story wraps up far to quickly, with a lot of questions hanging.
This is probably more like a four star for its intended audience of young teens, but for me, I wanted more.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
The characters are all Mean Girls™ types, and of course the heroines are the underdogs, the nerds and the dull. There is even a love interest among the unloved
Spoiler
but he turns out to be gayThe artist writes, at the end of the book, how long she has been working on this story, and rewriting and redrawing it over the years, and the illustrations are quite professional, but the ending, as others have mentioned, seems a bit quick, and the story wraps up far to quickly, with a lot of questions hanging.
This is probably more like a four star for its intended audience of young teens, but for me, I wanted more.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
alexk02's review
3.0
So this is a 3.5 star book. It was enjoyable but it wasn’t GREAT. It was a typical girl gets popular and then goes back to not being popular. The cool guy gets her and then she loses her friend and everything goes to heck in a hand basket. The artwork was phenomenal and I loved it but it wasn’t a GREAT graphic novel. It was okay.
brandinh's review
3.0
Awesome premise, but lackluster follow through. With the possibility to literally rewrite her own life, Willow chooses to rid herself of pimples and get some new clothes. Secondary characters were also very stereotypical. It just could have been so much better.
peppertoast's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
haleymaxinee's review against another edition
3.0
“What if you had the power to rewrite your life?”
Who wouldn’t be hooked by that tag line? Of course we’d want to alter our lives if we had the choice. That’s exactly what happened in this graphic novel.. except of course it went terribly wrong. Overall, I enjoyed this and I don’t regret reading it. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have had so much to it. It had potential with an interesting concept, but I don’t feel like it lived up to it. The plot was also predictable for me, there were small things that I didn’t expect.. but overall I wasn’t surprised with how the story unfolded. I liked the art, the characters got reactions from me, and I still love the concept. I just wish it could have been longer, and therefore not so rushed.
Released March 6, 2018 | Huge THANK YOU to Netgalley and Oni Press for this copy |
Who wouldn’t be hooked by that tag line? Of course we’d want to alter our lives if we had the choice. That’s exactly what happened in this graphic novel.. except of course it went terribly wrong. Overall, I enjoyed this and I don’t regret reading it. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have had so much to it. It had potential with an interesting concept, but I don’t feel like it lived up to it. The plot was also predictable for me, there were small things that I didn’t expect.. but overall I wasn’t surprised with how the story unfolded. I liked the art, the characters got reactions from me, and I still love the concept. I just wish it could have been longer, and therefore not so rushed.
Released March 6, 2018 | Huge THANK YOU to Netgalley and Oni Press for this copy |
flanflanshazam's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty cute. The art is nice. The story is a little boring. The tropes are old as the hills, and nothing much is added. But still, this book was pretty good and would be appealing to younger readers.
loveinpanels's review against another edition
4.0
The Altered History of Willow Sparks is one of those young adult books that feels timeless. The main character and her best friend work at a library after school, but only one of them finds the literal story of her life and starts making little edits.
The changes she makes, with clear skin and new clothes, lead to popularity, in that irrational yet predictable way of high school social scenes. Willow all but abandons her best friend and surprise, surprise, finds that there are magical consequences to changing the course of fate.
One of my favorite things about the book is that things aren't wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. Willow learns a lesson, but she isn't suddenly happier as a high school student with her socioeconomic status and acne. She's still got to deal with everything like a normal person. It's refreshing and, honestly, what makes this book stand out among a sea of graphic novels about friendship and self-acceptance.
The changes she makes, with clear skin and new clothes, lead to popularity, in that irrational yet predictable way of high school social scenes. Willow all but abandons her best friend and surprise, surprise, finds that there are magical consequences to changing the course of fate.
One of my favorite things about the book is that things aren't wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. Willow learns a lesson, but she isn't suddenly happier as a high school student with her socioeconomic status and acne. She's still got to deal with everything like a normal person. It's refreshing and, honestly, what makes this book stand out among a sea of graphic novels about friendship and self-acceptance.
wordswitwonder's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I thought the premise of this book was quite cool, but the execution was a bit lacking. The pace was very quick, even for a graphic novel, which I didn't think suited the story. The art was pretty nice, although not my personal favorite. It did a good job of pulling traditional graphic art style in with more modern elements, however. I do recommend reading it, as it's a quick read and the overall idea is interesting.