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teanahk's review against another edition
2.0
A cute book with adorable illustrations.
But something about it just didn't sit right. The cute little blonde girl moving to the rough town and forcing change to long-held traditions just felt icky. Doubly so because Brianna is presented as the underdog character, while the character trying to keep tradition was depicted as a villainous snake.
But something about it just didn't sit right. The cute little blonde girl moving to the rough town and forcing change to long-held traditions just felt icky. Doubly so because Brianna is presented as the underdog character, while the character trying to keep tradition was depicted as a villainous snake.
librarypatronus's review against another edition
4.0
This was a cute premise and I’m interested to see where it goes.
lomahongva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Racism, and Racial slurs
brandinh's review against another edition
3.0
Cute story about believing in yourself and fighting for what you want despite overwhelmingly low self-esteem. Also touches on accepting people who are different and dealing with change. Artwork is appealing. Characters felt a little flat outside of Brianna, who was excruciatingly low in self confidence, but somehow able to stand up for herself and fight for her dreams. Madame Cron’s hatred toward humans because of their history of oppression/ fear of the monster community could have been mined for deeper content. Bonus recipes included in the back.
thelastcatbender's review against another edition
2.0
This would have been a perfectly cute story but I had some big problems with some of the stuff that was clearly meant to parallel fights for civil rights/social justice. The BIPOC-coded Madame Cron has to fight against a privileged white woman coming from a rich family, in her own home town which is basically the last refuge for "monsters," and SHE is made out to be the villain?? Feels very "can't we all just get along? Racism is basically over that happened soooooo long ago" and it just feels extremely icky. I don't know what message they were trying to communicate but if this was not their intention it was executed very poorly.
littleredbiblio's review against another edition
4.0
I read a sample of this story back in May during Free Comic Book Day. I really enjoyed it and ultimately ended up receiving it for Christmas! While I am absolutely in love with the characters and the world, I feel like this comic (graphic novel? I'm still not really sure...) left far too much to the imagination. Brianna's past is clearly one that continues to affect her during the novel, yet we barely get a hint of what possibly occurred. Despite her large family, we only briefly encounter one of her brothers. Even Suzan and Park are only lightly portrayed. We get small hints of their backgrounds and passions, but they seem to be there only out of necessity.
TL;DR... While I loved the story, I was disappointed by how brief it was and I was left feeling less than satisfied with the story as a whole. I feel like everything about this story could have been described in greater detail and it would have significantly enhanced the story and reading experience.
TL;DR... While I loved the story, I was disappointed by how brief it was and I was left feeling less than satisfied with the story as a whole. I feel like everything about this story could have been described in greater detail and it would have significantly enhanced the story and reading experience.
lightreading's review
1.0
Other people have said it better (check out these reviews: 1, 2, 3) but basically this book has adorable art but completely fails at exploring its themes. The privileged (white) character not abiding laws just because and suffering basically no consequences for it, while the (dark-skinned) "villain", who's shown as an activist for her people, is demonized, isn't really cool.
catmar19's review
2.0
The artwork is cute, and the characters are fun. I especially like the monsters.
The negative self talk is well done, but other parts are problematic. The treatment of gentrification and the message of “just get over it” in regards to subjugation and persecution are unsettling. This kind of underlying message is not great.
The negative self talk is well done, but other parts are problematic. The treatment of gentrification and the message of “just get over it” in regards to subjugation and persecution are unsettling. This kind of underlying message is not great.
anxious_librarian's review against another edition
1.0
This was a weird one for me. On the surface, it's a somewhat cute comic. The only daughter of a successful chef goes off into the world to start her own restaurant. She deals with feelings of inadequacy - a literal voice in her head telling her she'll fail, that she's fat, that's she's not good enough - while trying to get her restaurant off the ground in a town with laws against human food. The plot wasn't anything exciting, though I enjoyed Brianna learning not to listen to the negative voice in her head and let the expectations of her family direct her decisions. The illustrations are cute, nothing too new but the characters have fun designs and I loved the variety of monsters and myths. Would love to see the illustrator do something for middle grade as I think the style is a good match.
It's once you go a little deeper into things that the story really starts to feel problematic. I looked at a couple of other reviews and apparently others feel this way too. So there are laws against certain human ingredients in Monster City (I can't remember if the specifics of this are ever explained but I think it has something to do with preserving monster culture and cuisine after all the persecution they've faced). Rather than trying to expand her skills as a chef Bianna just ignores the laws and starts serving monsters human food without telling them. When another chef - a monster who was persecuted and fought for their rights - learns what Brianna is doing, she becomes the villain in trying to expose what Brianna is doing.
This just screams culture erasure, not to mention allusions to Monster City being a ghetto of sorts. There's a lot more regarding racism, and I encourage you to look at some of the other reviewers who are more qualified than I am to speak about this.
I can't tell if this was intentional or if I'm reading too much into this, but the whole reading experience made me very uncomfortable.
It's once you go a little deeper into things that the story really starts to feel problematic. I looked at a couple of other reviews and apparently others feel this way too. So there are laws against certain human ingredients in Monster City (I can't remember if the specifics of this are ever explained but I think it has something to do with preserving monster culture and cuisine after all the persecution they've faced). Rather than trying to expand her skills as a chef Bianna just ignores the laws and starts serving monsters human food without telling them. When another chef - a monster who was persecuted and fought for their rights - learns what Brianna is doing, she becomes the villain in trying to expose what Brianna is doing.
This just screams culture erasure, not to mention allusions to Monster City being a ghetto of sorts. There's a lot more regarding racism, and I encourage you to look at some of the other reviewers who are more qualified than I am to speak about this.
I can't tell if this was intentional or if I'm reading too much into this, but the whole reading experience made me very uncomfortable.
bookfeast101's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
On the one hand, this is a lighthearted and fun graphic novel... Until you think about the story and the nausea sets in. Gentrification, colonialism, racism. White lady sets up restaurant in Monster City, merrily breaks food regulations in what she serves and never thinks or researches her decisions. She turns up, opens up, her way is the ‘right’ way. Our ‘villain’ is an older local monster, of darker skin tones, who wants to preserve her land and culture.
Yes, there’s other discussions going on, mental health etc, but you cannot get away from that hideous central message.
Yes, there’s other discussions going on, mental health etc, but you cannot get away from that hideous central message.